2020 Preseason Projected Field of 64

College baseball season has nearly arrived. Opening Day is a little more than a week away and around the country teams are getting ready to start on the Road to Omaha.

How that journey plays out largely remains to be seen – that’s part of the fun of the college baseball season. But it’s never too early to project what the NCAA Tournament will look like on Selection Monday.

The ACC and SEC both look to be especially deep this spring and they lead all leagues with 10 teams in the field, which would match the record they jointly share. Two leagues taking up a combined 20 bids would be unprecedented and that many teams navigating rugged conference schedules may prove to be impossible. But the depth of the leagues is undeniable and both teams figure to dominate the top of the RPI. Last year’s selection committee was less dogmatic than in years past about at-large teams having winning conference records, something that would help both conferences produce so many tournament teams.

The American, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 all look to be strong as well, which is particularly bad news for mid-major teams around the country. Only three teams outside those six conferences received at-large bids a year ago and a similar scenario could well play out this spring. This projection only includes one at-large team from outside the six major conferences and only two more among the next eight teams out. That fits with larger trends around college sports, as power, money and postseason bids are increasingly being concentrated in the biggest conferences.

This, however, is just a starting point. Much will change between Feb. 14 and Memorial Day when the NCAA Tournament field is officially announced. Baseball America will update the Projected Field of 64 weekly throughout the spring.

PROJECTED FIELD OF 64
Nashville		Stillwater, Okla.
1. (1) Vanderbilt^*		1. (16) Oklahoma State^
2. Stanford		2. Dallas Baptist*
3. Liberty*		3. Mississippi
4. Fairfield*		4. Oral Roberts*

Louisville		Durham
1. (2) Louisville^*		1. (15) Duke^
2. Coastal Carolina*		2. East Carolina*
3. Virginia Commonwealth*		3. Tennessee
4. North Carolina A&T*		4. UNC Wilmington*

Phoenix		Baton Rouge, La.
1. (3) Arizona State^*		1. (14) LSU^
2. Texas Christian		2. Oklahoma
3. Minnesota		3. Houston
4. Harvard*		4. Xavier*

Gainesville, Fla.		Auburn, Al.
1. (4) Florida^		1. (13) Auburn^
2. Virginia		2. N.C. State
3. Connecticut		3. South Alabama
4. Central Connecticut State		4. Samford*

Coral Gables, Fla.		Tallahassee, Fla.
1. (5) Miami^		1. (12) Florida State^
2. Texas A&M		2. Ohio State
3. McNeese State*		3. Baylor
4. Illinois-Chicago*		4. Jacksonville State*

Lubbock, Texas		Fayetteville, Ark.
1. (6) Texas Tech^*		1. (11) Arkansas^
2. Arizona		2. North Carolina*
3. BYU*		3. Texas
4. Binghamton*		4. Campbell*

Athens, Ga.		Los Angeles
1. (7) Georgia^		1. (10) UCLA^
2. Georgia Tech		2. Cal State Fullerton*
3. Oregon State		3. San Diego State*
4. Alabama State*		4. Sacramento State*

Ann Arbor, Mich.		Starkville, Miss.
1. (8) Michigan^*		1. (9) Mississippi State^
2. Wake Forest		2. Southern Miss.*
3. California		3. Clemson
4. Central Michigan*		4. Army*