The 2023 DI baseball championship bracket was announced on Sunday, May 28, revealing the field of 64 teams selected to compete for the ultimate title of national champion. NCAA.com's Michella Chester and D1Baseball's Kendall Rogers and Aaron Fitt break down the bracket and take a look at the biggest surprises, toughest regionals, most interesting potential matchups and much more. You can watch their whole conversation above.
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Biggest takeaways
Both Fitt and Rogers agreed on their overall takeaway after the bracket was revealed: The field is balanced.
Fitt: "All the teams are seeded really well. All 16 regionals have as good of a competitive balance as I've ever seen."
Rogers: "When you have regionals where you feel like anybody can win two or three regionals, I feel like the committee did a pretty good job with those pairings."
Biggest surprises
Fitt: "For me, it was Arizona getting in." The Wildcats, who will play in regionals at the No. 3 seed, went 12-18 in the Pac-12 and had the worst record for an at-large team in conference play since 2009.
Rogers: "I thought UC Irvine was a club that should've gotten in the field when you look at their intense schedule, which is obviously a big thing to this committee, their top 100 record and [that] they pass the eyeball test as well."
Toughest regionals
Fitt: "I [think] Terra Haute. Wright State is primed to pull off an upset, North Carolina is the best No. 3 seed in the tournament, and Iowa is a great No. 2 seed. Campbell is a hungry two-seed and NC State is deep and powerful offensively."
Rogers: "I'll go with Stillwater as my toughest regional." Oklahoma State is playing well and Oral Roberts will make some noise in the tournament as well. DBU will be highly competitive as a No. 2 seed, while Washington, who was third in the Pac-12 and finished 17-12 in conference play, enters the tournament at just a No. 3 seed. Tournament play in Oklahoma is sure to be interesting.
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Team with easiest path to Omaha
Fitt: "I don't think there is one." There's a very balanced, competitive field this year.
Rogers: "I tend to agree with Aaron on this question. If I had to pick one I would say Arkansas."
Most interesting hypothetical super regional matchups:
Fitt: Stanford vs. Miami. This No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup would pit two traditional powerhouse teams against each other as both teams are playing really good baseball now when it matters most.
Rogers: Wake Forest vs. Alabama, Florida vs. South Carolina, Vanderbilt vs. Oklahoma State, Texas A&M vs. Texas. Wake Forest is the overall No. 1 seed in this year's tournament and leads the nation with wins at 47.
Biggest question mark:
Fitt: Can No. 1 Wake Forest win it all? Their season is eerily similar to the 2022 Tennessee, but it does feel like this year is the year for the Deacons to win it all.
Rogers: It will be interesting how LSU handles the postseason after being the No. 1 team for most of the season. “Does a transfer portal-made team go on a run and win the MCWS?” We'll see how things play out.
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