Boston College’s baseball team was named the No. 2 seed for the Athens Regional in the upcoming NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, according to a May 26 announcement during the NCAA selection show.
The Eagles, once projected to finish near the bottom of their conference, are now entering the national tournament as one of the top 32 teams. The team’s placement follows a season where initial projections suggested a possible No. 1 seed, but losses to Clemson and Georgia Tech shifted expectations ahead of postseason play.
Head coach Todd Interdonato said on Monday afternoon, “I thought [the selection] was really accurate. I thought our draw was really accurate. I thought we deserved to be a two-seed. I thought we deserved to go up against a national seed. I didn’t think we were one of the higher two-seeds in the country where we would have [played] against [teams seeded] nine through 16. Selfishly, I’m really glad we’re staying on the East Coast.” Interdonato also said, “There was a chance of us going to UCLA or even to Oregon, with the way things turned out… So I feel really fortunate that we’re in the Eastern time zone… I’ve been on [Foley Field] a bunch and played at Georgia a bunch in my career, so there aren’t going to be surprises or anything new.”
The debate over Boston College’s seeding intensified after their loss to Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship quarterfinals and subsequent series losses late in regular season play. Despite these setbacks and competition from other ACC teams such as Wake Forest and Miami based on Ratings Performance Index numbers and strength of schedule metrics, Boston College maintained its position among top contenders due largely to comparable records against highly ranked opponents.
Players expressed enthusiasm about returning to regional play. Pitcher AJ Colarusso said, “Regionals don’t come every year… This special group that we have, we only get to play with for this year… Those regionals, the atmosphere, they’re hard to beat, and that’s why we play.” Infielder Nick Wang added: “The regional is the most competitive environment that I’ve ever played in… I’m really proud to represent the team and program and school in postseason again.”
Boston College will face Liberty University at Foley Field in Athens on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m., with television coverage available via ESPN+.
