AUBURN, Ala. – One day after earning an NCAA Tournament regional host site for the first time since 2010, Auburn learned Monday that the Tigers will welcome UCLA, Florida State and Southeastern Louisiana to the Plains this weekend.
"I think about every person, every ballplayer who's put on an Auburn uniform, I think about our fans stepping up to the plate," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. "These are opportunities to reward our players, alumni, fan base and everybody who cares about our program. These are moments and opportunities you want to take full advantage of. It's what you get out of bed for every single day."
The regional appearance is the Tigers 23rd all-time, including the fourth under Thompson. Auburn is 48-33 in regional play, including 8-2 under the seventh-year head coach.
Auburn earned the No. 14 national seed. The Auburn Regional is paired with the Corvallis (Oregon) Regional, which No. 3 national seed Oregon State will host. The regional winners will advance to next week's super regional.
"We've been a very consistent baseball team," Thompson said. "Our team, for those 10 consecutive SEC weeks where you play the best amateur baseball in the world, we did not get swept, we've never lost more than two games (consecutively), and we went 11-0 in the midweek against teams in our state and didn't duck it and went on the road. It's awesome to see that rewarded."
The top-seed in the regional, Auburn (37-19) will take on No. 4 seed Southeastern Louisiana (30-29) Friday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Also included in the field are No. 2 UCLA (38-22) and No. 3 Florida State (33-23), which will play Friday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
"It's a great feeling," senior pitcher Carson Skipper said. "There's nothing like playing here in front of these fans. The comfort of being home is a feeling unmatched."
"It's something you dream of when you're a little kid, coming to college baseball, going to play in Omaha," said senior shortstop Brody Moore. "This year to have it start right here in Auburn is something special."
Below is some information on the three teams traveling to Plainsman Park for the Auburn Regional.
NO. 2 SEED UCLARecord: 38-22, 19-11 PAC-12
RPI: No. 48
All-time series: Never met
NO. 3 SEED FLORIDA STATERecord: 33-23, 15-15 ACC
RPI: No. 29
All-time series: Auburn trails, 44-75
NO. 4 SEED SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANARecord: 30-29, 14-10 Southland Conference (tournament champions)
RPI: No. 105
All-time series: Auburn leads, 2-0
All tournament ticket books are $75 and can be purchased at aubtix.com. If inventory allows, single game tickets will be $15 per ticket.
"These are opportunities to reward our players, alumni, fan base & everybody who cares about our program."
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) May 30, 2022
🗣@3strikes_AU @AuburnBaseball hosts an @NCAABaseball regional for the first time in 12 years.
AU plays @LionUpBaseball Friday at 6 p.m. CT. #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/N8Q7XNZlvl