UNC Baseball Earns No. 5 National Seed In NCAA Tournament

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — It’s tournament time at Boshamer Stadium. After a 45-11-1 regular season, the Diamond Heels have earned the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the selection committee announced Monday.

Sunday evening, the NCAA announced that North Carolina would host its third consecutive regional at the Bosh. Positioned inside the top-eight national seeds, the Tar Heels are also in line to host a super regional should they advance to the tournament’s second weekend.

Rounding out the Chapel Hill Regional field will be VCU, East Carolina and Tennessee. The Tar Heels will open NCAA Tournament play against VCU on Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.

The winner of the Chapel Hill Regional will match up with the winner of the College Station Regional, hosted by No. 12 overall seed Texas A&M.

This season marks North Carolina’s 38th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, where the Tar Heels hold a 125-85 record in NCAA Tournament play. UNC is searching for its 13th College World Series appearance — and first since 2024, when the program earned the No. 4 overall national seed.

The 2026 season also marks the second consecutive year North Carolina has earned the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels enter the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 4 nationally in RPI, while Tennessee sits at No. 31, East Carolina at No. 40 and VCU at No. 84.

North Carolina went 12-7 in Quad 1 games during the regular season and has already faced two of its three regional opponents this spring. The Tar Heels faced East Carolina in a three-game series in February, splitting the first two games before the finale was ruled a tie due to weather.

VCU also made an earlier trip to Chapel Hill on Feb. 25, when North Carolina rolled to a 13-3 run-rule victory in seven innings.

This will mark the Rams’ second regional appearance at Boshamer Stadium this decade. In 2022, the Tar Heels defeated VCU in a winner-take-all Monday matchup to advance to the Super Regional round, where UNC later fell to Arkansas.

Regional Schedule

Friday May 29
Game 1 – Noon – Tennessee vs. East Carolina
Game 2 – 5 p.m. – North Carolina vs. VCU (ESPN+)

Saturday May 30
Game 3 – Noon – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
Game 4 – 5 p.m. – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner

Sunday May 31
Game 5 – Noon – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser
Game 6 – 5 p.m. – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner

Monday June 1 (if necessary)
Game 7 – Time TBA