Tampa Moves Up Two Spots In NCAA Regional Rankings
INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA released its final regional rankings before unveiling the 2011 baseball tournament field, listing The University of Tampa at No. 4 in the South Region. The Spartans are up two spots from last week's showing of sixth.
The University of West Florida continues to hold the No. 1 spot, followed by Southern Arkansas University and Barry University. Nova Southeastern University, Harding University, University of North Alabama and Delta State University follow UT to make up the top eight. Florida Southern College and Arkansas Tech round out the top 10.
The NCAA field will be announced on Sunday, with eight teams advancing to the South Regional. Automatic bids have been awarded to Barry and Harding, who are the champions of the Sunshine State Conference and Gulf South Conference respectively. West Florida captured GSC regular-season title and remains the front-runner to host the 2011 regional.
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will also receive an automatic bid for its champion, as the SIAC is not currently represented in the top-10. Stillman College will represent its conference in the region as it championed the 2011 SIAC tournament with a victory over Albany State University in the conference championship game.
UT expects to earn the program's 26th invitation to the NCAA tournament, including its 12th straight. Head coach Joe Urso, in his 11th season at the helm of the Spartans, continues to build on his school record for consecutive bids as he has earned a selection each year of his tenure.
Tampa has won four of the last five NCAA South Regionals, bumping the school's total to 14 as it has also captured five national championships.
The NCAA South Regional is scheduled for May 19-23 as the winner will advance to the eight-team NCAA Championship field in Cary, N.C. The championships are scheduled to begin on May 28 and will last through June 2.