Clemson receives No.1 seed

The Associated Pess

Clemson was selected as the top seed for the 64-team Division I college baseball tournament Monday.

The Tigers (46-14), the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season and tournament champions, will host one of 16 four-team, double-elimination regionals that begin Friday. Clemson, led by sluggers Andy D'Alessio and Tyler Colvin, was ranked No. 1 for 19 weeks in at least one of the major polls and opens up against UNC-Asheville.

The other national seeds, in order, are: Rice (50-10), Texas (40-19), Alabama (41-19), Cal State Fullerton (43-13), Nebraska (42-15), Georgia (41-19) and Georgia Tech (45-16).

The Southeastern Conference had eight teams receive berths, down from the record nine it had in each of the last two years. Joining Alabama and Georgia are Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

Getting seven teams each were the ACC -- Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia -- and the Big 12 -- Baylor, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas.

Miami (36-21) is making its 34th straight tournament appearance to extend its NCAA record.

Lehigh (28-26), UNC Asheville (28-33), Prairie View (33-20), San Francisco (38-21) and Sacred Heart (26-28) are all in the field for the first time.

Manhattan (32-21) won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to earn its first berth since 1957. Saint Louis, the Atlantic 10 champ, is in for the first time since 1966, while Ball State is making its first appearance since 1969.

LSU isn't in for the first time since 1988 after finishing eighth in the SEC, and neither is national runner-up Florida, which battled numerous injuries and finished second to last in the SEC.

Each of the regionals will be played on campus sites from June 2-5.

The 16 regional hosts are: Alabama, Arkansas, Cal State Fullerton, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Pepperdine, Rice, Texas and Virginia.

The winners of each regional will advance to the super regionals, played June 9-12.

The eight winners of the super regionals will play in the College World Series, which starts June 16 in Omaha, Neb.