Where Louisiana baseball stands in latest NCAA Tournament bracket projections

REQUIRED READING: Lafayette-area baseball 2026 season comes to bitter end with no trips to Sulphur

Louisiana baseball NCAA Tournament projections

This will be the first season that the NCAA committee ranks teams from No. 1 to No. 32 to create more of a balance in the tournament rather than the previous system of ranking teams as a No. 2 seed in a respective regional bracket.

The top 16 seeds will be grouped into pods of four. Seeds 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16 will be grouped together. Similarly, seeds 17-32 will also be grouped into four-team pods, just as the top 16 seeds.

As the bracket comes together, the top four seeds will be paired with the pod that groups seeds 29-32.

Seeds 1-4 are paired with one team from seeds 29-32Seeds 5-8 are paired with one team from seeds 25-28Seeds 9-12 are paired with one team from seeds 21-24Seeds 13-16 are paired with one team from seeds 17-20

USA Today currently has the Cajuns as one of the last four teams out, missing out on a spot in the regionals. UL was once ranked in the Top 25 for a week before SBC play began and dropping out of the rankings. Other teams on the outside looking in are Pittsburgh, Purdue and Mercer.

D1Baseball also has UL as one of the last four teams out as of May 5. Similarly, Pitt and Purdue are the other teams last out along with Miami (OH). Baseball America also have the Cajuns just missing out of the tournament as one of the last four teams in. Pitt, East Carolina and Kent State are the other three teams as the last four out.

Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Can UL baseball sneak into NCAA Tournament? See the latest projections