No. 1 seed Auburn has been one of the best teams in the country, excelling in all three phases of the game. Here is a preview of the Tigers.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Prior to 2022, Auburn had hosted four regionals in its program’s history but has doubled that total to eight in the last five years. The previous seasons are 1978, 1999, 2003, 2010, 2022, 2023 and 2025.
The Tigers are one of two programs to earn a regional host bid in four of the last five seasons, joined by North Carolina on the very short list. Auburn is also tonly program in college baseball to earn a top four national seed in the 2025 and 2026 NCAA tournaments.
AUBURN REGIONAL HISTORY: Auburn has never played Milwaukee and will open with the Panthers. The Tigers are 3-1 all-time against NC State and 7-5 all-time versus UCF.
STAR TO WATCH: Catcher Chase Fralick has been almost impossible to run on but also a star at the plate, leading the team with a 1.009 OPS and is second in home runs (14).
He recently earned an invitation to the 2026 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp.
TEAM STAT TO TRACK: Auburn’s starting rotation of sophomores is elite.
Jake Marciano, Andreas Alvarez, Alex Petrovic and Jackson Sanders are among the SEC’s top seven earned run averages, pacing the Tigers’ team ERA of 3.45 easily rank as the league’s best, 0.71 lower than next best Florida and the fourth lowest in college baseball.
The foursome has combined for 365 strikeouts against 85 walks.
BEST ARM: Andreas Alvarez may have the best stuff on the team, as he began the year as a mid-week starter but worked his way into the rotation and paced the team with 102 strikeouts and a 9-3 record.
He made his NCAA Tournament debut last year against NC State, earning the win after pitching 5.0 shutout innings with five strikeouts in the Auburn Regional.
FRIDAY’S GO-TO GUY: Jake Marchiano has been the No. 1 for Auburn, and it’s likely he gets the nod on Saturday against UCF or NC State.
The left-hander posted a 5-5 record with a team-best 2.64 ERA and 100 strikeouts
A Virginia Tech transfer, he started as a true freshman against NC State for the Hokies, allowing three earned runs in six innings of a 6-3 loss to the Wolfpack.
WILDCARD: Sophomore outfielder Bub Terrell is dynamic in the field and at the plate.
The sophomore leads the team with 16 home runs but he also has 71 strikeouts, 25 more than the next Tiger.
Can opposing teams limit him thsi weekend?
