Kentucky baseball heard its name called on selection Monday as it will be a part of the 2025 Clemson Regional to begin postseason play.

Seeding and Format

The other three programs that will join the Wildcats are Clemson, West Virginia and USC Upstate.

Clemson is the No. 1 seed in the regional followed by West Virginia, Kentucky and USC Upstate.

When play kicks off on Friday, Kentucky and West Virginia will face each other first before Clemson takes on USC Upstate to close out day one.

The two losers will play in game three which will be followed by the two winners rounding out the day in game four.

The team that wins game four is now in the championship of the regional and will have to be defeated twice to be eliminated.

The winner of game three will play the loser of game four to open play on Sunday and the winner of that game will take on the winner of game four in the night cap.

If the team that already has a loss does not win, then the regional is over on Sunday, however if a winner-take-all game is necessary, it will be played on Monday.

The last remaining team from the Clemson Regional will meet the winner of the Baton Rouge Regional that features LSU, Dallas Baptist, Little Rock and Rhode Island in the Super Regionals.

No. 1 Clemson Tigers (44-16, 18-12 ACC)

The Tigers are just one of three ACC programs hosting a regional along with North Carolina and Florida State.

Clemson comes into the postseason with a good amount of momentum as it has won six of its last seven as it swept Pitt to end the season before winning three-straight in the ACC Tournament where it ultimately fell to North Carolina in the championship.

When it comes to players, Cam Cannarella is the leader for the Tigers offense as he leads the program with a complete slash-line that includes a team-leading .339 batting average along with a .473 on-base percentage and a .491 slugging percentage.

When it comes to getting on-base, Dominic Listi leads the Tigers with a .504 on-base percentage. The graduate student is also hitting to a .306 batting average and a .472 slugging percentage.

Switching over to the power department, Jacob Jarrell and Josh Paino are the only Tigers with double-digit home runs as Jarrell has 15 and Paino has 10.

On the numbers side, Jarrell leads the team with a .532 slugging percentage to pair with a .266 batting average and a .394 on-base percentage.

Switching over to the mound, the only arm that started every single weekend is Aidan Knaak as he manned the Friday night slot for the Tigers.

The right-hander is 21st in the country and first in the ACC with 106 strikeouts in his 84 1/3 innings pitched. Knaak has allowed 38 runs, which equates to a 4.06 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting .205 off of Knaak.

Clemson does not have defined starters for the rest of the rotation, but Talan Bell is a name to watch as he’s made seven starts on the season.

Bell was mostly used in an opener role as his longest outing was just four innings, and he only did that once.

In his seven starts and one relief appearances, the lefty has accumulated a 3.98 ERA in 20 1/3 innings of work as he’s given up nine earned runs. Bell has struck out 21 batters and walked 14. Batters are hitting .238 off of Bell.

Ethan Darden made nine starts in the pitching rotation before coming down with an injury in April. However, there is a possibility that the lefty could return in the Clemson Regional.

Darden has pitched to a 6.08 ERA as he’s allowed 27 earned runs in 40 innings of work. The junior has struck out 34 and walked 16. Opposing batters are hitting .277 off of Darden.

Another trio of starters that could be possible on the mound is Drew Titsworth, B.J. Bailey and Justin LeGuernic as they have all made six starts on the year.

No. 2 West Virginia (41-14, 19-9 Big 12)

The Mountaineers come into the regional reeling as they have they have lost seven of their last nine games, which results in half of their losses all season.

Despite the recent skid, West Virginia won the regular season Big 12 title by one game.

Kyle West leads the Mountaineers approach at the plate as he leads the team in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage with marks of .354, .500 and .628.

Sam White is the next Mountaineer to watch as he is just one point behind West with a .353 batting average along with a .420 on-base percentage and a .512 slugging percentage.

Rounding out the main threats for West Virginia is another power bat in the form of Jace Rinehart as he is second on the team in .570 slugging percentage. The senior has also hit to a .324 batting average and a .399 on-base percentage.

When it comes to the pitching staff, it is possible that the Mountaineers could be without the duo of Carson Estridge and Gavin Van Kempen, who are currently injured and have an unclear status for the regional.

However, the ace of the pitching staff is Kirn Griffin, who has made all 15 starts this season as he’s allowed 32 earned runs in 86 2/3 innings of work, which equates to a 3.32 ERA. The left-hander leads the pitching staff with 92 strikeouts. Griffin has walked 27 hitters and opposing hitters are batting .241 against the lefty.

Jack Kartsonas has joined the rotation and has been excellent as he has a 2.90 ERA, Kartsonas has allowed 19 earned runs in 57 innings of work. The righty has struck out 69 and walked 15 batters on the year. Kartsonas is giving up a .242 batting average against.

David Hagen is another possible starter as he has made seven starts, which is the third most on the pitching staff. Hagen is likely to be used in an opener role as he’s only pitched 23 total innings in his 11 overall appearances. The righty has 2.35 ERA has he’s allowed just six earned runs. Hagen has walked and struck out 15 batters a piece. The right-hander has given up a .210 batting average against.

No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats (29-24, 13-17 SEC)

The Bat Cats also come into the NCAA Tournament on a cold streak much like the Mountaineers they will face as they have dropped four-straight games to end the regular season.

The four-game skid caused some nervous energy in Lexington as it was unknown if the Wildcats had done enough to make the tournament. However, Kentucky was not even amongst the last four in of the tournament.

Cole Hage leads the Bat Cats at the plate in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage with marks of .317, .442 and .586 respectively.

Freshman sensation Tyler Bell is having a great inaugural campaign in Lexington as just behind Hage in batting average at .306 batting average and slugging percentage at .542. The shortstop is getting on-base at a .384 clip.

Ryan Schwartz was another freshman that was coming into his own before suffering an injury that has kept him out for three-straight games. If he is back for the Clemson Regional, he will bring a .333 batting average, .483 on-base percentage and a .556 slugging percentage back to the struggling lineup.

James McCoy has been another hot hitter in recent weeks as he’s hit to a .288 batting average, .461 on-base percentage and a .461 slugging percentage on the season.

While the other programs do not have three defined starters, the Wildcats bring a formattable trio to the mound in the form of Nate Harris, Nic McCay and Ben Cleaver.

Starting off with the Friday night starter Harris, he has given up 25 earned runs in 53 1/3 innings of work which equals out to a 4.22 ERA. The freshman has struck out 54 batters and walked 22 on the season. Opposing batters are hitting to a .235 off of Harris.

Going from the freshman to the seventh-year man McCay, the right-hander is pitching to a 4.37 ERA as he’s allowed 33 earned runs in 68 innings of work. McCay has struck out 66 and walked 38 along with a .247 batting average against.

The Wildcats save their best arm for Sundays in the form of Cleaver who leads the team in ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched with marks of 3.39, 87 and 77 respectively. The lefty has walked 29 and given up a .180 batting average to opposing hitters.

No. 4 USC Upstate (36-23, 19-5 Big South)

The Spartans earned an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big South Tournament and enter the regional winning 11 of its last 12.

Scott Campbell is the leader of the Spartans offense as he leads the program in batting average and on-base percentage with marks of .400 and .511 respectively. Campbell is also slugging at a .644 clip.

Johnny Sweeney leads the team in the power department with a .702 slugging percentage and is just behind one behind Scott Newman for the team lead in home runs with 17. Sweeney is hitting to a .351 batting average and a .504 on-base percentage.

Henry Zenor rounds of the Spartan trio with a .357 batting average, .457 on-base percentage and a .566 slugging percentage.

Switching over to the mound, Amp Phillips leads the Spartans in innings pitched at 78 along with a 3.58 ERA. The righty has allowed 31 earned runs, struck out 72 and walked 28. Opposing hitters are batting .208 off of Phillips.

Chirs Torres leads the Spartans with 15 starts and he’s allowed 40 earned runs in 76 1/3 innings of work, which equates to a 4.72 ERA. The lefty leads the team with 75 strikeouts. Torres has walked 27 hitters and batters are hitting .288 off of the left-hander.

Darin Kuskie rounds out the trio with 11 starts on the year as he has tossed 54 innings and has accumulated a 5.83 ERA. The right-hander has given up 35 earned runs on the season along with 59 strikeouts and 23 walks. Opposing hitters are batting .255 off of Kuskie on the season.

With the stage now set, Kentucky and West Virginia will kick off the Clemson Regional on Friday, May 30, with first pitch set for noon ET.