NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Bracket Released

Sixty-four team field announced, Regionals begin June 3.

INDIANAPOLIS --The field of 64 teams competing for the 2011 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship was announced today by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee.

The national top eight seeds are Virginia (49-9), Florida (45-16), North Carolina (45-14), South Carolina (45-14), Florida State (42-17), Vanderbilt (47-10), Texas (43-15) and Rice (41-19).

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Southeastern Conference (SEC) led all conferences in the number of teams in the championship field with seven apiece. The Big 12 and Pacific-10 had six each, while the Conference USA had four selected.

Making the tournament for the first time are Belmont of the Atlantic Sun Conference, Alcorn State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and UALR of the Sun Belt Conference. Overall, 36 of the 64 teams were in the field last year.

Miami (Florida) is in the field for the 39th consecutive year, extending its own record. Florida State is making its 34th straight appearance, second all-time. Other long consecutive streaks: Cal State Fullerton (20), Rice (17), Oral Roberts (14) and Texas (13).

Of the 292 championship eligible Division I institutions that sponsor baseball, Virginia has the most Division I wins with 49.

• Interactive Bracket
• Printable Bracket
• Breaking Down the Field

Each of the 16 regionals features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, June 3, to Monday, June 6 (if necessary). Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be announced on www.ncaa.com/cws, Monday, June 6 at approximately 11 p.m. ET.

The 65th Men’s College World Series begins play Saturday, June 18, at the new TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.

FIELD BY CONFERENCE
Conference No. of Schools Schools
Atlantic Coast 7 Clemson, Florida St., Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, North Carolina St., Virginia
Southeastern 7 Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi St., South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Big 12 6 Baylor, Kansas St., Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., Texas, Texas A&M
Pacific-10 6 Arizona, Arizona St., California, Oregon St., Stanford, UCLA
Conference USA 4 East Carolina, Rice, Southern Miss., UCF
Atlantic Sun 3 Belmont, Jacksonville, Stetson
Big East 3 Connecticut, St. John’s, Seton Hall
Sun Belt 3 FIU, Troy, UALR
Big West 2 UC Irvine, Cal St. Fullerton
Mountain West 2 New Mexico, TCU
America East 1 Maine
Atlantic 10 1 Charlotte
Big South 1 Coastal Carolina
Big Ten 1 Illinois
Colonial 1 James Madison
Horizon 1 Wright St.
Independent 1 Dallas Baptist
Ivy 1 Princeton
Metro Atlantic 1 Manhattan
Mid-American 1 Kent St.
Mid-Eastern 1 Bethune-Cookman
Missouri Valley 1 Creighton
Northeast 1 Sared Heart
Ohio Valley 1 Austin Peay
Patriot 1 Navy
Southern 1 Ga. Southern
Southland 1 Texas St.
Southwestern 1 Alcorn St.
Summit 1 Oral Roberts
West Coast 1 San Francisco
Western Athletic 1 Fresno St.

FIELD BY STATE
State No. of Schools Schools
Florida 8 Bethune-Cookman, UCF, Florida, Florida St. FIU, Jacksonville, Miami (Fla.), Stetson
California 7 California, Cal St. Fullerton, UC Irvine, Fresno St., San Francisco, Stanford, UCLA
Texas 7 Baylor, Dallas Baptist, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas St.
North Carolina 4 Charlotte, East Carolina, North Carolina, North Carolina St.
Georgia 3 Georgia, Ga. Southern, Georgia Tech
Mississippi 3 Alcorn St., Mississippi St., Southern Miss.
Oklahoma 3 Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., Oral Roberts
South Carolina 3 Clemson, Coastal Caro., South Carolina
Tennessee 3 Austin Peay, Belmont, Vanderbilt
Alabama 2 Alabama, Troy
Arizona 2 Arizona, Arizona St.
Arkansas 2 Arkansas, UALR
Connecticut 2 Connecticut, Sacred Heart
New Jersey 2 Princeton, Seton Hall
New York 2 Manhattan, St. John’s
Ohio 2 Kent St., Wright St.
Virginia 2 James Madison, Virginia
Illinois 1 Illinois
Kansas 1 Kansas St.
Maine 1 Maine
Maryland 1 Navy
Nebraska 1 Creighton
New Mexico 1 New Mexico
Oregon 1 Oregon St.

Other Notes:

Thirty-six of the 64 teams were in the 2010 field. Three teams are making the field for the first time in the program’s history: Alcorn State, Belmont, UALR.

Seton Hall is in the field for the first time since 2001.

Bethune-Cookman is making its 12 appearance.

Miami (Fla.) is in the field for the 39th consecutive year, extending its own record. Florida State is making its 34th consecutive appearance, which ranks second all-time. Other long consecutive streaks include Cal St. Fullerton (20), Rice (17) and Oral Roberts (14).

By NCAA Press Release

NCAA: Alcorn State to Face Rice in Houston Regional

Lorman, MS - The Alcorn State Braves will face Rice University Friday at 6PM at Reckling Park on the campus of Rice, in Houston, Texas in one of many NCAA Regionals.

The Braves, making their first NCAA baseball appearance, will enter with a 27-28 overall record. Conference USA winner Rice enters with a 41-19 record and are ranked 8th nationally.

ASU, winners of the SWAC tournament, were primed to play in the state of Mississippi. Southern Mississippi didn't get a Regional host birth, however, and are meeting rival Mississippi State in the Atlanta Regional Friday.

Junior pitcher Steve Easter of Chicago, the SWAC leader in wins with eight, says that it doesn't really matter where the Braves are sent:" I had no preference but there were several projected sites. I and we are just happy to be going anywhere."

Easter doesn't know if he will start Friday, but would be ready: "I hadn't really thought about it, but it would really be big to start. As long as I would keep my pitches down and the defense works for me we'd be okay." Easter knows nothing about the Owl lineup, but may by Friday: "I don't know anything about them, but I have faced a couple of their players before. They are always good and them winning their conference says it all. That's all I need to know about them."

The other teams in the Houston Regional are Baylor at 29-26 and California at
31-20. They meet at 3PM Friday.

Should ASU win Friday, they would play at 6PM Saturday. Should they lose they would play at 2PM Saturday.

Games will be broadcast back to Mississippi on WPRL 91.7 FM.

By Alcorn State Athletics
VISIT: ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY
VISIT: ALCORNSPORTS

NCAA: Bethune Cookman is 4th seed, Tallahassee Regional

MEAC Champions B-CU Wildcats to face Florida State Seminoles on Friday, 6 PM EST.

When the NCAA Baseball Committee revealed its at-large selections Monday, there was Alabama, number three seed, headed to Tallahassee. Joining Alabama (33-25) in the four-team field are number one seed Florida State (41-16), number two seed University of Central Florida (38-21), and number four seed Bethune-Cookman (35-22). The Seminoles are the number five national seed in this year's tournament. The winner of the Tallahassee Regional will play the winner of the College Station (Texas A&M) Regional in the Super Regionals next week.

A number three seed is much better than a number four. It means not playing the home-standing number one seed in the first game, and also means likely having the support of the home team in the two vs. three game. But that doesn't mean an easy time since the Tide will be playing a team that has already defeated Bama this year.

The double-elimination regional begins Friday at 11 a.m. (CDT), when Alabama plays Central Florida at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium. Florida State plays Bethune-Cookman on Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT). “It feels good to see our name up there, but it’s a really tough regional,” Crimson Tide Coach Mitch Gaspard said.

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Memorial Day; Remembering Two National Champions from Morgan State

It is a tradition since the Civil War on Memorial Day to place American flags on the grave sites of soldiers, and veterans. The practice will be followed this year from Arlington National Cemetery where 300,000 flags will be placed to veterans cemeteries across the country to smaller neighborhood burial sites.

On Saturday I was able to find and place a Flag at the grave site in New Rochelle, NY of Eugene Lee Evans, a college football player of sixty years ago. Evans who was known as "Dippy" played on the CIAA national championship team of Morgan State in 1949, then as a young Army officer, died heroically in the Korean War just three years later.

His teammate in high school in Pelham, NY and later in college was Eli Page Howard, Jr. another extraordinary athlete of the late 1940s who also died while serving our country in Vietnam. Lt. Col. Howard is one of those heroes at Arlington for whom a Flag will be placed, a hero of the Vietnam War. Perhaps for a moment we can remember him as the star quarterback at Morgan College throwing the ball ...

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Memorial Day 2011: Observe the National Moment of Remembrance

Honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day by observing the National Moment of Remembrance. The National Moment of Remembrance, endorsed by President Clinton in 2000, takes place every Memorial Day at 3:00 p.m. local time. At that time, all Americans are urged to observe a moment of silence or to listen to "Taps," in tribute to those who died for our country.

Prompted by a group of school children who didn't understand that the holiday had significance beyond being a day off from school, the moment of remembrance is intended to remind Americans of the true meaning of the holiday and "unite the nation in acknowledging the contributions made by the men and women who gave their lives for our country's freedom."

In 1971, federal law changed the observance of the holiday to the last Monday in May and extended it to honor all who had died in American wars.


Videographer: OtakuBozu; Battle Hymn of the Republic: Soloist Ms. Sherry Hunt; the late Dr. Nathan Carter, Conductor; Morgan State University Choir, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Videographer: OtakuBozu; Soloist: the late countertenor Earnest Saunders; Conductor, the late Dr. Nathan Carter and Morgan State University Choir.

Videographer: PBS; Under the direction of J. Weldon Norris, DM, the Howard University Choir sings "Lord, I Don' Done" in this web-exclusive clip from their performance at the White House.

Videographer: robdayungstar; Morehouse College Glee Club, "My Good Lord's-A-Done-A Been Here"

Fisk University Jubilee Singers: "Rise, Shine, For Thy Light is a' Comin'" at Carnegie Hall.

Videographer: CharlieBladeRemus; Livingstone College Concert Choir: "Oh How I Love Jesus" by Shelton Becton

Videographer: tdavidray; The Dillard University Concert Choir performs Moses Hogan's arrangement of "My God Is So High." Soloist is Alvarez Kennedy.

Videographer: jaredbbrownmusic; Bethune Cookman University Marching Wildcats Band; Soloist: Jared Brown

Videographer: FtnessFan; Florida A&M University Wind Ensemble and the Marching "100" perform the late Dr. William P. Foster's favorite song - "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral," by Richard Wagner. Conductor: Dr. Julian E. White at historic Lee Hall Auditorium, Florida A&M University.

B-CU Signee: On bad knee, Pikesville's Smallwood wins 4th pole vault state title

Sasha Smallwood, Bethune-Cookman University
2011 Track and Field Signee, Pikesville High School
(Baltimore County, MD)

Baltimore, MD - Even though Pikesville senior Sasha Smallwood has spent most of her high school career winning pole vault competitions, her victory Thursday night is one she'll never forget. Smallwood won her fourth consecutive Class 1A state title despite vaulting on a torn meniscus in her left knee that will require surgery in the coming days. The senior's vault of 11 feet at Morgan State ended her career in a manner that left Smallwood stunned.

"I am amazingly surprised," Smallwood said as she left to go to her senior prom. "I'm shocked. I'm just grateful that my knee held up for so long."

Smallwood's knee has ruined most of her senior year. She tore her left anterior cruciate ligament in a cheerleading mishap, underwent surgery in October and spent the winter in rehabilitation. The senior, headed to Bethune-Cookman, returned for some of the indoor season.

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VISIT: B-CUATHLETICS


Videographer: livestrong351

Jackson State Taylor's situation remains in limbo

Coach Denise Taylor-Travis

Jackson, MS - If Jackson State fires women's basketball coach Denise Taylor without cause, the university would owe her nearly $190,000. Taylor, who just completed her 10th year with JSU, is heading into the third month of paid administrative leave.

Taylor, through her attorney, said she was asked to resign or be fired on May 13.

School officials have refused to discuss Taylor's situation, citing personnel matters. Even when asked if Taylor remained the women's basketball coach, interim athletic director Robert Walker would not comment. Taylor is in the second year of a contract that pays her $91,000 per year and runs through June 30, 2013.

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