Florida baseball makes 2019 NCAA Tournament, to play in Lubbock Regional

After a season that went sideways several times, the Florida Gators are still going to finish 2019 where they have been for all of Kevin O’Sullivan’s years as their manager: In the NCAA Tournament.

The Gators learned of their inclusion on Monday, as the 2019 NCAA Tournament field was revealed in a selection show. They will be the No. 3 seed in the Lubbock Regional, hosted by No. 1 seed Texas Tech (also the No. 8 national seed), and will square off against No. 2 Dallas Baptist on Friday, May 31st at 8 p.m. Eastern in the Lubbock Regional’s nightcap.

Texas Tech will face No. 4 seed Army in the day’s earlier action.

The NCAA Tournament is double-elimination, meaning that Florida will play at least one game after its meeting with the Patriots on Friday. If that game — or any game — comes against Texas Tech, it will make for the fourth NCAA Tournament in four years across multiple sports in which the Gators have run into the Red Raiders.

Florida previously met Texas Tech at the 2016 and 2018 College World Series, compiling a 1-2 record in those games, and the Gators’ men’s basketball team fell in the 2018 NCAA Tournament’s round of 32 against Chris Beard’s squad.

And owing to that double-elimination format, Florida and Texas Tech could theoretically end this weekend having played six times in NCAA Tournament play since just 2016.