Conference USA has received four bids to the 2005 NCAA Baseball Championship, as announced by the Division I baseball committee on Monday. Tulane will host the New Orleans Regional as the No. 1 national seed, while TCU will be the No. 2 seed in Waco, Texas, Southern Miss will be the No. 2 seed in Oxford, Miss. and East Carolina will travel across the country to Tempe, Arizona where it will compete as the No. 3 seed. Only the SEC (9), ACC (7), Big 12 (5) and Pac 10 (5) had more selections than C-USA and no other league had more than two bids.

Tulane (50-9) has owned the best record in college baseball nearly all season and has spent all but three weeks ranked as the No.1 ranked team in at least one of the polls. The Green Wave won the regular season Conference USA title by four games, matching the largest margin in league history and were co-champions of the C-USA Tournament. Tulane will be hosting a regional for the first time since 2001, when it hosted a regional and a super regional en route to the school’s first College World Series appearance. Tulane will face SWAC champion Southern (29-16) in its first game on Friday. The Wave will then play either No. 2 seed Louisiana-Lafayette (47-17), regular season champions of the Sun Belt Conference, or No. 3 seed Alabama (38-21), an at-large choice from the SEC, in the next round.

TCU (40-19) will be making back-to-back NCAA appearances for the first time in school history and just the fourth time ever after sharing the Conference USA Tournament title on Sunday. The Horned Frogs will play Stanford (32-23), an at-large choice from the Pac-10, in the Waco regional. Number four national seed Baylor (39-21), Big 12 regular season co-champions, will play Southland Conference tournament champion Texas-San Antonio (27-32) in the other Friday game in that regional.

Southern Miss (41-19) has won 40 games for a school-record third in a row and will also be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year for the first time. The Golden Eagles will be the No. 2 seed in the Oxford Regional and will open play against Oklahoma (33-24), an at-large selection from the Big 12 Conference, on Friday. Host Ole Miss (44-18) will play America East champion Maine (34-17) in the other opening-round game on Friday.

East Carolina (35-24) overcame numerous injuries to make its seventh consecutive NCAA appearance. The third-seeded Pirates are matched up with second-seeded Arizona State (34-22), the only one of the 16 regional hosts that is not a number one seed. Coastal Carolina (48-14), Big South Conference regular season champions, will play UNLV, champions of the Mountain West Conference in the other first-day game.

Future C-USA member Rice (41-17), which joins Conference USA for the 2006 baseball season, received an at-large bid for the Baton Rouge Regional. The Owls, who will be making their 11th straight NCAA appearance, will face Northwestern State in their first game on Friday.

All three regionals will be held between Friday, June 3 and Monday, June 6. Winners will advance to two-team super-regionals, which will be played June 10-13 at sites to be determined. The 56th College World Series will take place June 17-27 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

The four bids to the 2005 NCAA Championship gives Conference USA 31 NCAA appearances in its first 10 seasons, including four straight years of at least four bids. Five straight years a C-USA team has advanced to a Super Regional and once a team has reached the College World Series. Last year, two C-USA teams reached Super Regional play for the first time.


Conference USA in the 2005 NCAA Championship

New Orleans Regional
Friday, June 3
No. 1 Tulane (50-9) vs. No. 4 Southern (29-16) 2:30p
No. 3 Alabama (38-21) vs. No. 2 Louisiana-Lafayette (47-17) 6:30p

Waco Regional
Friday, June 3
No. 2 TCU (40-19) vs. No. 3 Stanford (32-23) 2:00p
No. 1 Baylor (39-21) vs. No. 4 Texas-San Antonio (27-32) 7:00p

Oxford Regional
Friday, June 3
No. 2 Southern Miss (41-19) vs. No. 3 Oklahoma (33-24) 3:00p
No. 1 Mississippi (44-18) vs. No. 4 Maine (34-17) 7:00p

Tempe Regional
Friday, June 3
No. 1 Coastal Carolina (48-14) vs. No. 4 UNLV (34-27) 4:00p
No. 2 Arizona State (34-22) vs. No. 3 East Carolina (35-24) 9:00p


All Times Central