Conference USA has received four bids to the 2004 NCAA Baseball Championship, as announced by the Division I baseball committee on Monday. East Carolina will host the Kinston Regional as the No. 1 seed, while Southern Miss will be the No. 2 seed at the Baton Rouge Regional, Tulane will be the No. 3 seed in Oxford, Miss. and TCU will travel down Interstate 35 to Austin where it will compete as the No. 3 seed. Only the SEC (9), ACC (6), Big 12 (6) and Pac 10 (5) had more selections than C-USA.

East Carolina (48-11) owned the best record in college baseball for a month before dropping a pair of games at the Conference USA Tournament. The Pirates won the regular season C-USA title by four games, the largest margin in league history. The Pirates will be hosting a regional for the first time since they won the 2001 regional in Wilson, N.C. ECU will face America East champion Stony Brook (29-25) in its first game on Friday at 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Pirates will then play either No. 2 seed Tennessee (37-22), an at-large selection from the Southeastern Conference, or No. 3 seed UNC Wilmington (41-18), which is making its second straight NCAA appearance, in the next round. Tennessee is where East Carolina coach Randy Mazey, the 2004 Conference USA Coach of the Year, served as an Assistant Coach for four years prior to getting the ECU job prior to the 2003 season.

Southern Miss (44-17) will be making back-to-back NCAA appearances for just the second time in school history. The Golden Eagles will be the No. 2 seed in the Baton Rouge Regional and will open play against College of Charleston (45-14), an at-large selection from the Southern Conference, at 6:30 p.m. CDT on Friday night. Host LSU (41-17) will play Patriot League champion Army (37-13) in the first game on Friday at 2:00 p.m. CDT.

Tulane (38-19) is in the NCAA field for the seventh consecutive season and will participate in the Oxford regional. The third-seeded Green Wave will face Washington (37-18-1), an at-large selection out of the Pac-10 Conference. No. 1 seed Mississippi (39-19) will be hosting a regional for the first time ever and will open play against Sun Belt Conference champion Western Kentucky (34-26), which is in the field for the first time since 1980.

TCU (38-24) is making just its third all-time NCAA appearance after winning the Conference USA Tournament on Sunday. The Horned Frogs are in the field for the first time since 1994 and will play Mid-Continent Conference champion Oral Roberts (48-9), owners of the best record in Division I, on Friday. Top national seed Texas (50-13) will play Horizon League tournament champion Youngstown State (22-30) in the other game in that regional.

All three regionals will be held between Friday, June 4 and Sunday, June 6. Winners will advance to two-team super-regionals, which will be played June 11-13 at sites to be determined. The 55th College World Series will take place June 18-28 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

The four bids to the 2004 NCAA Championship gives Conference USA 24 NCAA appearances in its first eight seasons. Four straight years a C-USA team has advanced to a Super Regional and once a team has reached the College World Series.

Conference USA in the 2004 NCAA Championship

Kinston Regional
Friday, June 4
No. 2 Tennessee (37-22) vs. No. 3 UNC Wilmington (38-21) 3:00 p.m.
No. 1 East Carolina (48-11) vs. No. 4 Stony Brook (29-25) 7:00 p.m.

Baton Rouge Regional
Friday, June 4
No. 1 LSU (41-17) vs. No. 4 Army (37-13) 3:00 p.m.
No. 2 Southern Miss (44-17) vs. No. 3 College of Charleston (45-14) 7:30 p.m.

Oxford Regional
Friday, June 4
No. 1 Mississippi (39-19) vs. No. 4 Western Kentucky (34-26) 8:00p
No. 2 Washington (37-18-1) vs. No. 3 Tulane (38-19) 4:00p

Austin Regional
Friday, June 4
No. 1 Texas (50-13) vs. No. 4 Youngstown State (22-30) 7:00p
No. 2 Oral Roberts (48-9) vs. No. 3 TCU (38-24) 2:00p

All Times Eastern