HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The 21st-ranked and third-seeded Jax State baseball team will take on second-seeded Virginia to open up the 2026 Hattiesburg Regional on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from Pete Taylor Park.

Jax State brings the best record into the regional with a record of 46-13. The Gamecocks have won five-straight contests coming into the regional, including all four Conference USA Championship games to claim the program's first CUSA tournament title. The Gamecocks are also ranked in D1Baseball's poll for the first time ever, ranked at No. 21. D1Baseball is the most widely used and recognized poll in collegiate baseball.

PREVIEWING THE REST OF THE FIELD
#9 NATIONAL SEED SOUTHERN MISS
The Golden Eagles host their fifth regional in program history, but it's the first time the team has hosted back-to-back regionals. Southern Miss currently has a 10-year streak where they have posted 40 of more wins in a season, this season holding a 44-15 record. Southern Miss clinched its ticket to the NCAA Regionals with a Sun Belt Conference Championship game victory over Louisiana, 11-7. Offensively, Matthew Russo leads the Golden Eagles with a .317 batting average, with 72 hits and a .529 slugging percentage (15 doubles, 11 homers). On the mound, Colby Allen possess a 7-1 record and a 2.57 ERA, appearing in 23 games and starting five.

NO. 2 VIRGINIA
The Cavaliers and Gamecocks will meet for the first time in program history on Friday night. This is the 22nd regional appearance for the Cavaliers (also called the "Hoos"), and they have appeared in four of the previous five, missing 2025. Virginia is led offensively by AJ Garcia, who was previously at Duke with head coach Chris Pollard. Garcia has a batting average of .338 and is the only Hoo with an OPS over 1.000 (1.095). He has 67 hits, 13 doubles and 14 homers for a slugging percentage of .616. Virginia is expected to throw a trio of lefties on the mound, much like Jax State, starting with Henry Zatkowski, who has an ERA of 4.03 and a record of 8-1.

NO. 4 LITTLE ROCK
The Trojans make back-to-back appearances in the Division I Baseball Championship for the first time in program history, winning the Ohio Valley Conference tournament title with a comeback victory over Eastern Illinois, 10-6. Last year, Little Rock was in the Baton Rouge Regional, where they faced CUSA member Dallas Baptist, knocking out the Patriots, and ultimately forced a winner-take-all game against host LSU. Head coach Chris Curry has previously a catcher for former head coach Jim Case at Mississippi State. The Trojans are led offensively by Nico Baumbach, who holds a .333 batting average and a .481 slugging percentage with 11 doubles and four homers. On the mound, Brannon Westmoreland, the presumed starter against USM, holds a 3.00 ERA with a 6-2 record, and nearly a 4:1 K/BB ratio with 76 strikeouts and 21 walks. If the Gamecocks and Trojans meet this weekend, it will be the first time in program history the two play.

In 2019's Oxford Regional, the Gamecocks won Division I NCAA Regional games for the first time in program history, knocking off Clemson and Illinois to meet host Ole Miss in the Regional Final.

With one more victory, the Gamecocks will set a new program record for most victories in a single season.

Jax State will send out southpaw Beau Bryans to start against the Cavaliers on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Fans can keep up with the action on ESPN+ or through the Gamecock Sports Network with Mike Parris and Jim Case on the call.