This week marks the start of the 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament. USC is set to head to Texas to compete in the College Station Regional. However, that is just one of the 16 regionals that the tournament will feature.
One regional in particular should catch the eyes of West Coast fans. The Eugene Regional will feature No. 1 seed Oregon, No. 2 seed Oregon State, and No. 3 seed Washington State. In a bizarre twist, the selection committee decided to pair three former Pac-12 North schools together in the same regional.
Technically, the Beavers and Cougars are still members of the Pac-12, as the league goes through a rebranding that has seen it effectively become a glorified Group of Five conference. Oregon, meanwhile, joined the Big Ten along with fellow former Pac-12 schools USC, UCLA, and Washington two years ago.
As for the No. 4 seed in the region? Why, that would be Ivy League champion Yale. Essentially, the committee decided to send perhaps the top academic university in the tournament approximately 3,000 miles across the country to be the odd man out in a three-team war between former conference foes who still very much do not like each other.
For one weekend, at least, the Pac-12 will be back. Here is hoping that Oregon calls up Larry Scott and invites him to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Selection committee turns NCAA Baseball Tournament into Pac-12 reunion
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
