The College World Series Regionals are well underway. Each game has been susceptible to an upset. The number one overall seed, the UCLA Bruins, is officially out of the double-elimination tournament. In four of the sixteen regional sites, the top seed was upset by the fourth seed. Now, this may not be the 64-team bracket that the NCAA is most known for, but there has been plenty of madness come May with college fans foaming at the mouth with upset after upset.
Big Bruin Upset
UCLA has been the clear favorite all season long to win the College World Series. They sat atop the preseason rankings and held steady in the top spot all season with a sterling 52-8 record. This was largely due to having Roch Cholowsky, the top draft prospect in the MLB Draft this July. Cholowsky headed into the regionals batting .322 on the season and with 21 homers and more walks than strikeouts. Cholowsky was one of five players in the Top 200 Draft Prospects according to MLB Pipeline. This wasn’t enough to hold off the upset by the Gaels of St. Mary’s College (California).
The Gaels played David twice against UCLA’s Goliath during regionals. First, the Gaels upset the Bruins Friday night and then walked off and ended the Bruins season in UCLA’s stadium earlier this afternoon. Baseball fans everywhere were distraught by the upset. The Bruins were without their ace, Logan Reddemann. It also didn’t help that Cholowsky, who many have mocked to be drafted number one overall, went 2-for-12 with two strikeouts and only one walk. The Gaels were led by their designated hitter, Jacob Johnson, in the upset. During the first three games, Johnson hit a scorching .540 with four RBIs and a double. To add to the madness, Cal Poly University eliminated St. Mary’s Sunday night with a 5-2 win to win the Los Angeles Regional.
SAINT MARY’S ELIMINATES THE NO. 1 OVERALL SEED UCLA IN WALK-OFF FASHION 😱 pic.twitter.com/hJGgMWVVon
— ESPN (@espn) May 31, 2026
Down Goes Goliath
The Auburn Tigers came in as the fourth seed in the regionals and was hosting a regional. Unfortunately for Auburn, being at home gave them no advantage. On Friday afternoon, they were upset in their first game against the Milwaukee Panthers, which was able to chase the Tigers’ starting pitcher after just one inning of work, after an offensive barrage of six runs and eight hits. The Tigers’ top draft prospect, Chris Rembert, went 1-for-4 with an RBI on the day. Auburn and Milwaukee faced each other again on Sunday night, with Auburn winning handedly 8-1. The Tigers will play the Panthers in a decisive game seven on Monday at 6 p.m. eastern to decide the Auburn Regional.
Maction at the Regional
Northern Illinois drew a short straw in the regionals, having to face the 2025 College World Series runners-up, Coastal Carolina, in their first game. However, all this did was set the table for a massive upset in Tallahassee. The Huskies were coming off a four-game winning streak at the MAC Championship, where they clinched their spot in the regional. Northern Illinois continued its hot streak and even made program history by doing so. Friday night’s win was the first win in program history in the NCAA tournament. They did it by way of committee, with eight out of the nine starters getting a hit and all nine reaching base safely in the game. The Tallahassee Regional madness didn’t stop there!
HOW ABOUT THOSE HUSKIES
NIU wins their first NCAA Tournament Game in school history as they defeat Coastal Carolina 12-10#HuskieBall pic.twitter.com/vQ4mZ5ogra
— NIU Baseball (@NIU_Baseball) May 30, 2026
Joy for the Johnnies
Florida State became a victim of yet another four-seed upset. The Seminoles came in ranked 10th in the nation and as the one seed in their regional. Florida State was also 35-0 this season when holding the lead after seven innings. St. John’s baseball, not unlike their better-known basketball counterparts, played the upset. This was the Johnnies’ first regional win in over a decade, thanks to late-inning heroics. The Johnnies overcame a three-run deficit after seven innings thanks to a three-run eighth before taking the lead at the top of the ninth. FSU was led offensively by outfielder Brayden Dowd. The USC transfer made the most of the game, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
Victory Evades Virginia
Virginia has been one of the best teams in the country this season. They have six total players in the Top 200 Draft Prospects List on MLB Pipeline and are led by AJ Garcia, one of the biggest draft risers among the college prospects. Garcia may end up being a top-ten pick and showed why in their first regional game upset. Garcia, while manning center, went 2-for-5 with a walk. He was followed closely by fellow top draft prospect Joe Tiroly, who homered during the game. However, this wasn’t enough for the Cavaliers as they fell to Jacksonville State on Friday. Jacksonville St. upset the Cavaliers again earlier today, officially ending UVA’s season.
Steven Cash has retired nine of his last 10 to keep the Cavaliers scoreless through four and a half frames!
M5 | 𝗝𝗔𝗫𝗦𝗧 4 – 𝗨𝗩𝗔 0 pic.twitter.com/E4Yf9eAShp
— Jax State Baseball (@JaxStateBB) May 31, 2026
Main Photo Credit: Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
