No. 10 seed Florida State will begin its NCAA Tournament run on Friday, hosting the Tallahassee regional as it welcomes No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina, third-seeded Northern Illinois and No. 4-seed St. John’s.
The Seminoles open play against the Red Storm at 3 p.m. (ACC Network) and will be starting Bryson Moore on the mound. RHP Liam O’Leary, a first-team All-Big East selection, is expected to get the start for St. John’s.
FSU enters the postseason holding a 38-17 (19-11 ACC) record, hosting a regional for the third season in a row and 38th time overall. Per FSU Sports Info, the Seminoles have swept back-to-back regionals (2024 and 2025) and have won eight consecutive home games in the postseason. As a team, Florida State is hitting .282 with 519 hits, 72 home runs, 105 doubles, 10 triples, 264 walks, 395 runs scored and 351 RBI. The pitching staff has a 4.05 ERA with 211 earned runs allowed on 394 hits with 580 strikeouts and 203 walks in 469.1 innings.
No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina (37-21), last year’s national runners-up, enters the tournament averaging .269 at the plate with an ERA of 5.08. Florida State is 13-1 all-time against Coastal Carolina, all in Tallahassee, including 1-0 in the postseason, with the Chanticleers’ sole victory coming in the program’s last meeting (2015) to avoid a sweep.
No. 3 Northern Illinois (35-17) is making its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and first in 44 years, earning a bid after winning the MAC. The Huskies’ batting average is .279 with an ERA of 5.65. The Seminoles have faced off against Northern Illinois just once before this weekend, a 7-1 victory in Tallahassee on April 8, 1971.
No. 4 St. John’s (33-24) enters the regional as the Big East champion, hitting .279 with a 5.37 ERA. FSU is 2-1 vs. St. John’s, with the only previous meeting a three-game series from March 4-6, 2016.
Northern Illinois and Coastal Carolina will be facing off for the first time ever, while St. John’s and Coastal Carolina have met seven times, with the Chanticleers leading the all-time series 4-3. The Red Storm are 1-0 vs. Northern Illinois all-time.
2026 Tallahassee Regional: Schedule
Game 1: No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 4 St. John’s
Game 2: No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 3 Northern Illinois
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)
Game notes, via FSU Sports Info
