This is a 'scorecard' by conference for 2022, the 23-rd for the 64-team playoff system where every conference gets an automatic bid. [There was no tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19.] You can find the full regional results elsewhere.
My original motivation for this summary three decades ago was the thought that the regionals are a major source of inter-conference and inter-region play that helps one evaluate the relative strength and (possibly) future selection or seedings of teams from various regions and conferences. I think it still serves that purpose.
Current status:
Regional championship games are now complete so the "win" column is final.
Next up: Awaiting the last two championships from the Super Regionals.
Here is the 'histogram' of the success rate for the 2022 NCAA regionals.
I tally a Regional champion under "win" and the Super-Regional champion (the team that goes to the CWS) under "champ" so the "champ" column is unchanged from the previous 48-team system.
Notes:
There are no changes in the conference lineup,
but there was a major change in the MEAC conference membership.
Only 4 of the remaining 8 teams in the MEAC play baseball!
The others have moved to the SWAC (Bethune-Cookman and FAMU),
the Big South (NC A&T),
and Division 2 (Savannah State and Winston-Salem State).
Hampton also moved to the Big South, but does not play D1 baseball.
What remains is at the bottom of the pRPI and ISR list of also-rans
near the end of my
2022 regional results page.
I have to wonder if they will retain an automatic bid with such a
weak program.
There are 31 conferences with an automatic bid,
so 33 of the 64 teams are selected at large.
The * below will indicate that a conference was
guaranteed a slot in the CWS because both teams in a particular Super Regional
were from the same conference.
------ wins ------ Conference Number 0 1 2+ win champ comments ========== ====== === === === === ===== ----------------- SEC 9 1 3 1 4 awesome, 7/9 on first day; 9 bids in 2021, 10 in 2019 ACC 9 4 1 3 1 very weak, but 7/9 on first day; 8 bids in 2021 Big 12 5 3 2 outstanding, 3/5 on first day; 4 bids in 2021 Pac-12 5 1 2 2 1 2/5 on the first day, 6 bids in 2021 SunBelt 4 2 2 fair, but 3/4 on first day; Won regional in 2014 and 2015 Conf USA 2 1 1 about right; 4 bids in 2021 Big Ten 2 2 Deserved more? 2/2 on first day; 3 bids in 2021 West Coast AC 2 2 fair; last won a regional in 2014 Mo Valley 2 1 1 poor; did manage 3/3 on first day in 2019 Atlantic Sun 2 1 1 poor; last won a regional in 2018 WAC 2 2 awful; upset win in 2019 American 1 1 solid, maybe more? 2 bids in 2021 Big East 1 1 upset wins in 2017, 2019, and 2021 Atlantic-10 1 1 Won region in 2017 (also in 2015) Ivy 1 1 solid; did not play in 2021 due to COVID-19 Mountain West 1 1 solid; had an upset win in 2017 Big South 1 1 Went to CWS in 2016 MAC 1 1 Upset wins in 2021 and 2019, to CWS in 2012 Big West 1 1 Knocked out N2 seed in 2018 America East 1 1 Won a game in 2015 and 2021, to CWS in 2012 Summit 1 1 Had an upset win in 2017 and 2021 Ohio Valley 1 1 Won regional over N4 seed in 2018 Southern 1 1 upset Florida State in 2018 and 2014 Patriot 1 1 Beat a 1 seed (N16) in 2018 Southland 1 1 Won region in 2017 Colonial 1 1 did well in 2016, won 2014 region over N seed Horizon 1 1 Won two games in 2016 Metro Atlantic 1 1 Last regional win was in 2014 SWAC 1 1 Upset national seed in 2014 Northeast 1 1 Last win was in 2013 MEAC 1 1 Only 4 teams remain, NONE with regional wins independent 0 - none
Effect of format update made in 2018:
Although it has no effect on the organization of the table shown here,
there was a significant change in the playoff format that marks a final
break with a long-standing tradition in tournament seeding that will
affect these stats.
The NCAA seeded teams from 1 to 16,
and paired up the regionals so that 1 plays 16, 2 plays 15, ..., and 8 plays 9 in
the respective Super Regionals.
This now mirrors what has been done in Basketball "forever".
Although not publicized, this led to a significant change
in who a conference team might face in a Super Regional.
Until 2018, it was forbidden to seed two teams from the same conference so they
would be "expected" to meet in the same Super Regional, but that is no longer the case.
There are now instances where the top seeds in a Regional pair
are from the same conference.