Florida A&M will make its first-ever NCAA Division I baseball tournament appearance as SWAC champions this weekend as part of a four-team regional hosted by Florida in the Gainesville Regional.
The Rattlers (29-28) are the No. 4 seed in the Gainesville Regional and will face No. 2 overall national seed Florida from the SEC. The Gators (44-15) are ranked No. 2 in the country by Baseball America.
The other teams in the regional include Texas Tech and UConn. The NCAA Regionals will start on Friday, June 2 and conclude on Monday, June 5.
FAMU will be looking for its first NCAA Tournament victory, going 0-4 in its previous two appearances.
CHAMPIONS!!!#FAMU | #FAMUly | #Rattlers | #FangsUp 🐍 pic.twitter.com/xm4fafz9dm
— Florida A&M Baseball ⚾️ (@FAMU_Baseball) May 28, 2023
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Rattlers head coach Jamey Shouppe said after winning the SWAC title over Bethune-Cookman on Sunday. “I love to see these guys celebrate the hard work they put in over the course of the season. Now it’s time to go to the regional and we’re excited.”
Since MEAC baseball dissolved following the 2022 season, Florida A&M will be the lone HBCU representative in the NCAA tournament this year. Not since 1989, when Jackson State appeared, had there been just one Division I HBCU in the field.
