After winning a dramatic SWAC baseball championship game on Sunday, the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats know where they will start the NCAA tournament.
B-CU learned on Monday that it will be placed in the Tallahassee Regional as part of a field that includes national seed Florida State, Northeastern, and Mississippi State.
The Wildcats will play the Florida State Seminoles on Friday, May 30, at 3 p.m. The Wildcats secured their automatic bid as the SWAC champions, capping a dramatic run with a walk-off home run by Andrey Martinez in the conference title game.
TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL
(9) FLORIDA STATE
BETHUNE-COOKMAN
MISSISSIPPI STATE
NORTHEASTERN#RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/UdP7WGd8yt— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) May 26, 2025
A Historic Triumph for Bethune-Cookman
Bethune-Cookman’s journey to the NCAA Tournament was marked by resilience and late-game heroics. In the SWAC Championship at historic Rickwood Field, Martinez, named SWAC Co-Hitter of the Year, delivered a 400-foot, two-out, three-run walk-off homer to defeat Florida A&M 11-9. The win marked the Wildcats’ first major sports championship since joining the SWAC in 2021 and underscored the team’s reputation for grit and determination.
To Tally We Go. 💎 😼
Check out the moment the Cats found out. #𝙃𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙨 | #𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙮𝙏𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 pic.twitter.com/M9Hx4qRbVR
— ⚾️Bethune-Cookman Baseball (@BCUDiamondCats) May 26, 2025
Coach Johnathan Hernandez, recently named SWAC Coach of the Year, praised his team’s composure and unity in pressure moments. “There was never a doubt. There was never a panic,” Hernandez said after the title game. Athletic Director Reggie Theus credited the program’s “player-driven” culture for their championship run.
Facing a National Powerhouse
The Wildcats are the only HBCU baseball program with an automatic bid in this year’s tournament, and their opening matchup against the Seminoles presents a significant challenge. Florida State, a perennial power in college baseball, enters the regional as the No. 9 national seed and will have home-field advantage.
The Tallahassee Regional includes Mississippi State, a College World Series favorite heading into the regular season, and a 49-win Northeastern team that scrimmaged the Boston Red Sox in February, losing 5-2. The winner of the Tallahassee Regional will advance to face the winner of the Corvallis Regional in the Super Regionals, with a trip to the College World Series in Omaha on the line.
Wildcats Ready for the Spotlight
Bethune-Cookman’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament is a testament to the program’s growth and the leadership of Coach Hernandez. The Wildcats, known for their close-knit, family-oriented atmosphere, are eager to prove themselves on the national stage. “We travel well, man, and it’s a tight-knit group. We have a family-oriented atmosphere here in our program, and our families are involved just as much as we are,” Hernandez said.
