The 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament was announced yesterday. This weekend's first round includes four 16-team regionals. Regional winners advance to one of eight Super Regionals, two-team, best-of-three series to be played June 6-9. The eight Super Regional winners advance to the College World Series, which begins June 14 in Omaha, Neb.

NATIONAL SEEDS

Top eight national seeds:

1. Miami (47-8)

2. North Carolina (46-12)

3. Arizona St. (45-11)

4. Florida St. (48-10)

5. CS Fullerton (37-19)

6. Rice (42-13)

7. LSU (43-16)

8. Georgia (35-21)

The national seeds are supposed to identify the nation's top teams, although they have not been a very good predictor of the national champion in the nine years since the field was expanded to 64 teams. The only No. 1 seed to win was Miami in 1999. A national seed has not won the title since Rice in 2003. Last year, five of the top eight seeds were eliminated in the first round.

NO THREE-PEAT

Two-time defending champion Oregon State (28-24) was left out of the tournament.

USC is the only school to win three straight national championships, winning five in a row from 1970-74.

NOTABLE

Miami extended its NCAA record by making the tournament for the 36th straight season.

The SEC tied its record with nine teams making the tournament. The ACC and Big 12 each have six teams. Pepperdine and USD are the representatives for the West Coast Conference. TCU is the only Mountain West Conference team to make it.

UC Davis, Dallas Baptist, Lipscomb and Mount St. Mary's made it for the first time. Dallas Baptist is the first independent other than Miami to make the field since Cal State Northridge in 1992.

– KIRK KENNEY