Baseball Begins Second-Ever Regional Against No. 2 Seed Oklahoma State Friday in Tuscaloosa

Friday, May 29

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

2:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

Oklahoma State

Buy Tickets

Dog Pile Post-Big South Championship 2026

Photo by: Jason Aigner, Big South Conference

5/28/2026 4:06:00 PM | Baseball

ESPN+ (vs. OKST)Live Stats (vs. OKST)Fox Sports Spartanburg (All Games)Tickets (All Games)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After winning back-to-back Big South Conference Tournament Championships and earning a three seed in an NCAA Regional for the first time in program history, USC Upstate baseball found itself placed in the Tuscaloosa Regional, joining No. 7 national seed Alabama, Oklahoma State, and Alabama State at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in the four-team regional.

Opening the event, the No. 3 seed Spartans face the No. 2 seed Cowboys for the first time in program history Friday at 2 p.m. ET. In the double-elimination format, Upstate returns to action Saturday against either the No. 1 seed Crimson Tide or the No. 4 seed Hornets at either 2 p.m. ET or 7 p.m. ET.

NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional
Friday Schedule
May 29, 2026 | 2:00 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (33-28; 13-11 Big South) vs. Oklahoma State (37-20; 18-12 Big 12)
Sewell-Thomas Stadium | Tuscaloosa, Ala.

May 29, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. ET
No. 15 Alabama (37-19; 18-12 SEC) vs. Alabama State (34-21; 20-10 SWAC)
Sewell-Thomas Stadium | Tuscaloosa, Ala.

TV: ESPN+ | Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN App
Radio: Fox Sports Spartanburg 98.3 FM/1400 AM | Also available via the Fox Sports Spartanburg or TuneIn App

How They Stack Up
vs. Oklahoma State
Records: USC Upstate (33-28; 13-11 Big South); Oklahoma State (37-20; 18-12 Big 12)
Series: First Meeting
Last Five Meetings: First Meeting

vs. Alabama
Records: USC Upstate (33-28; 13-11 Big South); Alabama (37-19; 18-12 SEC)
Series: First Meeting
Last Five Meetings: First Meeting

vs. Alabama State
Records: USC Upstate (33-28; 13-11 Big South); Alabama State (34-21; 20-10 SWAC)
Series: USC Upstate leads 2-0
Last Five Meetings: May 5, 2019 (UPST 8; ALST 4); May 3, 2019 (UPST 9; ALST 2)

Probable Starting Pitchers
USC Upstate | Opponent
Game One: RHP Brent Stukes (7-3; 5.42 ERA) | LHP Ethan Lund (5-2; 5.26 ERA)

Players to Watch
USC Upstate: The hottest hitting Spartan entering the NCAA Regionals, redshirt sophomore rightfielder Henry Zenor posts a .420/.500/.710 three slash line across 16 games in May. He enters the postseason with 92 hits on the campaign—the first Spartan ever with multiple seasons with 80 or more hits—as he seeks to program's single-season record, needing four in postseason play to pass Blake Green (95 in 2011). Zenor, on the season, fashions a team-leading .346 batting average while collecting 61 runs and 51 RBI.

Oklahoma State: Pacing the club ranked second in the NCAA in team home runs, junior outfielder Kollin Ritchie ranks third in the country in home runs, slugging 29 on the season. Posting a .335/.478/.828 three slash line, he leads his club in slugging while ranking second in batting average and on-base percentage. Forty-three of Ritchie's 70 hits have gone for extra bases this season, complementing his 29 homers with 12 doubles and two triples.

Alabama: A consensus top-10 pick in this summer's MLB Draft, junior shortstop Justin Lebron leads his team in home runs and stolen bases entering the postseason, clubbing 14 long balls and swiping 38 bags—leading the SEC in the latter category. He posts a .266/.384/.522 slash line with 25 of his 55 hits going for extra bases. Lebron leads his club with 52 runs scored and ranks third with 40 RBI this season.

Alabama State: Ranked top-two on his club in all three-slash line categories, including leading the team in batting average and slugging percentage, graduate student infielder Miguel Oropeza posts a .366/.464/.620 slash line. He paces his squad with 78 hits, 19 doubles, and 65 RBI, leading the SWAC in the latter two categories this season. He enters the postseason with 27 multi-hit games, nine more than his next closest teammate.

Connect with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans

INVEST IN CHAMPIONS - Join the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF) and enjoy enhanced benefits for your support of all USC Upstate programs! Make your gift today, click here!