UNC is one win away from Omaha and will try to take the first step Friday afternoon when it opens a Super Regional against USC at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels and the Trojans will play all three possible games in Chapel Hill, with the winner earning a trip to the College World Series and the loser heading home.
The matchup puts UNC baseball back in the spotlight after the No. 5 national seed swept through its regional last weekend, beating VCU in the opener and East Carolina twice to move on. UNC finished 48-11-1 overall and 22-8 in the ACC, then reached the ACC championship game before falling to Georgia Tech. For a team that last played in Omaha in 2024, this weekend is the fastest route back.
USC arrives with a different path and a reason to believe it can keep going. The Trojans went 47-16 and 20-10 in the Big Ten, then won the College Station Regional by taking four straight games after losing their opener to Texas State. Over that run, USC outscored opponents 55-14, a surge that showed how quickly the bracket can flip once a team starts rolling.
The pitching matchup gives the opener a clear frame. USC ace Mason Edwards is expected to face UNC’s Ryan Lynch in Game 1, a Friday afternoon start that should set the tone for the series. The two programs have not met since 2012, so there is little recent history to lean on beyond the records they bring into the weekend and the stakes attached to every inning.
That is where the series gets sharpest. UNC has the home field and the first crack at advancing in front of its own crowd, while USC has already shown it can recover from a bad opening loss and steamroll the rest of a regional. One path is built on seeding and momentum at home; the other on a comeback that turned into a four-game run through College Station. If Game 1 does not settle it, Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday, June 7, and the reward waiting at the end is a place in Omaha when the College World Series begins June 12 at Charles Schwab Field.
