UNC will host USC in a Super Regional at Boshamer Stadium beginning Friday afternoon, with a trip to the College World Series on the line and all three possible games set for the Tar Heels’ home field. UNC’s first step toward Omaha comes with Ryan Lynch expected to start Game 1 against USC ace Mason Edwards.
The matchup answers the question fans are searching for today: who UNC gets, where the series will be played and what is at stake. The Tar Heels enter at 48-11-1 and 22-8 in the ACC after sweeping through the regional last weekend, beating VCU in the opener and East Carolina twice. USC arrives at 47-16 and 20-10 in the Big Ten, having won four straight games in the College Station Regional after losing the opener to Texas State.
UNC is the No. 5 seed nationally and earned the right to host after reaching the ACC championship game before losing to Georgia Tech. USC had to fight through more turbulence to get here, but the Trojans’ run in College Station showed how dangerous they can be when the bats get rolling. They outscored opponents 55-14 over those four wins, a number that hangs over a series in which home field may not mean the same thing it usually does.
That is the friction in this matchup: UNC has the comfort of Boshamer Stadium, but USC arrives with momentum and a staff fronted by Edwards, who is expected to work Friday against Lynch. It is the first meeting between the programs since 2012, and the gap between the Tar Heels’ clean regional and USC’s surge gives this series a sharper edge than the bracket alone suggests.
UNC last reached the College World Series in 2024, when it was eliminated by Florida State in what was the program’s 12th CWS appearance. The next step is simple and unforgiving: win the series and go to Omaha, or fall short and wait until June 12 for another team to take the field at Charles Schwab Field in Nebraska. If the Super Regional goes the distance, Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday, June 7.
