It's safe to say that the first day of NCAA Baseball Regionals was wild.
Many top seeds were challenged, and quite a few were upset. As we roll into Day 2 of Regionals, urgency is widespread as teams fight to keep their seasons alive.
With that said, let's dive into our college baseball picks and NCAA Regionals predictions for Saturday, May 31.
Note: While parlaying these picks isn't our official recommendation, we've put together an easy way to do below.
College Baseball Picks for Saturday, May 31
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that Action Network's Doug Ziefel is targeting from today's slate of NCAA Regionals games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 3 p.m. | |
  | 6 p.m. | |
  | 6 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Check out more college baseball content on our NCAA Baseball page. | ||
Alabama vs Southern Miss Pick
The hosts of Hattiesburg were one of the teams to pitch off yesterday, and it cost them dearly. When it was all said and done, Columbia blew out Southern Miss.
However, its strategy puts it in a great spot to bounce back this afternoon with ace JB Middleton on the mound.
Middleton was quietly one of the most dominant arms in the country, posting a 2.07 ERA and 0.84 WHIP while averaging over 10 strikeouts per nine innings this season. He comes into his first postseason outing showing no signs of slowing down.
He now gets to face an Alabama lineup that has been cold of late. Over its last 10 games, Alabama has hit just .237 as a team and owns a wOBA of .290.
The Tide put up just three runs yesterday against Miami, and with the competition ramping up, I don't expect much from them.
As for the Golden Eagles, they have an opportunity to get the bats going as well. Alabama is likely to throw Zane Adams or Tyler Fay. Neither of them was sharp down the stretch, and Southern Miss has a potent lineup that ranked 11th in wRC+.
All signs point to Southern Miss eliminating Alabama today.
Pick: Southern Miss ML -130
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Oklahoma vs UNC Pick
Our next best bet covers the first of two great pitching duels on tap. This is a matchup we had targeted in our Chapel Hill Regional preview as the Sooners chose to pitch off, leaving ace Kyson Witherspoon to face top-seeded North Carolina.
Witherspoon is a pitcher I've gushed over and has been automatic for the Sooners this season. He comes into this outing with a 2.68 ERA and 0.94 WHIP while averaging 12 strikeouts per nine innings.
He posted those numbers against elite SEC competition and is poised to contain the Tar Heels' bats.
However, UNC's pitching depth will be on display as well, with Jason DeCaro getting the ball.
DeCaro had a solid 2025 campaign, too, posting a 3.59 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP in 13 starts. He also has the better matchup, as the Sooners' lineup has been ice cold lately.
Over its last 10 games, Oklahoma has hit just .212 with little power. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels have been much hotter at the plate, hitting .307 with .918 OPS over the same span.
Trust in these two arms to keep the scoring to a minimum.
Pick: Under 10.5 (-115)
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Florida State vs Mississippi State Pick
Both the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Florida State Seminoles pitched off successfully yesterday, setting up a tremendous pitching matchup tonight.
Getting the ball for the Seminoles is Jamie Arnold. The future first-rounder was lights out again this season, pitching to a 2.85 ERA and 1.02 WHIP while holding a strikeout per nine average of 12.
However, the Bulldogs have their ace, Pico Kohn, who's shown he can be just as dominant as Arnold.
Kohn showed he was the guy to back on Friday nights, posting a 4.13 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and a K/9 of 12.6. Now, his ERA is a tad higher than Arnold's, but his xFIP of 3.37 and SIERA of 2.25 are better than Arnold's and paint a better picture of how sharp he was.
While the arms are great, it's hard to expect matching zeros with both lineups ranking in the top 50 in average, OPS and wRC+. But good pitching typically beats good hitting at the collegiate level.
Take the under.
Pick: Under 12.5 (-115)
