Fresh off claiming a Sun Belt Tournament title in its first season in the league, Southern Miss baseball is back in a regional for the seventh straight campaign, having won 19 of its last 21 games down the stretch.
Here’s a quick guide to these Golden Eagles, who will be looking to advance to their second straight super regional.
Southern Miss (41-17) begins play Friday (1 p.m., ESPN+) against Samford (36-23) at Plainsman Park in the Auburn Regional.
MAKING THE CASE:Why Southern Miss baseball will — and won’t — win the NCAA Tournament’s Auburn Regional
PICKS:Southern Miss baseball predictions: Why we’re picking Golden Eagles to win Auburn Regional
SCHEDULE:Southern Miss baseball’s Auburn Regional schedule, opponent, seed in NCAA Tournament
Scott Berry is entering his final NCAA Tournament in charge of the Southern Miss program
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more consistent baseball program – especially outside the traditional power conferences – than the one coach Scott Berry has built in Hattiesburg.
The Golden Eagles have already surpassed the 40-win total for the seventh consecutive season. That’s the longest active streak in Division I.
Since taking over for Corky Palmer before the 2010 season, Berry has won five regular-season conference titles and five conference tournament championships. He took the Golden Eagles to a super regional for the first time since 2009 last season.
He has never quite made it to Omaha, Nebraska, and the College World Series, though, and this will be his last opportunity. He’ll hand the program over to pitching coach Christian Ostrander at the end of the season after announcing his intent to retire in May.
The Golden Eagles have one of the nation’s best pitchers in Tanner Hall
For the second season in a row, ace Tanner Hall (12-3) has been one of the most electric arms in the country. He owns a 2.23 ERA and opposing batters are hitting a paltry .194 against him.
Striking out batters at a slightly lower rate than he did during his breakout 2022 season, Hall is pitching to contact and going deep into games. He’s averaged nearly eight innings in his last five starts, including a 102-pitch complete game against James Madison in his most recent outing. Since March 17, he’s surrendered just 15 earned runs in 75 innings pitched for a 1.80 ERA.
He’s draft eligible and MLB.com ranks him as the No. 92 overall prospect.
The Golden Eagles’ lineup is full of experience
In its Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game win over Louisiana, Southern Miss started seven position players who were in the lineup for its regional final win over LSU a year ago.
That USM lineup features a combined 22 seasons of starting experience with the Golden Eagles.
The Golden Eagles collectively own a .283 batting average and .861 OPS. Slade Wilks leads the Golden Eagles with 20 home runs. All-Sun Belt shortstop Dustin Dickerson is hitting .325 with a .924 OPS.
David Eckert covers sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.