How to watch Coastal Carolina baseball in the NCAA Tournament this weekend
Coastal Carolina is kicking off its road to Omaha on Friday.
Head coach Kevin Schnall and the Chanticleers are playing Northern Illinois in their first matchup of the NCAA Tournament. Coastal is joined by Florida State and St. John’s in the Tallahassee Regional this weekend.
The Chanticleers are looking to get back to the College World Series after their trip to Omaha last season ended in a national championship loss to LSU.
Here’s a look at the schedule this weekend:
How to watch Coastal Carolina vs Northern Illinois
- Who: Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois
- When: Friday at 8 p.m.
- Where: Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida
- Watch: Streaming on ESPN+
A quick look at the teams in the Tallahassee Regional
Florida State: The Seminoles earned the right to host after finishing the year with a 38-17 (19-11 ACC) record, landing them at No. 8 in the RPI standings. Florida State was the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament but was bounced in the quarterfinals. Wes Mendes was named the ACC’s Pitcher of the Year after posting a 2.93 ERA this season with 117 strikeouts. Catcher Hunter Carns leads the Seminoles with a .311 batting average.
Coastal Carolina: The Chanticleers finished the season with a 37-21 (21-9 Sun Belt) record. Schnall’s squad entered the Sun Belt Tournament as the No. 2 seed but was eliminated in the second round after a second loss to No. 7 Louisiana. Coastal is led by All-Sun Belt first-team selection Darin Horn. The relief pitcher has been strong all season, with a 3.17 ERA and a 8-1 record in 29 appearances. Coastal outfielder Rex Watson hit .295 this season and earned All-Sun Belt second-team honors.
Northern Illinois: The Huskies are making their second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 1972. Northern Illinois finished the season 35-17 (21-12 MAC) and won its conference tournament for the first time since 1996. The Huskies are led by Max Vaisvila on the mound. The starting pitcher earned an All-MAC first-team selection after going 8-0 his season with a 3.04 ERA.
St. John’s: SJU earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after finishing 33-24 (15-6 Big East) and winning the Big East conference tournament. The Red Storm squad is led by three Big East first-team selections in catcher Adam Agresti, centerfielder Jon LeGrande and pitcher Liam O’Leary. Agresti led the team with 17 homers and LeGrande hit .317 this season. O’Leary touts a 2.97 ERA.
Schnall’s last ride with Coastal?
The college baseball coaching carousel started way back on March 21 when South Carolina decided to part ways with Paul Mainieri after a 40-40 record in one and half seasons.
Schnall is currently the fan favorite to land the job with the Gamecocks. His name has circulated in the rumor mill for months as a leading candidate for the gig.
This week, Schnall confirmed in a radio interview with SportsTalk’s Phil Kornblut that his agent has had contact with a search firm about the USC job, but he has not communicated personally with South Carolina. That being said, Schnall did say he could see himself retiring a Chanticleer.
Schnall has played a key role in Coastal Carolina’s success in the last 25 years. He was a catcher at Coastal in the late 1990s and was an assistant from 2001-12. He left for a brief assistant stint at UCF before returning to Coastal from 2016-24. Schnall was elevated to head coach in 2025 and took the Chanticleers to the finals Omaha in his first season leading the program.
Coastal’s NCAA Tournament history
The Chanticleers are hoping to make back-to-back trips to Omaha.
Coastal Carolina advanced to the College World Series final last season and finished as national runner-up to LSU.
The run to Omaha was the second in Coastal’s program history. The Chanticleers advanced to Omaha in 2016 and won that season’s national championship. Coastal has made five-straight NCAA appearances and has reached the tournament 22 times in the program’s history.
Tallahassee Regional Schedule
- Game 1: Florida State vs. St. John’s (Friday, May 29 at 3 p.m. on ACC Network)
- Game 2: Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina (Friday, may 29 at 8 p.m. on ESPN+)
- Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs Loser of Game 2 (Saturday, May 30 at 1 p.m.)
- Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2 (Saturday, May 30 at 6 p.m.)
- Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs Loser of Game 4 (Sunday, May 31 at 1 p.m.)
- Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 5 (Sunday, May 31 at 6 p.m.)
- Game 7: Rematch of Game 6 if necessary (Monday, June 1 time TBD)
