Texas A&M’s turnaround from missing the postseason in 2025 to winning 39 games in 2026 did not impress the NCAA selection committee.

On the heels of losing two of their last three series and a quick ouster from the SEC Tournament by Auburn, the Aggies slipped from a potential top-eight seed to 12th when the tournament field was announced Monday morning.

The Aggies (39-14, 18-11 SEC) will host the College Station Regional this weekend, but their job will be a little tougher than it might have been. The second seed in the regional is USC, which won 43 games this season and went 20-10 in Big 10 play. But the Trojans have been subpar on the road; they went 32-1 at home, but 10-13 on the road and were 1-1 in neutral site games.

The third seed is Texas State, which split with the Aggies in the regular season. A&M beat the Bobcats at Olsen Field 9-6 on March 17, then lost in San Marcos 9-8 on April 7, their only midweek loss of the season. Texas State went 36-24 on the season, 16-14 in the Sun Belt and lost in the finals of the Sun Belt Tournament.

The fourth seed, and A&M’s first opponent on the weekend, is Lamar. The two teams met once this season, with the Aggies obliterating the Cardinals 25-5 in seven innings on Feb. 24. For the season, Lamar went 34-25, posted a 19-11 mark in Southland Conference play and won the conference tournament, which likely vaulted them into the postseason.

Should the Aggies advance, they will likely head to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina, the fifth seed in the tournament. The Chapel Hill regional includes Tennessee as the second seed, East Carolina as the third seed and VCU as the fourth seed.