CORAL GABLES, FLA. (WSVN) - The road to Omaha is officially underway for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team.
The team was filled with energy inside their Coral Gables locker room as the 2026 NCAA Division I championship bracket was announced.
“Great opportunity, man. It’s a new season, you know, everybody starts 0-0, we’re part of the field of 64 and this is what you play for,” said Canes head coach J.D. Arteaga.
“Playoff baseball is like a whole new season. It’s a lot more fun so I’m excited to do what we did last year and go win a regional and keep going,” said Canes outfielder Derek Williams.
As the qualifying field was announced, the Canes learned they would be heading to the Gainesville Regional to face the Troy Trojans for their 51st NCAA tournament appearance.
Canes catcher Alex Sosa said the team expects the Trojans to be well-prepared, given their post-season pedigree. He added that it’ll be a unique opportunity to not leave the state for the regional round.
“These guys have been there before so you know they know what it’s like. It’ll be my first time going to Florida, but I think it’s really cool to stay in Florida, I mean, we know what the weather’s gonna be like,” said Sosa.
While the university is no stranger to the College World Series either, the Canes will have a challenging road to keep their championship hopes alive.
As they approach their game against the Trojans, some players say they can’t lose sight of who their first opponent is just because they’ll be taking the field in the rival Gators’ home.
“It’s great, right, it’s a rival place, especially at this time of the year, but at the end of the day, it’s not who you’re playing. When it becomes the opponent you have, that’s when you worry about them because, like I said, you can’t have any slip ups and once you take it for what it’s not, just ’cause you’re worried about games against Florida, it’s when Troy creeps up on us and puts up 10 and now we’re facing the holes,” said Canes pitcher Rob Evans.
After coming up short in the 2025 College World Series, the Canes hope to redeem themselves. Their first step in achieving that is overcoming the Trojans on Friday at 8 p.m.
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