COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Fighting Camels are set to begin NCAA Tournament play as the 2-seed in the Columbia Regional. The Camels will square off with 3-seed NC State in the opening game, while top-seeded and host South Carolina will face the 4-seed Central Connecticut State.
 
Campbell's first game with NC State will be streamed on the ACC Network, with the entire tournament to be streamed on the ESPN family of networks. All Campbell games will also have a radio call, which can be streamed through GoCamels.com or The Varsity Network App. 
 
Regional Schedule
Friday, June 2
Game 1 – Campbell vs. N.C. State, 1 p.m. (ACC Network)
Game 2 – South Carolina vs. Central Connecticut State, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
 
Saturday, June 3
Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:00 p.m.
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6:00 p.m.
 
Sunday, June 4
Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 12:00 p.m.
Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 6:00 p.m.
 
Monday, June 5
Game 7 – If Necessary, TBD
 
Probable Starters
Cade Kuehler - Jr. - RHP
Stats: 8-0, 2.62 ERA, 87 K, 24 BB
 
Hunter Loyd - Sr. - RHP
Stats: 4-4, 4.61 ERA, 64 K, 32 BB
 
Chance Daquila - R-Jr. - RHP
Stats: 8-1, 5.25 ERA, 41 K, 18 BB
 
Big South Champions
Campbell punched its ticket by winning the Big South Championship and completing the sweep as both regular season and tournament champion. The Camels swept their way through the Big South tournament, downing Gardner-Webb and USC Upstate twice for a perfect 3-0 weekend. 
 
Lawson Harrill and Grant Knipp provided late-game heroics with back-to-back home runs in the eighth of the championship game to tie and take the lead en route to a 3-2 win. Knipp was named tournament MVP.
 
Six Camels landed on the all-tournament team: Grant Knipp, Jarrod Belbin, Tyler Halstead, Lawson Harrill, Cade Kuehler, and Chandler Riley.
 
NCAA Tournament History
Campbell is making its fifth-consecutive and seventh-overall NCAA tournament appearance. This season marks the highest seed Campbell has ever earned, after being a 3-seed the previous three seasons. 
 
The Camels were sent to the Columbia Regional in 2014 as well, where they picked up their first-ever NCAA tournament win. After dropping the opener to South Carolina, Campbell downed Old Dominion 5-4 in 12 innings behind five shutout relief innings from Ryan Thompson. 
 
Campbell has twice reached NCAA Regional finals, getting there in 2019 and 2021, but is still looking for the breakthrough to the program's first Super Regional. Should that happen this season, the Camels would face the winner of the Gainsville Regional, featuring Florida, UConn, Texas Tech, and Florida A&M. 
 
Campbell topped Georgia Tech 15-8 in the opening game of the Knoxville Regional a season ago, before falling to Tennessee and Georgia Tech the next two days to end the season.
 
About the Field
NC State
NC State enters the regionals with a 35-19 overall record (13-16 ACC) and are ranked No. 23 in RPI. In the ACC Tournament, they beat Duke 8-7 in 11 innings before falling to the Miami Hurricanes in pool play, 4-2. The Wolfpack hold a 7-11 record in away games and a 2-1 record in neutral games.
 
NC State pitching is led by Logan Whitaker (5-3, 4.54 ERA) and Matt Willadsen (5-4, 3.54 ERA). Offensively, they are powered by freshman DH Cannon Peebles. He leads the team with a .346 average, 12 home runs, and .715 slugging percentage. Sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart was named Second Team All-ACC and is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.
 
South Carolina
The host of the Columbia Regional, South Carolina holds a 39-19 overall record, including a 16-13 mark in SEC play. The Gamecocks are No. 8 in the RPI rankings despite losing 11 of their last 15 games. They defeated Georgia, 9-0, in their first game of the SEC Tournament before losing to LSU, 10-3, and Texas A&M, 5-0. South Carolina boasts a 26-7 record at home. They rank ninth in the nation in home runs (110), 19^th in hit-by-pitch (101) and seventh in walks drawn (346).
 
Freshman outfielder Ethan Petry leads the offense for the Gamecocks. The Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist is hitting at a .376 clip with 22 home runs, 72 RBI and a .748 slugging percentage, leading the team in all four categories. Petry was joined on the All-SEC First team and the Howser semifinalist list by sophomore catcher Cole Messina. The pitching staff is led by Friday starter Will Sanders (4-3, 5.75 ERA) and Saturday starter Jack Mahoney (6-2, 3.73 ERA).
 
Central Connecticut State
Central Connecticut State (No. 110 RPI) joins the Columbia Regional after accumulating a 36-12 record and winning the NEC Tournament. The Blue Devils are led by Head Coach Charlie Hickey, the winningest coach in program history in his 24^th year. They did not lose consecutive conference games this season. Central led the NEC this season in batting average (.297), ERA (5.32) and fielding percentage (.973).
 
Boston College-transfer Ramon Jimenez paces the offense with 66 hits, 11 home runs and 57 RBI. He has recorded a .347 batting average and a .417 on-base percentage. NEC Pitcher of the Year Dominic Niman leads the charge on the mound with a 12-2 record and 2.76 ERA. Luke Garofalo joined Niman on the All-NEC First Team, recording 11 saves and holding opponents to a .176 average in 43 innings of work. 

All-Conference Awards
A record 14 total Camels earned all-conference recognition. Lawson Harrill earned Player of the Year to mark three-straight seasons Campbell has won that award. Jackson Roberts was named Freshman of the Year, giving Campbell four of the last five. Head Coach Justin Haire earned his third straight and fourth total Coach of the Year nod. 
 
First-Team: Bryce Arnold, Jarrod Belbin, Ty Cummings, Lawson Harrill, Logan Jordan, Grant Knipp, Cade Kuehler, Aaron Rund
 
Second Team: Chance Daquila, Tyler Halstead, Drake Pierson, Max Weller
 
All-Freshman Team: Jackson Roberts
 
All-Academic Team: Cade Kuehler
 
Series History
South Carolina
Campbell is 2-12 all-time against the Gamecocks, with the last meetings coming during the 2014 Columbia Regional. South Carolina downed Campbell 5-2 in the opener and 9-0 in an elimination game. Campbell's two wins over South Carolina came in 1978 and 1979. 
 
NC State
The Camels are 19-39 all-time against the Wolfpack, with one postseason meeting between the two. Campbell topped NC State 5-4 at the 2019 Greenville Regional. The last meeting saw Campbell down No. 8 NC State 7-4 during the only meeting in 2022. 
 
Central Connecticut State
The Camels and Blue Devils have never met. 
 
Keep Up With The Camels
Follow @GoCamelsBSB on social media throughout the postseason for the latest team updates and content.