John Korduner for The Washington Post via Getty ImagesThe 2023 NCAA baseball tournament starts on Friday at 16 regional sites.
The Baton Rouge and Gainesville regionals will carry some extra attention from Major League Baseball fans because three of the top five picks in the 2023 draft could be in action.
LSU has two players on its roster who will be the center of attention this weekend, while Florida has a slugger who could be the prized possession of an MLB team's draft class soon.
Each regional site hosts four teams. The opening matchups pit the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds against each other, as well as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. Each bracket follows a double-elimination format.
The 16 teams that advance to next weekend's super regional round could need as few as three wins to advance, though some may require four or five depending on losses.
Players to Watch
Dylan Crews, OF and Paul Skenes, P, LSU
Two of the top prospects in the 2023 MLB draft play on the same team.
Outfielder Dylan Crews and right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes have drawn countless MLB scouts to Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and many more will be there this weekend. Both are consensus top-five selections.
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com has Crews at No. 2 and Skenes at No. 5 in his latest mock draft, while Keith Law of The Athletic has them going at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
Crews enters the NCAA tournament with a .420 batting average, 1.277 OPS, 15 home runs and 59 RBI. He could do a lot of damage to the pitching staffs of Tulane, Sam Houston State and Oregon State during regional weekend.
Skenes leads the nation in strikeouts by a wide margin. He fanned 167 batters. The next closest pitcher in that category has 125 punchouts.
Crews and Skenes can only add to their MLB draft hype with good performances this weekend, which LSU hopes will end with a home super regional.
Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida
Wyatt Langford comes into the Gainesville regional with a better OPS than Crews.
The Florida outfielder has a 1.343 OPS with 17 home runs, 43 RBI and a .398 batting average.
The 21-year-old is viewed as the other consensus top-five pick to come out of the SEC. McDaniel has him going at No. 3, while Law mocked him to No. 5.
Langford and the Gators are the No. 2 overall seed in the 64-team bracket, while the Wake Forest Demon Deacons are No. 1.
Despite that honor, the Gators face a tough regional that includes Texas Tech and UConn. Florida A&M is the fourth team in that part of the bracket.
Langford's bat should be on display all weekend, as the Gators try to power their way into a home super regional.
A strong set of performances throughout Florida's likely deep run should help solidify Langford's place in the top five for the July 9 draft.
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