Kentucky is heading back to the NCAA Baseball Tournament for a third straight year.

The Wildcats were considered to be one of several bubble teams prior to Monday's selection show but found their way into the field of 64 thanks to a strong RPI, a Top 10 schedule, and a nice collection of Quad-1 wins.

It marks the first time that UK has ever made the tournament in three consecutive seasons. Led by head coach Nick Mingione, the Cats are coming off the program's first College World Series appearance in 2024 and a super regional appearance in 2023.

Third-seeded Kentucky will play in the Clemson Regional with an opening matchup against 2-seed West Virginia in the double-elimination format. Game 1 will be played on Friday at Noon ET and televised by ESPNU.

The host Tigers will play 4-seed USC Upstate in the other opening matchup.

Kentucky enters the tourney with a 29-24 record and a No. 38 RPI. The Cats appeared to be a strong bet to make the field two weeks ago, but suffered a sweep at No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt in the final series of the regular season and took a 5-1 loss to Oklahoma in the opening round of the SEC Tournament.

West Virginia comes in with a 41-14 record and a No. 28 RPI. The Mountaineers also struggled down the stretch of the season, dropping seven of their final 10. They did, however, beat Cincinnati in the Big 12 Tournament before falling to Arizona.

The Mountaineers are led by infielder Kyle West, who batted .354 with a 1.128 OPS, and 10 home runs this season. Two other WVU hitters, Jace Rinehart and Sam White, have averages over .300 and OPS figures higher than .900.

The West Virginia pitching staff features Jack Kartsonas (6-3, 2.90 ERA) and Griffin Kern (5-2, 3.32 ERA, 92 K in 86.2 IP).

Clemson enters 44-16 with a No. 9 RPI ranking. The Tigers lost to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament championship game, but they feature one of the top MLB hitting prospects in the form of Cam Cannarella (.339 BA, .964 OPS, 25 XBH) and a trio of dominant bullpen arms in Reed Garris (1.33 ERA), Joe Allen (1.84 ERA), and Lucas Mahlstedt (2.18 ERA, 15 SV).

USC Upstate, a common early-season opponent for UK in recent years, went 36-23 with a No. 87 RPI. The Spartans are on a six-game winning streak, capped by a Big South Tournament championship.

Outfielder Scott Campbell is having a stellar season for USC Upstate, batting .400 with a 1.155 OPS, 11 home runs and 54 RBI. Infielder Johnny Sweeney is as well, batting .351 with a 1.206 OPS, 17 home runs and 81 RBI.

The winner of the Clemson Regional will advance to play the winner of the Baton Rouge Regional.