By Joedy McCreary
The Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi State surprisingly is headed east, while Southern Miss will travel west. Ole Miss is staying home, and is thrilled about it.

Each of Mississippi's Big Three universities claimed a berth in the 64-team NCAA baseball tournament field announced Monday.

Mississippi and Mississippi State were two of a record nine SEC teams selected by the committee. Five SEC schools, including Ole Miss, were awarded host sites, another record.

"It put a lot of pressure on the (selection) committee to pick nine (SEC teams)," Mississippi State coach Ron Polk said. "But their goal is to pick the 64 best teams after the (automatic berths are awarded)."

Ole Miss (39-19) - which lost both of its games in last week's SEC tournament - is the top seed in its own regional in Oxford and is making its 10th NCAA appearance but first on its own field.

Rebels coach Mike Bianco was pleased that the selection committee rewarded his team for its sustained success with a regional site.

"Any time you go 0-2 in your tournament, it doesn't leave you with a good feeling, and you start to have a little bit of doubt," Bianco said. "But we're excited that the committee looked at what (the Rebels) did in the entire season."

The Rebels will play Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. Friday, after second-seeded Washington meets No. 3 seed Tulane in the 3 p.m. game.

"It's one of the strongest brackets in the tournament," Bianco said.

Mississippi State (34-22) had doubts about its NCAA tournament fate after the Bulldogs failed to qualify for the SEC tournament. The Bulldogs are seeded third in the Atlanta Regional, hosted by top-seed Georgia Tech.

Mississippi State will play No. 2 seed Texas Tech at 2 p.m. CDT Friday, while Georgia Tech plays No. 4 Jacksonville State at 6 p.m.

The Bulldogs put the heat on the committee by winning six of their last seven games and taking two of three from Arkansas, a No. 8 national seed, to earn their 21st NCAA tournament berth since 1978.

"I knew we finished strong. That was important," Polk said. "If we didn't finish strong, it was over."

Southern Miss (44-17), which lost to TCU in the Conference USA championship game Sunday, will travel to Baton Rouge, La., as a No. 2 seed. The Golden Eagles will play the third-seeded College of Charleston at 6:30 p.m. Friday, while top seed LSU will meet No. 4 seed Army at 2 p.m.

Southern Miss is making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance and its third since 1999. The Golden Eagles hosted a regional last year for the first time.

None of the state's Big Three received national seeds, which determine host sites for the super regionals, played June 11-13.

The Oxford Regional winner will play the champion of the Fullerton, Calif., Regional in the super regionals. That region is anchored by top seed and No. 7 national seed Arizona State and regional host Cal State-Fullerton.

The Atlanta Regional is bracketed with the Athens, Ga., Regional, which features top-seeded Georgia and No. 2 Clemson.

The Baton Rouge Regional winner meets the Houston Regional champion. That site has defending national champion and No. 6 national seed Rice.

The double-elimination regional tournament begins Friday and concludes Sunday, with the super regionals the following weekend. The College World Series begins June 18 in Omaha, Neb.