The Chapel Hill Regional for the 2026 NCAA Tournament is set, as the East Carolina Pirates will heading to Boshamer Stadium for the second time this season.
Cliff Godwin's team is familiar with the host Tar Heels, having seen them for a three-game series back in February. While it feels like that series happened years ago, ECU must have confidence if they happen to setup a rematch with UNC, given that they split two games before the rubber game of the three-game set was cut short due to weather.
East Carolina is also getting hot at the right time, having won seven of their last eight contests. It's safe to say that they are a team that no one will be joyous to match up against during this regional.
Getting to know the East Carolina Pirates
Team Stats
Record
Overall: 36-22-1
Home: 21-10
Away: 10-11-1
Neutral: 5-1
Conference: 17-10
Non-Conference: 19-12
Rankings
RPI: 40
Non-Conference RPI: 59
SOS: 42
Non-Conference SOS: 38
VS. RPI Teams
1-25: 3-7-1
26-50: 6-5
51-100: 18-8
101-200: 9-2
201+: 0-0
Meet the Manager
Cliff Godwin
Godwin has been at the helm at ECU, his alma mater, since 2015. Leading up to this season, Godwin boasted a career record of 432-214-1 as the skipper of the Pirates, becoming the all-time winningest coach in ECU baseball history during the 2025 season. He has guided the Pirates to nine NCAA Regional berths and four Super Regional Appearances, and aims to take this year's squad to Omaha for the first time in program history.
Players to Know
Burress is the Pirates' best all-around offensive player, serving as the most productive hitter in the leadoff spot of the batting order. During the 2026 season, Burress posted a .346 batting average, leading the team with 80 hits and four triples. While he doesn't hit for much power, he's a guy who has shown he can get on base and make you pay for letting him on, as his 64 runs scored are also a team best.
This East Carolina team doesn't hit for much power (not having a single guy with double-digit homers on the season) Herring serves as the Pirates' best power threat.
Combine his power with his ability to hit for average, and you got yourself a very tough matchup at the plate to deal with.
Herring led the Pirates with a .358 average this season, recording 72 hits over 58 games played. He also is a very patient hitter, leading the team with 53 walks, showing that he can get on-base in a variety of ways.
While he likely will be on the mound for Friday's Chapel Hill Regional opener against Tennessee, Ethan Norby is the guy who anchors ECU's pitching staff and is a name to keep an eye on.
A left-hander from Kernersville, North Carolina, Norby has been that guy that ECU turns to when they need a big outing on the mound. He's a high-strikeout type of pitcher, already having 120 punchouts to his name through 83.2 innings of work this season, as the hope for the Pirates is that he can continue delivering strong outings to help lead this year's team on the path to Omaha.
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