Sports

Winners and Losers From USC's Win Over Texas A&M in Regional Championship

By Cory Pappas Sports Illustrated

Updated June 2, 2026 1:23 AM

The USC Trojans will be advancing to the Super Regionals of the 2026 NCAA Tournament following their 7-1 win over the Texas A&M Aggies in the College Station Regional championship.

Who were the winners and losers of Monday night's game?

Winners

USC pitcher Sax Matson throws a pitch as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on May 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Augie Lopez, USC Designated Hitter

Augie Lopez was in the three spot of the Trojans lineup on Monday night and showed exactly why. Lopez went 2-for-4 with a single, home run, sacrifice fly, and five runs batted in.

His biggest swing of the night was in the top of the seventh inning with USC holding on a 2-1 lead. Lopez launched a three-run home run to right field to extend the lead to 5-1. In his next at-bat in the eighth inning, Lopez added to the USC lead with a sacrifice fly.

USC's College World Series Hopes

USC got off to a bad start in the College Station Regional, losing to the Texas State Bobcats on Friday night. To advance to the Super Regional, the Trojans would need to win four games over the next three days. They did exactly that.

USC took down the Lamar Cardinals on Saturday and then got revenge against Texas State on Sunday. That put them in a position where they would have to beat the host two games in a row to advance.

On Sunday night, USC took down Texas A&M 14-3 to set up a winner take all matchup between the two teams on Monday. The Trojans kept the momentum going and and ran away with another huge win. USC will now go on the road to Chapel Hill and play the North Carolina Tar Heels in a best-of-three series in the Super Regional.

USC has not been in a Super Regional since 2005 and has not been in a College World Series since 2001. The Trojans have 12 national titles in program history, with the last one coming in 1998.

Losers

USC's Kevin Takeuchi, left, tags Oregon infielder Ryan Cooney as he slides to second as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on May 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Favorites in the Regionals

Texas A&M came into this regional ranked No. 12 in the country and as the clear favorite to advance to the Super Regionals. The Aggies won their opening two games but lost to USC on both Sunday night and Monday night to get knocked out of the tournament.

What will make this sting even more for Aggies fans is knowing that they were the hosts of this regional and looked primed to make a run. Out of the 16 regionals in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, nine hosts ended up advancing to the Super Regionals, with seven getting upset.

The biggest stunners were the top two teams in the country, the No. 1 UCLA Bruins and No. 2 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, getting eliminated at home.

USC celebrates a home run by Isaac Cadena (20) as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on May 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jake Basseer, USC Right Fielder

Nine out of the 10 batters that stepped into the box on Monday night for USC got a hit. The one that didn't was starting right fielder Jake Basseer, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Luckily for Basseer, he'll be able to bounce back when the Trojans start their Super Regional against North Carolina.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/usc as Winners and Losers From USC's Win Over Texas A&M in Regional Championship.

This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 1:11 AM.