USC heads 16-team field going to Gulf Shores for NCAA beach volleyball tournament

USC, which on Saturday won its fourth Pac-12 Championship in a row, will defend its National Collegiate Beach Championship as the No. 1 seed.

The Trojans lead a 16-team field into Gulf Shores, Alabama, where a one-and-done, eight-match slate gets things going on Wednesday. USC has won three of the five NCAA championships, while UCLA, the No. 3 seed, has won the other two.

The first-day lineup:

No. 1 seed USC (32-1) vs. No. 16 UT Martin (17-8)
No. 2 TCU (38-3) vs. No. 15 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (21-12)
No. 3 UCLA (31-7) vs. No. 14 Stetson (23-16)
No. 4 Loyola Marymount (29-7) vs. No. 13 Hawai’i (24-16)
No. 5 Florida State (28-9) vs. No. 12 Cal Poly (23-16)
No. 6 LSU (30-10) vs. No. 11 Cal (26-13)
No. 7 Grand Canyon (26-6) vs. No. 10 Georgia State (26-11)
No. 8 FAU (22-10) vs. No. 9 Stanford (24-11)

Wednesday’s winners advance to Friday’s eight-team, double-elimination bracket. The field was doubled this year to 16 teams.

Automatic bids went to Florida State (CCSA), Stetson (ASUN), Cal Poly (Big West), Georgia State (Conference USA), UT Martin (Ohio Valley), USC (Pac-12), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Southland, and LMU (WCC). Grand Canyon is an independent.

Among the teams left out were Pepperdine, FIU, Long Beach State and Arizona.

Matches from the first two days will be on ESPNU with the four matches Saturday and two on Sunday, including the championship, on ESPN2. All times are Eastern:

Wednesday, May 4
8 first-round matches, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., ESPNU
Friday, May 6
8 matches, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday, May 7
4 matches, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., ESPN2
Sunday, May 8
Semifinals, 12:30, ESPN2
Final, 4 p.m., ESPN2

We’ll have more on Sunday, including a look at all 16 teams. Click here for the NCAA bracket.