Florida State hopes to parlay its No. 1 seeding into its first College World Series title.

"We know what it takes to get to Omaha, and hopefully we can continue to play well to get back there," coach Mike Martin said Monday.

This is the first time Florida State has been seeded first in the Division I baseball tournament.

The Seminoles (56-21) are in the regionals for the 25th straight year and 40th overall. They were runners-up in 1970, '86 and '99.

They are on a 22-game winning streak, tying a school record, and open the double-elimination first round Friday against Stetson.

"Our guys have taken advantage of every opportunity they've had the past five or six weeks," said Martin, who has led Florida State to 50 or more wins 20 times.

The other seeded teams in the 64-team field are: Clemson (47-14), Alabama (48-13), Rice (47-11), Texas (48-14), South Carolina (48-14), Wake Forest (44-11-1) and Stanford (40-16).

In addition to the top eight seeded teams, regional hosts include Arizona State, Florida, Georgia Tech, LSU, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Southern California and Wichita State.

Also in the tournament is defending-champion Miami (30-26), which overcame a mediocre season to extend its NCAA record with its 30th straight regional appearance.

"I knew we were on the bubble, and I didn't know whether we'd get in," coach Jim Morris said. "The fact is, we got in and I don't know exactly how that happened. But we got in and we're excited to be there."

The Hurricanes, whose record hovered around .500 all season, played one of the toughest schedules in the country and won their last five games.

"The main factor was that 34 of their games were played against top-50 opponents," said Wally Groff, chairman of the Division I baseball committee.

The 10-member committee, focusing on safety and travel concerns, selected the 16 regional sites by secret ballot after all 64 teams were selected. Teams were grouped primarily on geographic proximity. Previously, regional sites were determined a week before the field was announced.

"I don't believe it's a permanent situation," said Groff, the athletics director at Texas A&M. "It was because of 9-11, and I'm sure our championship cabinet will review this before next year."

There were 35 teams that made bids to play host to regionals, but none from the Northeast. As a result, most of the Northeast teams will make long trips: Maine at Los Angeles, Marist at Lincoln, Neb., and Central Connecticut State at Austin, Texas.

The Southeastern Conference, with Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and South Carolina led all conferences with seven teams after sending a record-eight last year. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 and Conference USA had five each.

Tennessee (27-28) was the only College World Series team from last year not among this year's 64 teams _ 40 of which were in the 2001 tournament. Central Connecticut State, Elon, Louisville, New Mexico State and San Diego are making their first tournament appearances.

Groff said Mississippi (37-19), Mississippi State (33-22-1) and Oklahoma State (37-21) were among the last cuts.

Harvard (20-24) and Navy (22-23) won conference titles to receive automatic bids despite losing records.

The winners of each four-team regional will advance to the super regionals at eight sites to be determined. The eight winners of the super regionals, which begin June 7, will play in the College World Series, which starts June 14 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.