Updated

Armed with new stadiums, packed houses and a growing fan base, college baseball has seen a surge in interest over the last decade. The result has been better equipment, facilities and exposure for a sport once relegated to a spring-time afterthought.

The latest sign of the burgeoning interest in college baseball will happen this weekend when the NCAA tournament begins.

For the first time, all 16 of the regionals will be televised by ESPN. The network showed just six of the regional sites last season, but it's committed to showing every pitch from every game this season on its various networks.

This will be the 34th straight season ESPN has shown the College World Series, but it's only over the last decade that it started showing regular-season games.