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Brett Basham was getting on a plane headed for the fun and sun of Miami while dreaming of Omaha, Neb.

It's strange how things work in the world of college baseball.

It's also a little strange how well things have worked out for Basham.

He's a former Bearden High School player who grew up dreaming of following in his dad Bruce's footsteps to play at the University of Tennessee.

Look at him now.

He's a junior at Ole Miss, regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in the country, and headed to his third straight NCAA tournament appearance.

Basham and the Rebels (37-24) will take on Missouri (38-19) at noon today in Coral Gables, Fla., as NCAA Regional play begins.

"It has been a good year for me," he said. "I definitely improved with the bat a ton (hitting .260 with two home runs and 29 RBIs).

"But I'm not known much for my bat. I'm known for my defensive ability and I take pride in that. As a catcher, you've got to do the little things right and you don't get a lot of recognition, kind of like an offensive lineman in football."

Basham does the little things that help Ole Miss win, like starting in all 61 games. He earned All-SEC Defensive Team honors as a catcher.

That doesn't make things any easier in Miami, where the Rebels have to go through the No. 1-ranked Hurricanes (47-8) to have a shot at a fourth straight Super Regional appearance.

"When we finally saw our name come up in the Miami region, we knew it was going to be tough," Basham said. "You've got the No. 1 team in the country in Miami and we're probably going to match up against arguably the No. 1 pitcher in the country, Aaron Crow of Missouri (12-0, 2.56 ERA).

"It's definitely a challenge."

There are a bevy of other former Knoxville-area high school standouts facing the same kinds of challenges and same dreams of a College World Series appearance in Omaha:

-- Rob Catapano (North Carolina): The sophomore from Farragut went 4-0 with a 3.19 ERA in helping the overall No. 2-seeded Tar Heels to a 46-12 record. North Carolina opens NCAA play at home against Mount St. Mary's.

-- Tony Delmonico (Florida State): After transferring from Tennessee, the former Farragut star and son of former UT coach Rod Delmonico hit .370 with seven home runs and 62 RBIs. The overall No. 4 seeded Seminoles (48-10) open play at home against Bucknell.

-- Harrison Eldrige (East Carolina): The senior four-year starter in center field for East Carolina is still doing what he did best at Farragut. He led ECU in hitting with a .355 average and had five home runs, 34 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Next up is Alabama.

-- Nate Hall (UNC-Wilmington): The former Webb star hit .349 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs for a UNC-Wilmington team seeded No. 2 in the North Carolina regional. UNC-Wilmington opens play against Elon.

-- Jordan Wormsley (Vanderbilt): In limited action this season, the former Webb player hit .538 with a triple and three RBIs for the Commodores. Vandy is the No. 2 seed in the Arizona State regional and opens play against Oklahoma.

-- Tyler Cannon (Virginia): The former Pigeon Forge star started 58 games as a sophomore third baseman for the Cavaliers, hitting .257 with 13 doubles, 31 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Virginia is in the Cal St. Fullerton regional and opens play against UCLA.

-- Graham Myers (Western Kentucky): The redshirt freshman pitcher from Alcoa is on the Hilltoppers roster, but has not played this season.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.