Conference Record Five Big Ten Baseball Teams Earn Berths into NCAA Tournament
Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and Nebraska earn spots in field of 64
ROSEMONT, Ill. — The NCAA Division I Baseball Committee announced the field of 64 on Monday with five Big Ten teams selected, which ties the conference record set in 2015. Indiana, Maryland, Michigan and Nebraska earned at-large berths to the national tournament, while Iowa claimed the conference’s automatic bid after winning the Big Ten Tournament title on Sunday.
The second-seeded Hoosiers will take on North Carolina State in the Lexington Regional with the winner advancing to play either Kentucky or Ohio. Indiana is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time and first since 2015.
In the Houston Regional, fourth-seeded Iowa will take on top-seeded Houston. The winner will advance to play either Baylor or Texas A&M. Iowa will play in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time, including its second berth in the past three seasons.
Third-seeded Maryland will take on second-seeded West Virginia in the Winston-Salem Regional. The winner will face either top-seeded Wake Forest or UMBC. The Terrapins are making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and third in the past four seasons.
Michigan earned the No. 3 seed in the Chapel Hill regional and will face second-seeded Florida Gulf Coast. The winner will take on top-seeded North Carolina or Davidson. The Wolverines will be making their 23rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the first since 2015.
Second-seeded Nebraska will play in the Corvallis Regional and will take on third-seeded Yale. The winner will advance to play either top-seeded Oregon State or Holy Cross. The Huskers are making their 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including its second straight appearance at-large berth.
While 15 of the regional sites are scheduled to be played Friday through Monday, June 2-5, competition at the Stanford Regional will begin Thursday, June 1 and will conclude either Sunday or Monday, June 4 or 5. BYU, which won the automatic qualifier by capturing the West Coast Conference Tournament championship, does not participate in any athletics competition on Sundays. Therefore, if the Cougars advance to the regional final, that game will take place June 5; otherwise that regional championship game is scheduled for Sunday, June 4.
The 71st Men’s College World Series begins play Saturday, June 17, at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Neb.