IU is headed to the NCAA Tournament once again.
The Hoosiers made the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons, earning a two seed in the Lexington Regional as an at-large selection.
The Hoosiers were one of 33 teams that earned a bid as an at-large team.
This is the Hoosiers’ seventh NCAA Tournament bid of all time, making the tournament only in 1949, 1996, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. Coach Chris Lemonis has now made the regional two times in his first three years, a first in IU history.
The Big Ten had five teams selected to the tournament, the fourth most of any conference. Iowa earned an automatic berth by winning the Big Ten Tournament. The other three conference teams to make the tournament were Maryland, Michigan and Nebraska.
The NCAA Tournament consists of 64-teams placed in 16, four team regionals. The number-one seeds all get to host the regional, which is double-elimination. The winner of each regional advances to the super-regional. Each super-regional is a best-of-three series.
The winner of each super-regional advances to the College Baseball World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, starting June 17. The College World Series begins as a double-elimination tournament with two brackets of four-team pods.
The winner of each bracket advances to a three-game series to decide the national championship.
The tournament begins Friday as IU takes on NC State at 7 p.m. in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Wolfpack made the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season and they have won 14 out of 17 games. NC State has been a staple in the NCAA Tournament, making the tournament 13 out of the last 15 years.
The Wolfpack enter the tournament ranked 30th in RPI, according the NCAA website.
The other two teams in the regional are Kentucky and Ohio. As a five seed, Ohio won the MAC Tournament to earn its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three years. The Bobcats went 31-26 this season.
Kentucky comes into the tournament with the ninth RPI in the nation and a 39-20 record, allowing Kentucky to host its second-ever regional. However, the Wildcats have lost four of their last five games. Kentucky beat IU 5-2 May 9.
IU went 1-2 in the Big Ten Tournament, but the Hoosiers won six straight series to end their regular season. The Hoosiers are 33-22-2 this season.
