GCU, NMSU Headed to NCAA Baseball Tournament
GCU, NMSU Headed to NCAA Baseball Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS - For the first time since 2012, the WAC will have two teams in the NCAA Baseball Tournament as both Grand Canyon and NM State will be competing for a trip to Omaha.
The Aggies earned a spot after winning the 2022 WAC Tournament after having to win in the final week of the regular season to just make the conference tournament and will head to Corvallis, Ore. to take on third-seed Oregon State at 7 p.m. PT on ESPNU. The Aggies will be led by WAC Tournament MVP Cal Villareal while the Beavers, who fell in the Pac-12 title game on Sunday night, are led offensively by Jacob Melton, who is hitting .375 with 21 doubles, 15 home runs and 77 RBIs. Joining the Aggies and Beavers will be WCC champ San Diego and perennial national power Vanderbilt.
Grand Canyon goes to the tournament for the second straight season with an at-large selection after winning the West Division. The Lopes will take on Arkansas at noon CT on Friday in a netural-site game at Oklahoma State. The Lopes are led offensively by Juan Colato, who holds a .417 batting average, and on the mound by WAC Freshman of the Year and WAC Pitcher of the Year Daniel Avitia, who heads to Stillwater having struck out 107 batters and posting an 8-4 record and 3.59 ERA in 82.2 innings pitched. Missouri State rounds out the regional and will take onhost Oklahoma State.
The winners of each double-elimination Regional bracket will advance to a best-of-three Super Regional. Those winners advance to Omaha for the College World Series, which begins on June 17.
Complete NCAA Bracket