5 Thoughts on Cowboy Baseball's 46th Appearance in the NCAA Tournament
STILLWATER – The NCAA baseball selection show was Monday morning and Oklahoma State found out it would be heading West this week to play in the Tucson (AZ) Regional. The Cowboys are fresh off a championship game appearance against TCU in the Big 12 tournament and appear to be peaking at the right time.
So, here are 5 Thoughts on Cowboy baseball’s 46th appearance in the NCAA tournament.
It’s the eighth-straight appearance under Josh Holliday
Yep, you read that right, the eight-straight tournament appearance for Cowboy baseball under Josh Holliday. Holliday’s been at the helm for nine seasons, but the tournament was canceled last season due to COVID-19.
“I’m thrilled. I’m very proud of our team for the way they finished,” said coach Holliday. “I’m very proud of how they competed so fiercely through the challenges of the season. I really appreciate the character of our group. I think watching the selection show it showed how important it was to finish strong.”
The Cowboys most-recently played in the Lubbock Super Regional and were a few outs away from making it back to the College World Series for the second time under Holliday.
Cowboys are fourth all-time in NCAA tournament appearances
There was a neat infographic video sent out yesterday on Twitter detailing the top 30 college teams and their appearances in the NCAA tournament since its inception in 1947. Of those 30 teams, the Cowboys rank fourth all-time with 46 appearances, behind Texas (60), Florida State (58) and Miami (47). They’ll be looking to make their 21st appearance in the CWS.
Reunion of the 2016 College World Series
Three of the teams in the Tucson Regional, Arizona, Oklahoma State and UC Santa Barbara, all made it to the 2016 CWS. These three teams actually all played each other with the Cowboys beating UCSB 1-0 in game one, and Arizona 1-0 in game two. Arizona beat UCSB 3-0 on the consolation side of things, eliminating the Gauchos, then beat the Cowboys 9-3 and 5-1 to eliminate the Pokes and advanced the finals, where they were beat by Coastal Carolina in a best of three series.
There’s a common opponent in the Tucson Regional
Oklahoma State will typically play one of the tougher non-conference slates in the country each season to help prepare the team for postseason play. One of those teams was Grand Canyon, a series which ended with two wins and a tie for the Pokes, 11-5 and 3-0. Grand Canyon finished the 2021 season with a 39-19-1 overall record and will open up play against the host team, the No. 5 overall seed, the Arizona Wildcats.
The Gauchos have finished the season strong
The Cowboys start the tournament this Friday, June 4 at 3 p.m. CT against a solid UCSB team. The Gauchos finished the season riding an eight-game winning streak and outscoring their opponents 78-22. They boast a 39-18 overall record and are 17-7 in road games. This marks the third time these two teams have met, the first coming in the 1990 NCAA tournament and the other in the 2016 CWS. The Pokes beat UCSB 7-2 in the opening round of the West II Regional in Tempe, AZ, so both teams are familiar with one another and the desert.
