The Oklahoma State baseball team won Sunday's Big 12 Tournament championship at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. (Jimmy Gillispie/Stillwater News Press)
The NCAA Baseball Tournament bracket has been released, and Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are both in.
The Cowboys are the Cinderella of possibly the entire tournament. They went on an unbelievable run to end the season, which included six-straight wins and a Big 12 title, the program's first since 2004.
OSU, a No. 3 seed, will join Arkansas, Missouri State and Oral Roberts in the Fayetteville Regional. OSU takes on the No. 2 seed Bears at 2 p.m. on Friday to begin the double-elimination tournament.
"We feel real good about how we're playing, and we know this time of year you have to go on the road and beat quality teams if you want to advance and we're looking forward to that opportunity," OSU head coach Josh Holliday said. "To watch these kids and what they've done in the last two weeks is probably the most rewarding and educational thing as a coach that I've ever been a part of and witnessed – just absolutely amazing.
"We're savoring this and thrilled that we get to play together, and we get to go to a regional close enough to continue to share it with the people that have been by our side. Hopefully we get some fans over there and continue to cheer these kids on because they deserve it."
The winner of the gauntlet plays the victor of the Fort Worth Regional (Texas Christian, Virginia, Dallas Baptist and Central Connecticut State) in the super regional for the right to advance to the College World Series in Omaha. It would be the fifth super regional appearance for the Cowboys.
The good news is the Cowboys have had success this season against the teams in their regional. OSU went 3-2 against its competitors, beating each of them once. Both losses came to ORU.
The Cowboys defeated Arkansas 8-3 in the Frisco College Baseball Classic on March 5 and beat MSU two days later in Stillwater by a count of 7-3.
They took the first win of the season series against the Golden Eagles on April 18 in a 7-6 classic that included seven total home runs, but ORU stole the next two games by a combined score of 15-8.
"I think it's a great draw because that ballpark with absolutely help you rise to the occasion," Holliday said. "Much like Clemson did last year, it can keep you on that competitive high of, 'Hey, this is big time.' It gets you up to play, so we'll be up to play; it's just a matter of executing."
Although OSU enters the tournament with an impressive winning streak, the Sooners aren't as fortunate.
After winning three-straight conference series, OU fell in its next four contests. Despite that, the Sooners earned a two-seed in the Louisville Regional and will play Xavier at 1 p.m. on Friday. Louisville hosts, and Radford is the other team competing in the regional.
"It has been a crazy process, but we've gone through that process with the right people," OU coach Pete Hughes said. "To see our name pop up kind of validates everything that has been going on in this clubhouse. I'm happy for our guys.
"It's more a celebration of things to come and not what we've already accomplished. These guys are humble and hungry."
Also unlike the Cowboys, OU hasn't played any of the teams in its regional, so all of its games will bring fresh, new matchups.
"We're going to get locked in on Xavier right out of the gates," Hughes said. "We're going to figure out how we can win this tournament. These guys can feel good about themselves right now, but we'll get out on the field to prepare and make it all about Xavier."
The Musketeers won the Big East championship and are on a seven-game winning streak. Similarly, Radford enters having won seven of its past nine, including four straight on the way to the Big South title.
The No. 7 overall seed Cardinals, though having won the ACC regular season championship, dropped four of their past five.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE
Texas Tech joins the Horned Frogs as one of the only Big 12 teams to host a regional. The Red Raiders play host to Arizona, Sam Houston State and Delaware.
Baylor will take part as a No. 2 seed in the Houston Regional, which also includes Houston, which also includes Houston, Texas A&M and Iowa.
West Virginia will take on the likes of Wake Forest, Maryland and Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) as the two-seed in the Winston-Salem Regional.
Texas, also a No. 2 seed, has the longest journey of all the Big 12 teams. The Longhorns head west to California for the Long Beach Regional, where they will be joined by host Long Beach State, UCLA and San Diego State.
Kansas and Kansas State are the only teams from the conference to not earn a berth in the event.