ASU baseball has been selected to be a part of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. Despite ending their season being swept by Oklahoma State and losing in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to BYU, the Sun Devils sneaked their way into a spot as one of the last four teams in.
They will head to Los Angeles, where they will play in the Los Angeles Regional, hosted by No. 15 UCLA. In their first game of this double-elimination-style regional, the Sun Devils will face UC Irvine on Friday at 6 p.m. The Anteaters have had a stellar season, going 41-15 and 6-3 against ranked teams, with one of those wins coming against UCLA.
The Sun Devils have also already faced UCLA twice this season, losing 4-8 and winning 2-0.
ASU’s season has had ups and downs. Going 35-22, their best record since the 2019 season, they seemed poised at times to compete for a Big 12 Championship. After being swept by Oklahoma State, the Sun Devils dropped to fifth in the conference.
The team has shown flashes of success throughout the season. But the question remains: Can they stay consistent over the course of an entire tournament?
This story is developing and may be updated.
This story was updated on May 28 at 9:18 a.m. to include new details about when ASU will play.
Edited by Henry Smardo, Leah Mesquita and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at jkmccar2@asu.edu and follow @jackmccarthyasu on X.
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Jack McCarthy is a senior studying sports journalism with a minor in business. This is his third semester with The State Press. He has also worked as a sports reporter.
