Hoosiers fail to make NCAA Tournament field

For just the second time in the past eight seasons, Indiana’s baseball program will not play in the NCAA Tournament.

It was confirmed Monday that the Hoosiers failed to secure an at-large bid in the field of 64, a disappointing albeit unsurprising final punctuation to a campaign that saw IU drop eight of its final 11 games of the spring. A month ago, Indiana appeared to be firmly in the field before stumbling through the teeth of its schedule over the final three weeks. A series loss at Michigan on May 16 knocked Indiana out of first place in the Big Ten standings before a 1-4 final homestand removed the Hoosiers from the conference title conversation altogether. This past weekend, Maryland swept IU in a Saturday doubleheader to clinch the series victory and end the Hoosiers’ hopes of backing into the NCAA Tournament field.

Indiana went a combined 3-7 against Nebraska, Michigan and Maryland, the three Big Ten teams to receive postseason bids on Monday. Nebraska received a No. 2 seed in the Fayetteville Regional, while Michigan (South Bend Regional) and Maryland (Greenville Regional) each received No. 3 seeds. There was no Big Ten Tournament this year due to the pandemic.

The Hoosiers ended the spring with a 26-18 record.