Why Grand Canyon got a second life in NCAA baseball postseason
Grand Canyon's baseball team lost to Tarleton State in the first of two Thursday night losses in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
All the top-seeded Lopes (34-23) could do after that was root for Tarleton for the rest of the tournament.
The fifth-seeded Texans did the Lopes a favor by going 5-1 and capturing the WAC Tournament title, splitting two games Saturday with California Baptist in the championship round of the double-elimination tournament. Because this is the fourth and final year of their Division I transition from D-II, Tarleton State is still ineligible for the NCAA Tournament.
That puts GCU into a regional because it reverts to the regular-season champion as the WAC's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
GCU went 23-7 to win its fourth consecutive WAC regular-season title by five games, and now will see Monday at 9 a.m. which four-team regional it will be headed to. This will be the third regional in four years for the Lopes, who got in two years ago without winning the WAC Tournament because they gained an at-large bid for the success they had in a tough non-conference schedule, and winning 41 games.
"Our guys earned this by winning the WAC over a 30-game schedule," GCU coach Gregg Wallis said. "When we lost in the tournament, it was tough. We knew we had one out. And it hit.
"We're grateful for this opportunity and excited to see where we are going for an NCAA Regional."
The 64-team field for 16 regionals will be unveiled Monday morning at 9 on ESPN2. The four-team, double-elimination regionals begin Friday through June 3.
GCU was sent to Tucson in 2021 with Arizona hosting and lost its first two games. In 2022, the Lopes were sent to Stillwater with Oklahoma State hosting and lost their first two games.
There are 11 current GCU players who were part of the 2022 regional, including this year's WAC Player of the Year Tyler Wilson, and starters Elijah Buries, Dustin Crenshaw and Cade Verdusco. Pitchers Daniel Avitia, Bryan Webb and Carter Young also were there then, along with position player Beau Ankeney.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: GCU baseball revived due to Tarleton ineligibility for NCAA regional
