TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State will start the NCAA Tournament this weekend in the Terre Haute Regional as the No. 14 overall seeded Sycamores welcome Iowa, North Carolina, and Wright State to Bob Warn Field over the June 2-5 weekend.
 
The Sycamores are hosting a regional for the first time in program history following a dominant run that resulted in both the Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season and Postseason Championships. Indiana State won 34 of their last 38 games including four of five this past week at Bob Warn Field to clinch ISU's eighth MVC Tournament Championship in program history.
 
Indiana State and Wright State (39-21) will open the Terre Haute Regional on Friday afternoon with first pitch for the Sycamores and Raiders set for 1 p.m. ET. The game will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Iowa (42-14) and North Carolina (35-22) will wrap up the first day of the Regional at 7 p.m. ET at Bob Warn Field. The Friday evening contest will be carried live on the ACC Network.
 
Terre Haute Regional tickets will go on sale to the general public starting Tuesday, May 30, at 4 p.m. ET.
 
Indiana State becomes just the fourth Missouri Valley Conference program selected to host a regional in its current format and first since 2015. ISU joins Dallas Baptist (2015), Missouri State (2015), and Wichita State (2002 & 2007) as the lone regional hosts in the MVC since 2000.
 
The Sycamores have consistently been ranked or receiving votes in five of the six major national collegiate baseball polls in 2023 reaching as high as No. 9 in the Collegiate Baseball News poll prior to the start of the MVC Tournament. ISU has also been in the top-10 in the NCAA RPI Rankings in four of the last five weeks finishing at No. 9 following their MVC Tournament win.
 
With a mantra of facing anyone, any time, any place, Indiana State sat as the only team in the NCAA top-15 in the RPI with 20-plus true road wins in the 2023 season. Expanding further, the Sycamores were one of just three teams in the top-50 to achieve the mark. ISU's non-conference strength of schedule was ranked fourth overall in the NCAA.
 
The start of Missouri Valley play pushed Indiana State to new heights as the Sycamores went on a 30-3 tear to finish the regular season. Over the 33-game stretch, the Sycamore offense hit .293 as a team with 47 home runs, 116 extra-base hits, and a .477 slugging percentage. The pitching staff proved the offense's equal with a 2.65 team ERA and a 262:80 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing opponents to hit just .221.
 
The 33-game stretch included a 16-1 record in April as Indiana State nearly pulled off the perfect month. The Sycamores recorded a 14-game winning streak to open the month with key non-conference wins against Indiana and then No. 4 Vanderbilt over the stretch.
 
Indiana State enters the NCAA Tournament sitting in the 10 in six different team statistical categories. ISU is the NCAA leader in fielding percentage (0.984), third in WHIP (1.23), fifth in ERA (3.80), fifth in shutouts (7), eighth in hit by pitch (114), and seventh in walks allowed per nine innings (3.15). ISU is also top-20 in hits allowed per nine innings (791), and 16th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.73).
 
Indiana State secured the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament following a dominant display at the conference tournament this past week in Terre Haute. The Sycamores outscored their opponents 39-12 over five games and the pitching staff combined to put together two shutouts in ISU's eighth MVC Tournament in program history.
 
The Sycamores' tournament win followed up a historic regular season for ISU as the team set new program records for MVC wins (24) and conference series wins (nine). Indiana State's six-game margin in winning conference's regular season title was the largest in the MVC since 1998.
 
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