TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball prepares to start the 2024 postseason in the Lexington Regional as the Sycamores travel to host and No. 2 national seed Kentucky to take on the field featuring the Wildcats, Illinois, and Western Michigan over the May 31–June 2 weekend at Kentucky Proud Park.

The Sycamores earned the No. 2 seed in the Lexington Regional and will open play against No. 3 Illinois on Friday, May 31, with first pitch set for 7 p.m. ET. The game will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend. All-Session tickets for the Lexington Regional went on sale on Tuesday, May 28, at 9 a.m. ET. Single Session tickets (based on availability) will go on sale Thursday, May 30, at 9 a.m. The link to purchase tickets can be found here. 

The Lexington Regional features a pair of teams familiar to the Sycamores as Indiana State has lined up against Illinois twice in the 2024 season splitting with the Fighting Illini with both teams winning their respective home game. The Sycamores made the trip to Lexington early in the 2023 season traveling to Kentucky Proud Field for a three-game series over the March 3-5 weekend with UK taking all three games in the series.

ISU last took on Western Michigan back in the 2011 season and has an all-time record of 29-18 against the Broncos dating back to their inaugural contest in 1977.
 
Indiana State advances to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons and second time during the stretch as an at-large recipient. The Sycamores won the MVC Tournament in both the 2019 and 2023 seasons to clinch the conference's outright bit, while receiving invitations in both 2021 and 2024.
 
Indiana State advanced to the MVC Tournament Championship Game for the fourth time in the last five years as the Sycamores advanced their way through the bracket despite dropping their first contest against Southern Illinois. ISU battled through elimination games topping No. 2 Murray State (11-4), No. 5 UIC (5-3), and a rematch against No. 6 SIU (7-3), before the streak ran out against tournament host and No. 3-seed Evansville (8-6).
 
Randal Diaz paced the Indiana State offense with a team-high .524 batting average with 11 hits over his 21 at-bats, while adding a home run, a double, and five RBIs. Joe Kido was effective off the bench for ISU with a .400 average, while Luis Hernandez hit .333 with a home run and a team-high seven RBIs. Adam Pottinger (.318) and Grant Magill (.304) also hit above .300 from the plate as the Sycamores hit .301 overall as a team over the MVC Tournament.
 
Luke Hayden, Matt Parenteau, Zach Davidson, and Cole Gilley stood out on the mound for the Sycamores over the course of the five games played over the week. Hayden went 6.0 innings allowing three hits while striking out nine to top UIC, while Parenteau turned in a dominant 3.0-inning relief outing against Southern Illinois. Davidson put together a career-outing with a 7.1-inning, 14-strikeout stint from the bullpen to top Murray State. Gilley added 4.2 innings over two appearances out of the bullpen including securing the save against UIC, while adding three shutout frames against Evansville in the championship game.
 
Overall, 11 different pitchers combined to post a 4.98 ERA over 47.0 innings on the mound with a 54:29 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Sycamores allowed opponents to hit just .249 from the plate over the weekend at German American Bank Field.

The Sycamores remained No. 14 in the Perfect Game and No. 20 in the D1Baseball polls announced prior to the tournament start. ISU dropped to No. 22 in the NCBWA, No. 24 in the Baseball America, and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches polls following their run to the Missouri Valley Tournament Championship Game. The Sycamores enter the NCAA postseason ranked No. 10 overall in the NCAA Rating Percentage Index (RPI) playing the No. 19 non-conference strength of schedule and No. 75 overall strength of schedule during the regular season.
 
Indiana State continued to live up to its reputation of playing anyone, anywhere, at any time throughout the 2024 season as the Sycamores posted a 26-11 record away from the friendly confines of The Bob. Their 26 wins on the road or at neutral sites marked Indiana State as the most by any school sitting within the NCAA RPI top 100, while their nine neutral site victories tied ISU with Oregon State for the most in NCAA Division I.
 
Indiana State opened Missouri Valley play in mid-March and continued one of the longest series winning streaks in program history. The Sycamores won all nine regular season conference series for the second consecutive season extending their streak to 19 consecutive conference series wins dating back to 2022. Indiana State secured the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title for the second consecutive season with a 22-5 mark in Valley play to win the outright title by five games.
 
The Sycamores' 42 wins heading into the postseason marked the third time Indiana State has hit the 40-win plateau since 2019 and 13th time in program history.
 
The Sycamores featured a whole team approach to the field in the 2024 season with ISU wrapping up the regular season leading the Missouri Valley in conference play in nearly every single major team statistical category including batting average (.314), hits (296), slugging (.588), on-base percentage (.419), fielding percentage (.986), ERA (3.77), strikeouts (288), and opponent batting average (.224). Additionally, Indiana State finished second in runs scored (220), second in home runs (66), and second in RBIs (209).
 
The Sycamores were well-represented on the MVC's All-Conference teams with 10 players receiving recognition including Brennyn Cutts (Pitcher of the Year), Grant Magill (Defensive Player of the Year), and Head Coach Mitch Hannahs (Dan Callahan Coach of the Year) earning some of the league's top honors for the regular season.
 
Luis Hernandez (1B), Randal Diaz (SS), Cutts (SP), and Zach Davidson (RP) were all honored on the MVC First Team, while Mike Sears (3B), Magill (C), Parker Stinson (OF), Dominic Listi (OF), Luke Hayden (SP), and Cam Edmonson (RP) were all named to the Second Team. Hernandez, Josue Urdaneta (2B), Magill, and Adam Pottinger (OF) were all named to the Valley's All-Defensive team.
 
Scouting Kentucky
Kentucky earned the No. 2 National Seed as unveiled on the NCAA Selection Show on Monday afternoon. The Wildcats posted a 40-14 overall record on the season with a 22-8 mark in Southeastern Conference play on their way to serving as the conference's regular-season co-champions.
 
The Wildcats fell in their first contest in the SEC Tournament to LSU, 11-0, before rebounding to take on and eliminate Alabama from the field with a 9-6 win in Hoover, Ala. UK's SEC Tournament came to an end against South Carolina in the fourth round with a 6-5 loss to the Gamecocks.
 
Kentucky has posted a 21-6 record this season at Kentucky Proud Park including a midweek wins over Missouri Valley opponents Murray State (10-6) on March 12 and Evansville (11-3) on March 19. Additional Indiana State and Kentucky common opponents include Kentucky taking a midweek win over Louisville (17-13), while taking two of three against Vanderbilt in the final weekend of the season. The Sycamores topped Louisville on the 2024 opening day of the season, while falling in their midweek contest at Vanderbilt.
 
Kentucky was well documented on the SEC All-Conference teams highlighted by head coach Nick Mingione being named the SEC Coach of the Year. Designated Hitter/Utility Nick Lopez was a First Team selection, while outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt was named to the conference's Second Team. Emilien Pitre (2B), Mitchell Daly (3B), and Mason Moore (P) were all named to the All-Defensive Team.
 
Lopez (.369) paced the Kentucky offense that hit .289 overall from the plate with a combined 506 hits including 113 doubles and 78 home runs. Waldschmidt had 13 home runs and led the way with 62 runs scored, while Pitre hit .308 while finishing second on the team with 50 RBIs. Ryan Nicholson added a team-high 18 home runs and 54 RBIs overall on the season.
 
Twenty different Kentucky pitchers combined to post a 5.23 team ERA on the mound over the course of 471.1 innings overall. UK combined to post a 472:227 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing opponents to hit .242 from the plate on the year. Trey Pooser (5-1, 4.02 ERA), Mason Moore (8-3, 5.40 ERA), and Dominic Niman (8-4, 5.94 ERA) combined to post a majority of the starts on the mound for UK on the season.
 
Scouting Illinois
Illinois took the No. 3 seed in the Lexington Regional as unveiled on the NCAA Selection Show on Monday afternoon. The Fighting Illini posted a 34-19 record in the 2024 season with an 18-6 mark in the Big Ten Conference on their way to securing the outright conference championship over the course of the regular season.
 
Illinois fell in their first contest in the Big Ten Tournament to Penn State, 8-4, before rebounding to eliminate Iowa from the field with a 4-2 extra-inning win over the Hawkeyes in Omaha, Neb. Illinois' tournament run came to an end against Michigan with a 4-2 loss to the Wolverines.
 
The Illini posted a 20-3 record at Illinois Field this season but struggled away with a 14-16 overall mark in road or neutral site competition. Illinois and Indiana State took on several familiar foes over the course of the season with the Illini recording wins over Bradley, Indiana (two), Illinois State, and Purdue (three). Illinois also has a win over fellow regional member Western Michigan topping the Broncos 8-6 in 10 innings back on March 2 at the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field.
 
The Sycamores and Illini split the season series played between the two schools. Indiana State took the 7-6 win over Illinois back on March 12 in Terre Haute, while the Illini claimed the 21-11 win on April 30 in Urbana-Champaign.
 
Six Illini earned All-Big Ten selections and Dan Hartleb was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Camden Janik and Jacob Schroeder were named to the First Team, Brody Harding and Ryan Moerman were named to the Second Team, while Drake Westcott and Cameron Chee-Aloy were named to the Third Team. Chee-Aloy was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Connor Milton was selected as Illinois' Sportsmanship Award honoree. The six All-Big Ten selections are the program's most since 10 were selected in 2015.
 
Janik (.368) leads a potent Illinois offense that is hitting .298 from the plate as a team over the 2024 season. Coltin Quagliano (.314) has added 12 doubles and a team-high 55 RBIs, while Drake Westcott (16) and Ryan Moerman (18) are among five Illinois players that have hit double-digit home runs this season.
 
Fifteen different Illinois pitchers have seen time on the mound in 2024 posting a team 5.89 ERA over 463.1 innings. The Illini have posted a 432:229 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .262 opponent batting average. Jack Crowder (6-2, 5.25 ERA) and Cooper Omans (4-1, 3.73 ERA) have both posted double-digit starts on the mound for the Illini this season with Crowder posting a 75:38 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the year.
 
Scouting Western Michigan
Western Michigan took the No. 4 seed in the Lexington Regional as unveiled on the NCAA Selection Show on Monday afternoon. The Broncos posted a 32-21 overall record in the 2024 season with a 19-11 mark in the Mid-American Conference on their way to claiming the MAC Tournament title held in Avon, Ohio.
 
The Broncos advanced in the postseason topping Ball State, 8-0, in the first round contest of the MAC Tournament setting up a game against regular season champion Bowling Green. WMU's offense came alive with an 11-0 win over the Falcons setting up a rematch against Ball State for the title. Western Michigan completed the weekend championship with a 10-3 victory over the Cardinals to secure the second MAC title in program history.
 
Western Michigan has seen its share of success away from home this season posting a combined 20-16 mark in road and neutral games, including a 15-7 record in true road games away from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.
 
The Sycamores and Broncos faced two common opponents over the course of the 2024 season with WMU falling to both Michigan State (13-3) and Illinois (8-6) at the First Pitch Invitational held in Greenville, S.C. at Fluor Field. Western Michigan also fell to Michigan State on April 17 in East Lansing, 12-2, while topping Valparaiso in a 15-inning contest on April 30 to go 1-3 against common opponents.
 
The Mid-American Conference announced its specialty award winners and All-Conference Baseball Teams with four Western Michigan Broncos earning recognition. Cade Sullivan and CJ Richmond were selected to the All-MAC First Team, Dylan Nevar and Nolan Vicek claimed spots on the Second Team, and Sullivan was named to the All-Defensive Team.
 
Sullivan (.397) and Richmond (.384) lead one of the top offenses in the nation as the Broncos enter the tournament connecting at a .316 clip from the plate as a team. Nevar (.344), Josh Swinehart (.318), and Brendan Harrity (.305) are also hitting above .300 on the year for Western Michigan. Nevar is the team leader with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs, while Richmond has connected on 31 extra-base hits including 13 home runs and 64 RBIs.
 
Sixteen different Western Michigan pitchers have combined to post a 5.50 team ERA over 463.1 innings over the course of the 2024 season. The Broncos have combined to record a 430:199 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .278 opponent batting average. Vicek (5-3, 4.15 ERA), Brady Miller (6-5, 6.48 ERA), and Jayden Dentler (4-2, 5.48 ERA) have all recorded double-digit starts in the 2024 season to highlight the pitching staff.
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