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The Tarleton State baseball team was left out of the NCAA Tournament field despite the fact that they claimed a conference championship. That omission is due to a silly rule regarding their transition to the Division I level.
The Texans recently made the move from DII, effectively disqualifying them from postseason play for their first four seasons of competition in the Western Athletic Conference.
The rule is one that’s fallen under scrutiny in the past across a variety of different sports.
Just last fall, we saw a duo of successful football teams nearly get snubbed from playing in bowl games despite incredible seasons on the field. After combining to go 19-5 in the regular season, Jacksonville State and James Madison’s bowl hopes appeared all but dashed due to their recent transitions from the FCS level.
The only way they eventually made the postseason was due to the fact that there were not enough college football teams eligible to compete in bowl action.
A similar story came out of the NCAA Basketball Tournament this past season when a dominant Southern Indiana squad was left out of the field despite winning its league and conference championship. Instead, a 16-16 team was sent in their place!
Tarleton State baseball is the latest to fall victim to the silly NCAA rule after winning the WAC Championship.
The Texans finished fifth in the league’s regular season standings before getting hot on their way to a conference tournament title. Reeling off five wins in six contests while taking down both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, TSU became the first reclassifying D1 program to accomplish the feat.
Rather than be rewarded for making history, they’ll be forced to watch a conference rival swipe their bid.
Grand Canyon, the team that won the regular season crown, was included in the NCAA Baseball Tournament field after going 0-2 in the league tournament.
Tarleton State’s appeal to its governing body apparently fell on deaf ears.
In light of @TarletonBase winning its conference tournament, we are submitting a request to the @NCAA asking that they reevaluate their postseason ban for reclassifying institutions.
Our student-athletes and coaches deserve to keep their season going.
Our full statement 👇 pic.twitter.com/Z3J7NsqkoL
— Tarleton Athletics (@TarletonSports) May 26, 2024
There was hope that requests would be honored when the selection process began, but when the final name was called, the Texans were on the outside looking in. It’s certainly a disappointing end to the year for Tarleton State baseball players and coaches.