“That’s not a death sentence,” Trojans junior Kevin Takeuchi told reporters. “We just go out there, take it one pitch at a time, try and get on base and pass it to the next guy.”

That’s the mindset that could be the key to rebounding from a crushing 7-5 Big Ten Tournament semifinal loss to UCLA as the Trojans pursue their 22nd College World Series appearance.

USC is one of four Big Ten teams to qualify for the field of 64 in the NCAA Tournament, earning an at-large bid after posting a 43-15 record and finishing tied for third with Oregon at 20-10 in the conference standings.

They’ll start in Texas with the College Station Regional, where they’re slated to play Texas State (36-24) on Friday at 6 p.m.

No. 12 national seed Texas A&M (39-14) and Lamar University (34-25) of Beaumont, Texas, will also play in the double-elimination regional. Only one team will advance to the best-of-three super regionals, which will be held at a site to be determined. The eight super regional winners advance to the CWS in Omaha, Neb.

USC’s Mason Edwards (8-0), Andrew Johnson (6-2), Chase Herrell and Ben Cushnie combined for a shutout of Michigan State in the Big Ten quarterfinals, with Edwards recording six strikeouts while allowing just two hits in four innings of work before a 90-minute rain delay.

Edwards, a junior with a 1.43 ERA, was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and ranks fourth in Trojans history with 160 strikeouts on the season. The Palisades Charter High product and Johnson and Grant Govel (10-2) lead a rotation backed by a deep bullpen. Govel joined Edwards on the All-Big Ten first team.

“It’s always good to go and pick whoever pitcher you have in the bullpen and be like, ‘Yeah, this guy can get us out of it and go long into the game,’” Edwards said.

USC led UCLA (51-6), which earned the No. 1 national seed, in the ninth inning of the conference semifinals before Mulivai Levu hit a walk-off, three-run home run to get the Bruins the win and move on to win the entire tournament.

Texas State is one of nine schools that will comprise a new-look Pac-12 Conference next year, but this season, they were fourth-place finishers in the Sun Belt Conference in the regular season.

The Bobcats are making their seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They earned an at-large bid to the College Station Regional after a 7-4 loss to Louisiana, which ranks No. 33 in the RPI rankings, in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals.

Second-team all-conference outfielder Rashawn Galloway leads the team with a .324 batting average and a .594 slugging percentage. Texas State lacks pitching depth, however, and none of its three starters own an ERA lower than 4.01.

Odds, Home Crowds and History …

USC’s baseball program has a long history of success. The Trojans have won 12 national championships in prorgram history, with their last title coming in 1998. Since then, USC has only made the College World Series in 2000 and 2001. It has now been 25 years since the Trojans made it that far and they will look to change that this year.

It will be a tall task for one of the three road teams to win this regional as Texas A&M has been one of the most consistent baseball programs in recent times. The Aggies have made four of the past five NCAA Tournaments since 2022 and made the College World Series twice in this span (2022 and 2024). In 2024, they fell in the national championship to the Tennessee Volunteers.

Another factor that will be difficult for USC, Texas State, and Lamar to overcome is Texas A&M’s home crowd. The Aggies home crowd is among the best in college baseball. They are most known for their “Ball Five” chant when an opposing pitcher is struggling to find the strike zone during a game. The whole crowd chants as one “Ball” and then adds however many balls in a row the pitcher has thrown. It can get in a player’s head.

Per FanDuel Sportsbook, USC has odds of +200 to win in College Station and advance to the Super Regionals. Explosive and powerful Texas A&M is the solid favorite with odds of -195 to win it in front of that intimidating home crowd.

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