The long NCAA baseball drought for USC is over…
News and wire reports — USC baseball has ended its postseason drought with an invitation to the Corvallis Regional hosted by Oregon State as the No. 3 seed, the NCAA announced earlier today.
USC’s postseason fate was in doubt during the final weeks of the season, but the Trojans squeezed into the tournament field for the first time since 2015 and for only the second time since 2005, when Hall-of-Fame coach Mike Gillespie was in charge. The Trojans got into the tournament as one of the “Last Four In.”
USC, ranked as high as No. 25 in the polls this season, opens play in Corvallis against TCU (39-18) at noon PDT on Friday on ESPNU. Oregon State and Saint Mary’s round out the regional field. USC is 5-7 all-time against the Horned Frogs.
Three years into the Andy Stankiewicz era, USC earned the berth after going 35-21 overall this season and finishing fourth in the Big Ten with an 18-12 conference record.
Despite years of recent struggles, USC still overwhelmingly owns the most NCAA Titles of any program with 12, surpassing the next closest contender by nearly double (LSU at seven). The Trojans have made 21 College World Series appearances and own an overall postseason record of 208-77. USC’s last CWS appearance was in 2001, and the program’s last CWS title was in 1998.
Over the last three years under Stankiewicz, USC has posted the first back-to-back-to-back 30-win seasons since Gillespie. Stankiewicz is the first USC coach since Gillespie to win at least 100 games in their first three seasons.
It is a double-elimination tournament to progress out of the regional into the Super Regional (June 6 through June 9), and the winner of the Corvallis Regional will take on the winner of a Tallahassee Regional featuring overall No. 9 seed Florida State, Mississippi State, Northeastern and Bethune-Cookman.
All-Big Ten First Team and All-Defensive Big Ten Team third baseman Ethan Hedges leads USC. He started all 56 games for the Trojans and hit .343 with a team-high 74 hits, including 12 dingers, five triples, and 55 RBI.
Hedges, a JR from Mater Dei, also went 2-1 with nine saves and a 2.40 ERA as a reliever this year.
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Will USC and ND figure out a way to make the 100-year-old rivalry last? Jim Alexander and Mirjam Swanson (OC Register) Jim — The chatter is that the traditional, wonderful football rivalry between USC and Notre Dame might be on its last legs. Notre Dame people have sought a multi-year contract to keep the series alive, but USC – Lincoln Riley, mostly, but apparently with the full backing of Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen – agreed to extend the series only one additional year, through 2026, while the College Football Playoff format sorts itself out and the Trojans figure out how best to… Read more »
As stated…..if it happens it’s all about playing in the BIG. USC might schedule a big (no pun) game in SEC territory early in the year to showcase itself……or until Riley leaves, 3 games against teams like Georgia Southern. We have several trips into BIG territory every year.
If ND had joined the BIG the game could have continued as a conference rivalry.
As for the Pac…..it’s amazing how dumb Oregon State and Washington St were for pushing for total equality.
I’ve been to quite a few games this year at the Great Park. The Trojans play hard and have been exciting. We’ve had many comeback wins and I like the direction the program is heading. Hopefully SC can win the Big 10 and compete with the southeast teams in the near future.
Andy Stankiewicz was hired by Trojan AD Mike Bohn in July 2022. It’s looking like he was a fantastic pick to drag our once glorious baseball program out of the depths of despair. Wiki — Stankiewicz went to Santa Fe Springs St. Paul (he was “regarded as ‘one of the best athletes in the history of the school.'”) before moving on to Pepperdine, where he was a standout for Waves baseball and graduated in ’86 with a degree in sociology. He ranks in the top 10 in several Pepperdine career batting categories, and is third on the school’s all-time list in stolen bases.… Read more »
I don’t expect the Trojans to advance from here, but it feels great to be back in the postseason, and I believe we are just getting started. Next season we get back to playing at Deadeax and Stank is first coach since Gillespie with real credibility.
This is great news! If they get hot, maybe they can make it to Omaha. 🙏🙏
The chances of them getting to Omaha are slim and none with none having a much better chance than slim. But they have a really good coach who can lead them to a run on Omaha in the coming years.
I know. Let me hang on to the few dreams I have left at my age. 🤣
This guy can coach baseball. I think SC is on its way back
Great to see USC baseball back in the NCAA tournament. When I was a student at SC in the 1970s, Coach Rod Dedeaux had the team in the NCAAs every year. When I was a Freshman, Fred Lynn played center field. I attended the inaugural game played at Dedeaux Field where USC pitcher Russ McQueen threw a no hitter vs. Cal. Great memories and hopefully more to come!