Maryland baseball: Terps go dancing for 2nd straight year, play in L.A.

Although the Terps (39-21) came up just short in the B1G Tournament, their body of work over the season made it likely that they would get invited to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. Unlike last year when fans had to wait until the last Regional bracket was announced to see that the Terrapins were selected, this year we found out quite quickly. Maryland was in the first Regional bracket unveiled Sunday, when it was announced that the Terps are the #3 seed in the Los Angeles, CA bracket. The host school is UCLA (42-14, RPI = 4). Also in the bracket are #2 seed Ole Miss (30-26, RPI = 31, SOS the toughest in the country), and #4 seed UC-Bakersfield (36-22-1, RPI = 126).

UCLA is ranked No. 2 by D1Baseball and is the overall #1 seed in the tournament. That means Maryland got a low #3 seed, which was confirmed when it was revealed that the Terrapins were one of the last four teams in.  That seems a bit unfair, as Maryland beat a number of teams that received higher seeds. But it's a statement of how far Maryland baseball has come that the question became, not are we going, but where will we be playing?

For a look at the whole NCAA Regionals bracket, look here.

The Regionals round is a double elimination format. Maryland will face Ole Miss on ESPN3 Friday at 7 p.m. (Note: A full preview and How-to-Follow will appear in an article Thursday afternoon.)

Other B1G teams making the tournament include Illinois (overall #6 seed, #1 seed in the Champaign, IL Regional), Iowa (#2 seed in Springfield, MO Regional), Indiana (#3 seed in Nashville, TN Regional), and Michigan (#3 seed in the Louisville, KY Regional). Prior to 2015, the highest number of B1G teams making the NCAA Tournament was three.

Last year the Terps won the Columbia, SC Regional round by winning three straight games in a hostile atmosphere. Can history repeat in 2015?