:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49731057/byu_miller_park_via_byucougars-dot-com.0.0.PNG)
Today, the BYU baseball team found out that their season is officially over.
The NCAA announced their field of 64 teams. BYU was not included.
The Cougars started the season was a team record start of 18-1. Injuries to their starting pitching rotation and a overall increase in the quality of their opponent in West Coast Conference play led to a 19-16 finish. The Cougars ended with a record of 37-17.
BYU's 37 wins are the most ever in the Mike Littlewood era of Cougar baseball and the highest win total since 2005. BYU also shared a West Coast Conference regular season title with St. Mary's and Gonzaga.
Both the Gaels and the Bulldogs will be playing in the NCAA tournament.
St. Mary's was selected as a 3-seed. The Gaels were co-WCC regular season champions and won the WCC tournament last weekend. They are going to the NC State regional. They will play Coastal Carolina. Navy round out their regional grouping.
Gonzaga was also selected as a 3-seed. The Bulldogs were co-WCC regular season champions. The Zags will play Arizona St. Also in their pod is host TCU and Oral Roberts.
As a matter of local interest, Utah Valley University qualified for the NCAA tournament by virtue of their winning the WAC. They were awarded a 4-seed and will play in Baton Rouge Regional against 1-seed LSU. SE Louisiana and Rice are also in the Wolverines regional.
The University of Utah finished with a 25-27 record, but were able to win the Pac-12. Utah qualified as a 4-seed and will play Ole Miss in Oxford. Boston College and Tulane round out their regional bracket. It is the Utes 2nd NCAA appearance in the last 56 years.
The last time BYU was selected to the NCAA tournament was 2002. The Cougars NCAA tournament appearance drought was extended to 14 years with today's announcement.