Cowboys Earn Top Seed, Host Regional Friday

Oklahoma State has been awarded the top seed at the NCAA Stillwater Regional, with the four-team, double-elimination tourney also featuring second-seeded Nebraska, third-seeded Cal State Fullerton and fourth-seeded Binghamton, it was announced by the NCAA Selection Committee today.

The NCAA Stillwater Regional will open Friday with Nebraska (40-19) taking on Cal State Fullerton (32-22) at noon at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium before OSU (45-16) faces Binghamton (25-25) at 6 p.m. It will mark the first time the Cowboys have been a Regional host since 2008 and the 11th time overall at Reynolds Stadium. The Pokes are are 33-11 all time in Regional play on their current home field and have won six Regional titles, the last coming in 1993.

"We're thrilled to get to host a Regional here in Stillwater, and we anticipate a tremendous tournament after seeing the pairings with some outstanding ballclubs coming to town in what should be an awesome Regional," Holliday said. "You look at a Nebraska team that's played exceptionally well as of late and been right at the top of the Big 10 standings. Cal State Fullerton coming into the season was a preseason number one pick in the country. And then a Binghamton squad that we'll learn much more about today.

"You're talking about ballclubs that have done something not only this year but certainly in the past. There's a championship-caliber heritage that exists in all these programs and certainly one that exists right here in Stillwater. We're looking forward to a challenging tournament. If you want to get to the top, you have to beat a number of challenging opponents along the road, and this is the first journey that our team has to get through in the postseason.

"We're really glad to get to do it here in Stillwater, and I hope our fans turn out and make sure that Oklahoma State is represented powerfully throughout the stadium throughout the tournament."

The Cowboys, who were the Big 12 Conference regular season champions, enter the postseason with a 45-16 record. OSU's 45 wins are its most since 1999, which also marks the last time the Pokes appeared in the College World Series.

OSU is making its 40th NCAA Tournament appearance, a total that ranks fourth all time, and the Cowboys own an all-time NCAA tourney record of 136-85 (.615), with the 136 wins ranking seventh in NCAA history.

The 2014 Regional berth marks the second in as many seasons under the direction of Holliday. A year ago, the Cowboys advanced to the finals of the NCAA Louisville Regional as a No. 3 seed before losing to the host Cardinals.

The Cowboys will be looking for their first Regional championship since 2007 when they won the NCAA Fayetteville Regional to advance to the second Super Regional in program history. Should OSU advance out of the Stillwater Regional, Holliday's ballclub will face the winner of the NCAA Corvallis (Oregon State) Regional in Super Regional play.

"Hosting is a big deal – we're very excited to be hosting here in Stillwater because it hasn't been done in a long time," said OSU outfielder and Big 12 Player of the Year Zach Fish. "It's great not only for us but for the fans and the University. We're excited that we were able to have such and good year and be able to host.

"We're going in against some great teams. Cal State Fullerton is a very decorated program and Nebraska is too, and Binghamton did some good things to be able to get into the tournament. Any team that makes it to the tournament has a great opportunity, and we're just excited about ours and ready to continue playing good baseball."