After an up-and-down season that included a Big 12 Championship semifinals appearance, Kansas State baseball was not selected to participate in the NCAA Championship. The Wildcats were selected as a First Four out team, meaning it was one of the best four teams to not make the tournament from the selection committee.
The selection would have marked the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013 and the first appearance with head coach Pete Hughes.
Related:
K-State baseball falls in Big 12 semifinals, awaits NCAA Tournament fate
The Wildcats finished the season with a 35-24 record and went 13-11 in conference play. K-State made the Big 12 semifinals, losing to TCU twice while taking down Texas and Kansas.
Fellow Big 12 school Oklahoma received a bid into the tournament as one of the last four teams in by the selection committee. Oklahoma finished the season 31-28 and was swept by K-State in the best-of-three series.
FWIW — we had Oklahoma in over Kansas State in our last field for those reasons. I do think @KStateBSB is clearly the better team of the two.
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) May 29, 2023
Oklahoma’s RPI (Rating Percentage Index) ranking of 40 helped its selection while K-State received an RPI ranking of 55. The selection committee had a heavy RPI influence as 15 of the 16 hosts were in the top 16 in RPI. RPI has received heavy criticism, even hearing backlash on the selection show on ESPN2.
The Wildcats now wait to play next season in Hughes’ expected sixth season at the helm.
