For the first time since 2012, Penn State baseball is heading to the Big Ten Tournament.
Despite losing to Illinois on Thursday night, coach Rob Cooper’s team clinched a tournament berth thanks to losses from Nebraska and Northwestern. When the Nittany Lions head to Omaha, Nebraska, it will be the first time they play in the postseason with Cooper at the helm.
Penn State has put together its best full season since 2016, posting a 25-25 overall record with an 11-11 mark within the conference. Back in 2016, the Nittany Lions finished with 12 conference wins, which the current team can exceed if it wins its final two games of the regular season over Illinois.
With two games remaining on the regular-season schedule, Penn State, which currently sits in sixth place in the conference, can climb as high as fifth place. Michigan holds the fifth spot as of now, and the Wolverines finish their season with two games against second-place Rutgers.
In the Nittany Lions’ last tournament appearance in 2012, they entered the postseason as the No. 3 seed but were upset in the first round by No. 6-seeded Ohio State. That was followed up by a loss to Nebraska to knock Penn State out of the tournament.
The 2022 Big Ten Tournament will kick off on Wednesday, May 25, at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
