Little Rock, Arkansas – The Little Rock Trojans are heading back to the NCAA Tournament, and this time it comes with a stronger sense of belief, history, and rising expectations. After securing their second straight Ohio Valley Conference baseball championship, the Trojans officially punched their ticket into the national postseason field, continuing a run that is quickly reshaping the identity of the program.
The NCAA selection committee placed Little Rock in the Hattiesburg Regional, hosted by Southern Mississippi. The Trojans earned the No. 4 seed in the bracket and will open play on Friday at 1 p.m. against the top-seeded Golden Eagles. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, giving fans a national stage to watch the team’s latest postseason test.
The regional field is competitive from top to bottom. Alongside Little Rock and Southern Mississippi, No. 2 seed Virginia will face No. 3 seed Jacksonville State University in the opening round as well, setting up a tightly contested double-elimination format where every inning could matter.
For the Trojans, this marks the second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, but it carries extra weight in program history. It is the first time in school history that Little Rock has reached back-to-back regionals, a milestone that signals a shift from occasional success to sustained competitiveness at a higher level.
Head coach Chris Curry did not hide his pride in what the program has become, while also hinting that the journey is still far from finished. “I’m not joking about, hey, let’s make this a tradition,” coach Chris Curry said. “I don’t take it lightly. It’s quite an honor to sit in a room and know your name is going to pop up and be confident in that. It’s a proud day. We get to celebrate this program, where it started and where it is now. We’re competing at a high level academically, in the community, and on the field.”
That sense of progression has been building for years, but this season brought it into full view. Little Rock previously made a deep run in the Baton Rouge Regional, where the team advanced all the way to the regional final before falling to eventual national champion LSU. That experience, while ending in defeat, helped set a new internal standard for what the program expects from itself.
This year added even more history. The Trojans set a new program record for season victories, showing consistency across a long and demanding schedule. Coach Curry also reached a personal milestone, earning his 300th career win during one of the most successful stretches in team history.
Individual performances also stood out throughout the postseason push. The Trojans placed six players on the OVC All-Tournament Team, highlighting the depth of the roster. Freshman pitcher Tag Andrews had a breakout performance and was named OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player. He was joined on the All-Tournament list by Nico Baumbach, Jerdy Lopez, Blake Simpson, Brody Bunting, and Cooper Chaplain, all of whom played key roles in securing the championship run.
Curry believes the lessons from last year’s NCAA appearance have carried over into this season, shaping a more confident and composed group. “We wanted to establish consistency and show last year wasn’t a one-year fluke,” Curry said. “Now there’s an expectation here to compete for championships every season. There’s confidence in this team, and there’s no panic. We know what this stage looks like now, and we believe we can compete with anybody there.”
As the Trojans prepare for another national stage, the message around the program is clear. This is no longer just about making appearances. It is about building something that lasts, something that continues beyond a single season, and something that now feels like it might just become routine.
