LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — For the first time in the 12-year tenure of head coach
Chris Curry, Little Rock baseball is nationally ranked.
The Trojans checked in at No. 19 in this week's NCBWAÂ Â poll after an unforgettable postseason run that has rewritten the program record book and positioned Little Rock among the nation's final 16 teams.
Little Rock enters Super Regional week with a 39-26 record and is one of only 16 teams still playing for a berth in the College World Series. The ranking marks the first national ranking of the Curry era and comes on the heels of one of the most successful two-year stretches in school history.
"To be ranked in the top 20 nationally is another indication of where our program has risen to," Curry said. "I'm proud of our players and staff and coaches for being recognized at this level. I hope we can only keep getting better."
The Trojans have won eight consecutive games, captured their second straight Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship and advanced through the Hattiesburg Regional undefeated. Along the way, Little Rock defeated regional host Southern Miss, Conference USA champion Jacksonville State twice to earn the first Super Regional appearance in school history.
The ranking is another milestone for a program that has experienced unprecedented success under Curry. Last season, Little Rock reached the NCAA Regional Final for the first time in program history and became the only team to defeat eventual national champion LSU during the postseason. The Trojans also knocked off nationally ranked Dallas Baptist and LSU on the same day to force a winner-take-all regional final.
This season, Little Rock entered the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed and won five games in six days to capture its second straight league championship. The Trojans then carried that momentum to Hattiesburg, defeating three higher-seeded teams to advance to the Super Regional round.
The ranking also caps a season filled with milestones for Curry, who became Little Rock's all-time winningest coach earlier this spring and earned his 300th career victory at Little Rock during the OVC Tournament championship game.
Little Rock will play at Troy in the Super Regional at 4 p.m., Friday and 2 p.m., Saturday. The winner will earn a trip to Omaha and the College World Series.
NCBWAÂ Top 25 Poll
- Georgia Bulldogs baseball
- North Carolina Tar Heels baseball
- Texas Longhorns baseball
- Auburn Tigers baseball
- West Virginia Mountaineers baseball
- Oregon Ducks baseball
- Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball
- Kansas Jayhawks baseball
- Alabama Crimson Tide baseball
- USC Trojans baseball
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball
- UCLA Bruins baseball
- Ole Miss Rebels baseball
- Oklahoma Sooners baseball
- Troy Trojans baseball
- Texas A&M Aggies baseball
- Florida Gators baseball
- Cal Poly Mustangs baseball
- Little Rock Trojans baseball
- St. John's Red Storm baseball
- Florida State Seminoles baseball
- Oregon State Beavers baseball
- Arkansas Razorbacks baseball
- Southern Miss Golden Eagles
- Kentucky Wildcats baseball
