The Bobcats are back in the NCAA Tournament where Texas State will head into the Gainesville Regional.
Texas State will open up play against the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets.
“I think that was the key for [this team] is they were not happy with the way we finished last year,” Head Coach Ricci Woodard said. “So they really wanted to make sure that this year they set the tone early and often. I thought they did a good job of just continuing to battle with themselves in this spot today.”
This is the Bobcats seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the last ten seasons [2020 season was canceled] and Texas State’s 13th overall appearance in the tournament.
It also marks the first time the Bobcats will leave the state of Texas for the NCAA Tournament since 2018 when Texas State played in the Los Angeles Regional hosted by UCLA.
“It's a cool experience and that's the fun part about it,” Woodard said. “I always like the Austin regional or the A&M regional because of the fan base and the people that get to come hang out and cheer for us. But this will be a cool experience for these young ladies.
“To me, that's what this is all about. We got to go in there and take care of what we can do, but the experience it'll be cool.”
Texas State is looking to make the program’s first ever super regional appearance in program history. The Bobcats have appeared in three regional finals in 2001, 2003 and 2024.
For Woodard, the team believing that they can break through regionals will be the key for the Bobcats.
“That's the huge part of this is that I feel like 2 years ago, we had just as good a team, if not even a little better,” Woodard said. “But I'm not sure they believed at the end of the day that they could go to that A&M [regional], win it and get themselves into a super regional. The mid-major has to believe that for it to work and so this group has to really buy in. I think beating Texas Tech helped them 100% buy into that.”
First pitch for Texas State-Georgia Tech is set for Thursday with a time to be determined.
