Photo Courtesy of NEC Conference
PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley will return to the same site of its first NCAA Tournament appearance with Sunday night’s announcement the Braves will face #15 national seed Missouri Friday in Columbia, Mo. The other two teams joining Bradley and Missouri in the Columbia Regional are Big 10 Conference foe Nebraska and Big 12 Conference member Kansas.
Bradley (27-30 overall) claimed its second NCAA Tournament appearance Saturday afternoon with an 8-7 victory over Missouri Valley Conference newcomer Loyola in the MVC Tournament Championship.
The Braves will be making their second NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2009. Bradley played in Columbia, Mo., in the squad’s first NCAA Tournament trip back in 2009, where the Braves topped a nationally ranked DePaul team 1-0 in the first round. Eventual College World Series participant Missouri defeated Bradley 2-1 and the Braves dropped a rematch with DePaul 2-1 later that same day in an elimination game.
The Columbia Regional will begin with Nebraska (40-15 overall) taking on former conference rival Kansas (33-21 overall) Friday at 12:30 p.m.. Bradley will face #15 seed Missouri (41-16 overall) at 3 p.m. The Braves fell to then 17th-ranked Missouri 1-0 back on Feb. 28 in Orlando, Fla.
The double elimination regional will continue Saturday and Sunday in Columbia, Mo.
