Western Kentucky junior center fielder Ryan Wideman (33) bats in the Hilltoppers’ 9-1 over the Blue Raiders at Nick Denes Field on Saturday, April 19, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS

Western Kentucky hopes carry the momentum built during a stellar run to the Conference USA Baseball Championship victory into this week’s NCAA Tournament.

The Hilltoppers are in Oxford, Mississippi, to as the No. 3 seed in the four-team Oxford Regional. WKU takes on No. 2 seed Georgia Tech in the first game of the double-elimination pod Friday at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

WKU (46-12) is making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2009 after the Tops secured CUSA’s automatic bid by going 4-0 in last week’s tournament in Lynchburg, Virginia. Three of those four CUSA tournament wins came via walk-off hits, helping WKU secure its first-ever CUSA baseball title.

“Our guys believe that they have earned this and I believe they’ve earned it as well, so we’re ready to get down there and see what we’ve got and show some people what we got,” WKU coach Marc Rardin said during a news conference Monday.

The Tops join No. 18 nationally ranked Georgia Tech in the Oxford Regional along with host and No. 1 seed Ole Miss and No. 4 seed Murray State.

With 46 wins, the Hilltoppers are one win away from tying the 47-win 1980 squad for the most wins in a season in program history. The Tops racked up the most All-CUSA postseason awards this week headlined by Wideman earning CUSA Player and Newcomer of the Year, Drew Whalen being selected as the league’s Pitcher of the Year, Marc Rardin claiming Keith LeClair CUSA Coach of the Year honors and Dillon Napoleon collecting CUSA Assistant Coach of the Year recognition.

WKU had nine selections on the All-CUSA Teams. Wideman, Whalen and Lucas Hartman were featured on the first team while Vasquez, Kyle Hayes, Jack Bennett and Cal Higgins made the second team. A pair of Hilltoppers were placed on the All-Freshman squad in Reid Howard and Taylor Penn.

WKU’s pitching staff has been dominant, as their 3.35 ERA ranks third in the nation. The Hilltoppers are one of three teams in the nation with a sub-3.40 ERA, joining Northeastern and Coastal Carolina.

The Tops’ .315 batting average — tied with Georgia Tech for 13th among NCAA Division I programs — and 126 stolen bases lead CUSA and rank top 25 in the nation. The Tops’ 126 stolen bases are a single-season program record.

Georgia Tech (40-17) won the ACC regular-season championship. In what will be longtime head coach Danny Hall’s 32nd and final season leading the program, the Yellow Jackets present a tough opening test for the Hilltoppers at Swayze Field at Oxford University Stadium.

“They can hit and they’re going to be at Ole Miss, which is a hitter’s ballpark,” Rardin said. ” … They’ve been known as being offensive and being at the Ole Miss ballpark — which is a little bit notorious shorter park for balls to leave in — that’s probably not the best combo for us. It’s something that we have to go out — and it’s hard to do — but you’ve just got to get your guys to play the game and not the uniform. The game is still the game.”

This will be the 36th NCAA Tournament berth for Georgia Tech and the fifth in the last six years. The Jackets are 79-71 (.527) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 71-60 (.542) in Regional action. This is the 25th NCAA Tournament appearance in the Hall era with the Yellow Jackets posting a 64-55 (.538) postseason record in that span.

WKU can’t match that postseason experience, but the Tops aren’t shying away from the opportunity take on a traditional power right out of the gate.

“It’s a dream come true,” Wideman said. “I’m just really excited to go play. It was a goal of ours the whole season to win Conference USA, so I think we’re just really excited that we got that done and now just excited to keep playing more games now.”