When the Southern Miss baseball team watched last year's selection show for the NCAA Tournament, the players were an extremely tense bunch with an uncertain future.
Thanks to an automatic bid following a Conference USA tournament title win on Saturday, the Golden Eagles were a loose group on Monday and ready to face the next challenge.
The task ahead for USM involves a trip to the NCAA Regional in Auburn, Ala., as a No. 3 seed. This marks the Eagles' eighth-straight trip to a regional.
The Golden Eagles are joined by No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Clemson and No. 4 Jacksonville State.
"I like the closeness of it with the ability of our fan base to travel and support us," USM coach Scott Berry said.
"I think it's going to be a win-win situation for us. It's obviously going to be a win for Auburn with the NCAA placing us there."
USM's first game will be at 2 p.m. Friday against Clemson at Plainsman Park.
The host Auburn Tigers will play the second game of the day against Jacksonville State at 6 p.m. Friday.
Congratulations to the baseball team on a great second half of the season. It is always difficult to repeat the feats of the last season, but you guys showed a lot of talent and heart to make it as far as you did. You should be proud of your accomplishments. We are.