Gathered in the stands of Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday, Northwestern players awaited the results of the NCAA Tournament selection show, uncertain of their postseason fate.
Sitting three days removed from a first-round upset loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, the Wildcats (29-18-1, 16-6 Big Ten) secured an at-large bid and will head to South Carolina, where they will join the hosts No. 11 Clemson, Kentucky and South Carolina Upstate in the opening round.
The appearance marks NU’s seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and the 18th under coach Kate Drohan, who is in her 23rd season leading the program.
After hosting and winning Regionals in 2022 and 2023, the ’Cats saw their 2024 campaign end in the opening round with two losses to No. 1 Texas.
Following a topsy-turvy start to the 2025 campaign — including nine losses in February — NU found its stride late, closing the regular season with a road series win over then-No. 8 UCLA.
Drohan’s squad is one of eight Big Ten teams to earn a Tournament bid.
The ’Cats will return to the field Friday at 1 p.m. against Kentucky. All four teams in the Regional will compete Friday and Saturday in a double-elimination-style competition. The top two teams will play Sunday, and the winner will advance to Austin, Texas for Super Regionals the following weekend.
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