[11] Illinois Set for 2025 Big Ten Baseball Tournament

PREVIEW

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — [11] Illinois heads to Omaha, Neb., for the 20245Big Ten Baseball Tournament Presented by IFS.ai, at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. The 12-team tournament will determine the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

This year’s tournament will incorporate pool play with four groups consisting of three teams each. The four pool winners will meet in the single-elimination semifinals on May 24, followed by the championship game on May 25.

In Pool B, the Fighting Illini will face [7] Michigan on Tuesday and [2] UCLA on Wednesday. Both games feature a 10 a.m. CT first pitch.

NOTES

THE 2025 BIG TEN BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

Illinois baseball begins postseason play when they head to Omaha, Neb., for the 2025 Big Ten Baseball Tournament Presented by IFS.ai.

The Illini secured the No. 11 seed by going 2-1 from May 15-17 at Ohio State, earning their sixth-straight berth to the conference tournament.

All games will be broadcast nationally on Big Ten Network and will also be available on the FOX Sports app.

Connor McKnight, Jeff Leise, Danan Hughes, Connor Onion and Scott Pose will be on the call for all tournament long on BTN.

Scott Beatty will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM/93.9FM).

Streaming, audio, and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS

[11] Illinois will face [7] Michigan and [2] UCLA during Pool B play at the tournament. The Illini would face the winner of Pool C if they advance, which features [3] Iowa, [6] Indiana and [10] Rutgers.

Michigan salvaged its series vs. Indiana with a victory on May 17 to avoid a sweep at home. The Wolverines finished the season 33-21 with a 16-14 record in conference play.

The Wolverines are led at the plate by INF Benny Casillas, who slashed .406/.491/.579 to go along with 20 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 38 RBI and 28 walks over 53 games. INF Mitch Voit paces the squad in the power department, leading the team in OPS (1.132), home runs (13) and RBI (58).

Michigan is led on the mound by RHP Kurt Barr, who went 6-5 with a 4.26 ERA (33 ER/69.2 IP) in 15 games, 13 starts, striking out 74 batters. RHP Max Debiec leads relief arms, going 0-1 with a 2.63 ERA (8 ER/27.1 IP) in 18 appearances, holding opponents to a .181 average.

UCLA won two of three games vs….