HOSTING! Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park to host regional next weekend

For the first time since 2017, the NCAA Tournament is headed back to Aggieland.

On Sunday evening, the NCAA announced the 16 host sites for next weekend, and Texas A&M is among the schools that will be hosting the regional round.

Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park has not hosted the NCAA Tournament since the 2017 College Station Super Regional between the Aggies and Davidson Wildcats. A&M has not hosted a regional since the 2016 postseason when Minnesota, Wake Forest and Binghamton ventured to the Brazos Valley.

“This is just another accomplishment that is well-deserved for our fans, players and staff,” Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said in a release. “It is NOW time for the 12th Man to buy all the tickets and show up LOUD from the first pitch! Our team must do our part by playing sound and fundamental baseball in all phases. The postseason is NEVER about the best team, only about the team that PLAYS the best… that will be our mantra from this point forward. Gig ‘em!”

With the road to Omaha officially coming through Aggieland, next weekend will be the 12th time the Maroon & White have hosted a regional since Olsen Field's construction in 1978.

Three other Southeastern Conference programs were also named regional hosts as Auburn, Florida (Gainesville) and Tennessee (Knoxville) will have home-field advantage in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The other 12 hosts include East Carolina (Greenville), Georgia Southern (Statesboro), Louisville, Maryland (College Park), Miami (Coral Gables), North Carolina (Chapel Hill), Oklahoma State (Stillwater), Oregon State (Corvallis), Southern Miss (Hattiesburg), Stanford, Texas (Austin) and Virginia Tech (Blacksburg).

Lexie Hudson, TexAgs

A&M’s last postseason game at Olsen ultimately sent the Aggies to Omaha and the 2017 College World Series.

For Texas A&M to be among this group of 16 would have been unthinkable to most ahead of Opening Day, but Jim Schlossnagle's Aggies have pieced together an improbably magical season, finishing the regular season 35-17 and 19-11 in the SEC to win the west division. A&M then advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament before falling to Florida, finishing 2-1 in Hoover.

Many analysts believe the Aggies to be a lock for a top-eight national seed, which would grant them home-field advantage through the super regional round. A&M's seed among the top-16 teams as well as the rest of the field of 64 will be announced on Memorial Day.

Monday's NCAA selection show is set for 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.