Troy baseball is making history.
The Trojans (36-30) will host Little Rock in the NCAA Super Regional at Riddle-Pace Field, marking the program's first-ever appearance at this stage.
The series begins Friday at 4 p. m.
, with Game 2 on Saturday at 2 p. m.
and a potential Game 3 to follow.
Head coach Greg Meade sees deep echoes of his own past.
Nearly two decades ago, he was a senior on Louisville's 2007 team that reached the College World Series for the first time.
Now, he leads Troy on a similar journey.
"Your story's already written," Meade recalled his former college coach telling him.
"If you decide to write another chapter, then it's going to be the greatest one ever written."
A Season of Resilience
Troy's path to the supers was anything but smooth. The Trojans had made regionals four times in the past 15 years but never advanced.
In 2023, they posted a 40-win season but went 1-2 in the Tuscaloosa Regional.
After missing the postseason the next two years, they entered this year's NCAA Tournament as the last at-large team with a 32-29 record.
Meade credits a challenging schedule for preparing his team.
Troy played seven games against ranked opponents, going 4-3, including a 12-inning, 6-5 win over Georgia (now the No. 3 national seed) on Feb.
25.
Injuries plagued the squad early, but a turning point came on May 5 when they beat 17th-ranked Alabama, 6-1, then took a series from rival South Alabama.
The Trojans won five of their last six regular-season games and reached the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals.
"This is what we've been striving to do," Meade said. "Being fortunate enough to host a super regional, it's like a whole other level.
The game rewards you sometimes if you can handle all the ups and downs."
Echoes of 2007
Meade sees striking similarities between this Troy team and the 2007 Louisville squad. Both had to beat Miami to earn home games.
Louisville defeated the Hurricanes twice before taking down Missouri. Troy lost to Miami in the tournament opener but won a rematch in the elimination bracket.
Chris Dominguez, a former Louisville teammate of Meade, now serves as an assistant coach for Miami.
"It's a big deal if you're part of history," Meade said.
"But the great part about being part of history is it's not like there's a ceiling as to what all becomes of it.
I don't want these guys to feel like we're done, because we're not."
Little Rock enters the series on an eight-game winning streak, having taken down regional host Southern Miss and Jacksonville State twice.
The Trojans are confident but focused on writing their own chapter.
