The NCAA tournament began in 1947, but TCU made just two appearances in its first 57 years (1956 and 1994). Then, in 2004, the arrival of coach Jim Schlossnagle paid immediate dividends in the form of the Horned Frogs' third-ever selection that same year. They've made it all but one season since then. TCU's rise as a national power has resulted in four straight College World Series berths, but it's still seeking its first spot in the championship series.
Here's everything you need to know about the TCU Horned Frogs.
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Program history
Team nickname: Horned Frogs
School mascot: Super Frog
Conference affiliation: Big 12
Home field: Lupton Stadium (capacity 4,500)
Notable baseball alumni: Jake Arrieta (2006-07), Andrew Cashner (2008), Bryan Holaday (2008-10)
Baseball history
Number of NCAA tournament appearances: 15
College World Series appearances: 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
CWS championships: None
This season
That Omaha feeling... It never gets old! #CWS pic.twitter.com/Bkr8y5IqUc
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 12, 2017
Season record: 47-16 (16-8 Big 12)
Coach: Jim Schlossnagle (14 seasons)
Coaching record: 612-270
Notable pre-NCAA tournament wins: LSU (March 3), Texas A&M (March 4), Dallas Baptist (March 7, April 11), Oklahoma State (March 24-26)
How they got here: 3-0 in regional (beat Central Connecticut State, Virginia, Dallas Baptist); 2-0 in super regional (beat Missouri State)
Next up: Florida (47-18) in first stage of CWS
How the Horned Frogs rank
Celebrating with the #FrogFam never gets old. See you in OMAHA! #ToadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/N7P0JoqdXk
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) June 12, 2017
Final D1baseball.com ranking: No. 6
NCAA tournament national seed: No. 6
RPI: No. 7
Team batting average: .272 (147th)
Team ERA: 3.99 (63rd)
Players to watch
Top hitter: TCU's lineup took a major blow with the loss of slugger Luken Baker to an arm injury in mid-May, but it has still been getting its regular power fix from junior Evan Skoug. The catcher has quite possibly been the most dangerous bat in the entire NCAA tournament, blasting a home run in four of the five games — and in the one game he didn't go deep, he went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Skoug has 12 RBIs in the tournament, going 6-for-18 with four walks. The five tourney games have accounted for 18 percent of his RBIs for the season and 11 percent of his career home runs.
EVAN SKOUG!
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 11, 2017
He hits a two-run BOMB and TCU takes a 3-2 lead over Missouri State!!! #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/mdKD9dpipa
Top starter: The ace of the club, despite dealing with a shoulder injury that kept him out for about a month from mid-April to May, is Jared Janczak. While it took some time to get his pitch count all the way back up, he is now looking healthy and dominating once again. In four starts since the injury, he has given up just three earned runs in 22.1 innings for a 1.22 ERA. He has 28 strikeouts in that span, including 10 against Missouri State in Game 1 of the Super Regionals. For the season, the sophomore carries a 9-0 record, 1.86 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 82.1 innings pitched.
Top reliever: He might not serve as the team's closer, but sophomore Sean Wymer has been a valuable commodity for Schlossnagle with his ability to go multiple innings of shutdown relief. The righty's ERA sits at 2.37 in 28 appearances, and he played a big part in TCU's Super Regionals sweep, going an inning and two-thirds in each game against Missouri State. He was credited for the win in Game 1 of the series, entering in the seventh with the Horned Frogs trailing 2-1 and keeping it that way long enough for Skoug's dramatic home run in the eighth. He has gone more than an inning in 21 of his 28 appearances this year, and he serves as an important bridge to closer Durbin Feltman.
