College baseball has a 56 game regular season for everyone and the Big Ten recently expanded its conference slate from 24 to 30 games with 10 three-game series for each of the 17 baseball playing schools. With Illinois coming to Alexander Field this weekend it marks roughly the halfway point for the 2026 season, and Purdue finds itself on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.
Purdue baseball has only made the NCAA Tournament three times. It went 0-2 in 1987, then did not make it again until 2012 when
the Boilermakers had their best season ever in winning the Big Ten and hosting a regional. Purdue also made it in 2018, but most of the time Purdue is far from the field. That means making it tot he halfway point of the season in consideration is great.
D1baseball.com does an excellent job of covering college baseball and this week they released their midseason tournament projections. They do not have Purdue in the field, but the Boilermakers are listed as a “First Four Out” of the 64 team field. There is ample time for the team to play its way in, too.
Right now Purdue sits at 19-9 overall and 7-5 in Big Ten play. It has won series against Penn State, Maryland, and Michigan State two games to one each, but it lost a home series 2-1 to Oregon. There are a few things helping Purdue’s case right now:
- First, Purdue has two wins over teams currently in the top 10 of the national rankings. It beat #9 Oregon State 5-2 back in February and the Beavers are 22-6. Taking one game from Oregon was also very good, as the Ducks are ranked 10th at 23-7.
- Purdue also has a very nice neutral site win over Baylor, who is another team on the Bubble. It is a top 50 RPI win, too.
- The Boilers have had some very soft out of conference schedules in recent years, but this year’s has been stronger than most. Purdue beat Baylor and Oregon State the same weekend they also faced #13 Southern Miss (a one run loss) in the Round Rock Classic, which is a huge RPI boost. The opening series win over Portland is also looking good, as the Pilots are a top 75 RPI team and potential tourney team in their own right out of the WCC.
- The series win at Maryland looks extra good because it was on the road.
This is all good, but Purdue has work to do if it is going to lockdown a bid. It has let a couple of big leads get away in the games it lost to Maryland and Penn State, and this week it suffered a tough midweek loss at Indiana State 12-4. Still, much like basketball, teams are evaluated on a tiered system with the RPI and Purdue is 4-3 in quadrant 1 games. That may not seem like a lot over a 56 game season. but in the previous five season Purdue is just 2-20 in such games.
Purdue’s RPI is currently at 64, and I would estiamte it needs to be in the range of 35 overall wins and at least 18-20 wins in the Big Ten to be in true consideration at the end of the year. As things stand right now the West Coast teams are dominating the Big Ten. UCLA is ranked No. 1 in the country at 26-2 and a perfect 12-0 in conference play. USC is 27-3, 10-2 and ranked 8th. Nebraska is 23-6, 8-1 and ranked 21st, while Oregon is 23-7, 7-3. All four teams are likely NCAA teams, but Purdue can make a strong case to be the fifth team out of the Big Ten if it can beat Illinois (14-13, 6-6) this weekend at home. It can also get a nice road series win at Northwestern (RPI 67) next week.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Illinois (14-13, 6-6 Big Ten) at Purdue (19-9, 7-5 Big Ten)
April 3-5 / Stream B1G+
Series Opener: Friday at 2 p.m. ET / Updated Start Time
Middle Game: Saturday at 2 p.m. ET
Series Finale: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET / Bark in the Park Dog Day
Alexander Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: Cole Van Assen (Jr, RHP) vs. ILL’s Regan Hall (Jr, LHP)
Saturday: Zach Erdman (Sr, LHP) vs. ILL’s Aidan Finn (Fr, LHP)
Sunday: TBA for Both Teams
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Illinois leads 173-88-1
All-Time in West Lafayette: Illinois leads 71-44-1
Purdue Under Greg Goff vs. Illinois: Illinois leads 11-3 (since 2020)
2025: Illinois won 2 of 3 (April 25-27 in Champaign)
Last Series in West Lafayette: Illinois swept a 3-game set (May 2024)
Purdue’s Last Series Win vs. Illinois: Swept a 3-game set (April 2017 in West Lafayette)
First Meeting: Illinois 14, Purdue 5 (May 1893 in West Lafayette)
Because Illinois and Purdue are so close in the conference standings it is critical for Purdue to take at least two of this weekend’s games for some separation. The only league contender the Boilers have left is their trip to USC April 24-26. Getting at least one win there would be a huge boost, but the next three weeks against Illinois, at Northwestern, and home for Ohio State are games against the middle of the league Purdue needs to win.
If you’re in town this weekend and going to Alexander Field you can also peak in on Purdue softball next door at Bittinger Stadium. That squad has an even better shot of making the NCAA Tournament with an RPI of 38 and a 25-10 overall record. Purdue hosts Wisconsin there this weekend and it is 5-4 in Big Ten play. The Badgers are also 5-4 in conference play and 19-11 overall.
Should Purdue softball make the NCAAs it would be the first time since 2009 and just the third time in program history.
