Six Big Ten Teams Selected for NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Six teams will represent the Big Ten in the 2024 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament, the NCAA announced during Monday’s tournament selection show. Ohio State, the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed, will join Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, UCLA, and Washington in the event, which is set to begin on Thursday, November 21.

Fresh off winning both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, the Buckeyes earned a first-round bye and will begin their 12th NCAA Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 24 against the winner of a first-round match between Western Michigan and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The Buckeyes have been ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches poll for the last three weeks and own the national’s best win percentage.

Indiana will extend its NCAA record with a 38th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, as the Hoosiers earned a No. 14 national seed and a first-round bye. The Hoosiers will open their 49th NCAA Tournament appearance and host Princeton or Akron on Nov. 24 in the second round. Indiana has won eight national championships, the nation's most since the program's inception in 1973 and owns NCAA records with 104 tournament wins, 22 final fours, and 17 national championship game appearances.

After missing the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Maryland will make its 41st appearance on Thursday, as they play host to two-time defending Northeast Conference champion Long Island University. The Terps have won four national titles (1968, 2005, 2008, 2018) in program history and have reached the Round of 16 in 19 of the last 29 years.

Michigan will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019 on Thursday, when it welcomes Horizon League Tournament champion Robert Morris to Ann Arbor. The Wolverines enter the tournament after advancing to the Big Ten Tournament championship game for the first time since 2019.

UCLA will make its 49th NCAA Tournament appearance on Thursday when Big West Tournament runner-up UC-Santa Barbara visits Annenberg Stadium. The Bruins, who are making their fourth consecutive tournament appearance under head coach Ryan Jorden, are 76-44 all-time in the NCA Tournament, and have won four College Cups (1985, 1990, 1997, 2002).

Washington will play host to Western Athletic Conference champion Seattle University on Thursday, as the Huskies make their 30th NCAA Tournament appearance. Under head coach Jamie Clark, the Huskies have made the tournament 11 times with six third round appearances, three quarterfinals, and trip to the College Cup in 2021.

The 48-team field is made up of champions from 22 conferences, who qualified automatically, in addition to 26 teams that were selected at-large. The top 16 teams were seeded and received first-round byes. All first-round games will be played Thursday, Nov. 21, on campus sites, while all second-round action will take place Sunday, Nov. 24. The third round will be played Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, while the quarterfinals will be played Dec. 6 and 7.

ESPNU will provide live coverage of all three games of the semifinals and final on Dec. 13 and 16 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary as the Men’s College Cup returns to Cary for the ninth time.