Cole Kirschsieper (Illinois Baseball)

Midwest Connection: Big Ten Breakdown

There are 53 Division I teams from the 12 Midwest states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin) that play in 12 different conferences.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Ten is three years removed from hosting a conference tournament, last doing so in 2019 when seventh-seeded Ohio State surprised the field and won the championship, as well as the league’s automatic bid.

The Big Ten Tournament has been regularly held at the newly renamed Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, home of the College World Series. Eight of the league’s 13 teams[…]