TCU Soccer earns No. 4 national seed in upcoming NCAA tournament

After a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame at home on Saturday, TCU Soccer finished the season with an 11-1-1 record, a Big 12 regular season title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Division I championship tournament.

Is that good? Maybe it’s just me, but that seems really, really good.

The Frogs earned their first ever national seed in the tournament during Monday afternoon’s selection show, coming in at No. 4 behind only Florida State, North Carolina and UCLA.

Hats off to coach Eric Bell for leading the Horned Frogs to their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and fifth in program history. TCU is one of just 16 schools to appear in the last five NCAA tournaments, and this year the Frogs are poised to do some damage.

A No. 4 national seed means a first-round bye for the Frogs, where they will take on the winner of New Mexico vs Navy. Assuming there are no major upsets in the bracket, TCU could potentially face fellow Big 12 opponent West Virginia, who earned the No. 5 national seed, in the quarterfinals.

Other than No. 4 TCU and No. 5 West Virginia, Oklahoma State finishes up the list of Big 12 qualifiers, earning the No. 10 national seed.

Considering round two isn’t slated to begin until April 30, the Frogs have ample time to prepare for whoever advances between Navy and New Mexico.

Based on the eye test, it looks like New Mexico should be able to top Navy with ease. The Lobos posted a 10-1 record in the regular season en route to a Mountain West regular season conference title.

New Mexico could be somewhat of a dark horse in the tournament. Despite not being ranked in the United Coaches Poll, the Lobos are No. 14 in the NCAA Women’s Soccer RPI rankings; five spots behind the Horned Frogs.

That being said - New Mexico isn’t anything Yazmeen Ryan, Messiah Bright, Emily Alvarado and the rest of the Big 12 championship squad can’t handle.

Coach Bell expressed his confidence in the team regardless of their opponent in a recent post-game presser: “We wanted to play these tough teams in the spring so we could see where our weaknesses are and help us prepare to counteract those in the NCAA tournament,” said Bell after the win over Notre Dame. “We have proven we can play with the best teams in the country and I feel we are going to show our strength in the tournament.”

Whether it be New Mexico or Navy, TCU Soccer will begin their NCAA championship tournament run on April 30 at 5:00 p.m. CST. The Frogs will play on Gillette Field #1 in Wilson, North Carolina.