Will Penn State make the NCAA Baseball Tournament 2024? Breaking down Nittany Lions' College World Series odds

The Penn State Nittany Lions haven't qualified for the NCAA Baseball Tournament since 2000, when Bill Clinton was the President of the United States. This year represents the best chance they've had since then, as they're in the Big Ten championship game for the first time in 24 years.

It's not only that, but the way in which they got into the Big Ten tourney is impressive.

To qualify, they needed to sweep Maryland in their last series of the regular season and for Michigan State to fall to Nebraska. They took care of business, and luck was on their side too, but they fell to the Cornhuskers 2-1 in Sunday's championship game.

---

Will Penn State make the College World Series 2024?

As they lost to Nebraska in the Big Ten championship game, the Nittany Lions won't automatically qualify as conference champions. Their only hope is to be awarded one of the 16 at-large national bids. Qualification is now out of their hands.

Qualifying for the NCAA baseball tournament has always been the long-term goal of coach Mike Gambino. Gambino said on becoming the coach of Penn State's baseball program in 2023:

"I want people to talk about us going to the College World Series here. I do, it's something that I want to talk about and it's not just about going to Omaha for the Big Ten tournament.

"I understand that the Big Ten tournament is great, and it's fun, and I would like to take a shot at winning that thing, for sure. But we want to go to the College World Series. I'm not going to hide behind that."

---

Where is the NCAA baseball tournament in 2024?

The first two phases of the NCAA tournament are the regionals and super regionals, and their locations depend on the schools that qualify and the seeds they're given.

The final phase of the tournament, the famed College World Series, is traditionally played in Omaha, Nebraska, at Charles Schwab Field.