Kirk Saarloos Makes the Case for TCU to Host an NCAA Baseball Regional

While the TCU Horned Frogs came up short in the 2025 Big 12 Championship Game, Kirk Saarloos is not shying away from the spotlight.

On Sunday afternoon, Saarloos took to social media to advocate for the Big 12 earning hosting privileges in the NCAA Tournament.

“The Big 12 will have eight teams in,” Saarloos said. Third best conference. I believe that one of our conference teams should host!!”

Looking at D1Baseball.com, there are eight Big 12 teams expected to make the field — Arizona, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU and West Virginia.

None of them were projected to host a regional as of Saturday morning. But both Arizona and TCU entered the day as No. 2 seeds in their regions.

While Saarloos didn’t specifically mention TCU as the only option, the Horned Frogs’ resume is a team that could absolutely wear that honor. The Horned Frogs have an RPI inside the Top 20, No. 18 to be certain. That said, the loss in the Big 12 Championship Game hurt their chances significantly.

For the first time this year, D1Baseball doesn’t have a single Big 12 team projected as a regional host. In the event that it takes place, it would be the first time since 2008 that the conference failed to get a single hosting bid in the field of 64.