5 things to know about Evansville baseball ahead of NCAA super regional vs No. 1 Tennessee

The University of Evansville baseball team entered the national spotlight this week by winning its first NCAA tournament regional championship in program history.

“Evansville” and “Purple Aces” were each trending on social media after they won the Greenville Regional on Monday against host East Carolina. Now, they’re headed to a super regional against No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, for a best-of-three series this weekend on national TV.

Perhaps you’re just now discovering these pesky Purple Aces, so here’s a quick guide to get familiar with UE.

Where does the Aces' nickname come from?

“Aces” came to be the nickname for Evansville College athletics teams about a century ago. Early into the 1924-25 men’s basketball season, Evansville beat Louisville 59-39. Afterward, Louisville’s coach told Evansville coach John Harmon, “You didn’t have four Aces up your sleeve, you had five!”

Harmon relayed the quote to Evansville Courier sports editor Dan Scism, and they decided they liked the sound of "Aces" better than "Pioneers," the nickname at that time. Evansville College's colors were purple and white, so by 1926, they were the "Purple Aces.”

Evansville baseball: Cinderella run joins school's Division I-era Mount Rushmore of wins

What is this whole "GUAC" thing?

The Aces embody the zaniness of college baseball.

If you peruse social media during and after a game, you’ll scroll past plenty of avocado emojis and see the #GUAC hashtag, which stands for, “Get Up, Ace Country.” It caught on in 2022 when the fanbase was rallying behind a turnaround season.

Now, it's become part of their brand.

What conference is Evansville in?

UE has competed in the Missouri Valley Conference since 1995. The Aces hosted the MVC tournament this spring and won the championship on their home turf at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium.

How did Evansville make an NCAA Super Regional?

The Purple Aces (38-24) are just the ninth No. 4 regional seed since 1999 to reach a super regional.

Evansville made its fourth NCAA tournament in program history (1988, 2000, 2006) by earning the MVC's automatic bid for winning the conference tournament championship. They've been on a tear having put together a pair of eight-game winning streaks and going 27-8 since the calendar turned to April.

In the Greenville Regional, the Aces defeated No. 16 East Carolina 4-1 in the opener and followed with a 17-11 win over VCU. It then suffered a 13-run loss to ECU on Sunday before beating the Pirates 6-5 in Monday's winner-take-all championship.

NCAA Baseball Tournament: Evansville baseball rallies to win Greenville Regional championship

What former Evansville players reached MLB?

Eight Purple Aces ultimately made it to The Show since UE became a Division I program in 1978.

The first was Andy Benes, the No. 1 pick of the 1988 MLB Draft who pitched for 14 seasons, mostly with San Diego and St. Louis. The only active MLB player is Kyle Freeland, a Colorado Rockies pitcher currently rehabbing an elbow injury. He was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 draft.

Others who played both at UE and in the majors include Rob Mauer, Sal Fasano, Jamey Carroll, Kyle Lloyd, Kevin Kaczmarski and Eric Stamets.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: 5 things to know about Evansville baseball before NCAA super regional