No strangers to facing elite teams and talented players during their magical 2024 season, Kentucky will see more of the same when the Lexington Super Regional begins later this week.

Oregon State, the No. 15 national seed, advanced to the super regionals on Monday with an 11-6 win over UC Irvine in the championship game of the Corvallis Regional.

The Beavers (45-14) face the 2-seed Wildcats in a best-of-three series at Kentucky Proud Park with a trip to the College World Series in Omaha hanging in the balance.

While Kentucky is seeking its first appearance in the CWS, Oregon State has been a seven-time participant. The Beavers won the national championship in 2006, 2007, and 2018.

Oregon State was the preseason pick to win the Pac-12, but Arizona was the surprise winner of both the regular-season and conference tournament championships and the Beavers slid to the 15 seed going into the NCAA tourney.

Kentucky (43-14) has faced elite teams and heralded players all season in the rugged SEC, including top MLB prospects like Georgia's Charlie Condon and Florida's Jac Caglianone. The Cats will see another in the form of Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana, who is arguably the top hitting threat in the country.

The junior second baseman, a native of Australia, enters the super regional batting .415 with 28 home runs and an eye-popping 1.512 OPS out of the leadoff spot in the Oregon State lineup.

Many MLB analysts project Bazzana as the potential No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft.

Oregon State batted .304 as a team, reached base at a .426 clip, and belted 118 home runs this season.

Meanwhile, the Beavers' pitching staff posted a 3.98 staff ERA, held opponents to a .235 batting average, and allowed just 43 long balls.

Junior right-hander Aiden May (7-0, 2.88 ERA, .210 BAA, 79 K in 68.2 IP) and junior right-hander Jacob Kmatz (7-2, 3.29 ERA, .209 BAA, 88 K in 82 IP) headline the OSU pitching staff. Bridger Holmes, another junior right-hander, has been a dominant closer with 13 saves and a 1.97 ERA in 32 appearances. He has held opposing batters to a .148 batting average.

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SUPER REGIONAL DETAILS

(Best of three series)

Game 1 – Saturday, June 8 (6 p.m. ET/3 PT; ESPNU)

Game 2 – Sunday, June 9 (9 p.m. ET/6 PT; ESPNU)

Game 3 – Monday, June 10 (TBD, if necessary)