The Kansas women’s soccer team clinched a berth in the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Saturday night by winning the Big 12 tournament, but you would never have known that their spot was secure by observing Monday’s selection show watch party.
Sophomore defenders Olivia Page and Caroline Castans both said after the bracket was revealed that the experience was “nerve-racking,” and their actions, along with those of their teammates certainly backed that up.
First off, very few people in the Naismith Room inside Allen Fieldhouse on Monday had ever been through such an experience.
First-year coach Nate Lie has, but even Lie, who came to Kansas after 7 years and 4 NCAA Tournament trips at Xavier, said he still gets nervous during the selection show because you just never know.
KU, 13-5-4 and winner of 8 straight, was always going to get in. The Big 12 tourney title earned them an automatic berth. But the uncertainty of who they would play, when they would play and where they would be seeded definitely added some excitement to a memorable day for the Jayhawks.
Lie was confident his team would be seeded somewhere in the 6-11, 7-10, 8-9 games. His players seemed to have no idea.
.@KUWSoccer is officially IN the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed. They’ll play St. Louis in Rd. 1 later this week. Time & date TBD, but it’ll be Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
— Matt Tait (@mctait) November 11, 2024
Fun to watch their reaction ⬇️ leading up to the announcement. More later… pic.twitter.com/o8iQHKI7ds
Even when the live stream of the bracket on NCAA.com showed the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and prepared to reveal their opponents, you could see the Jayhawks holding their breaths a little, hoping their draw would be better than that.
It was.
KU earned a No. 9 seed and will play 8th seeded St. Louis at 7 p.m. Friday in St. Louis in Round 1.
“It was super-fun,” Castans said Monday of watching the bracket reveal. “I’ve never done anything like that and it was just fun and exciting – a little nerve-wracking, but more exciting.”
Before the show, Lie reminded his team that there are nearly 300 other Division I programs that would love to be sitting in KU’s shoes.
He also asked graduate senior Hallie Klanke, who came to KU from North Carolina after the 2021 season, following 2 NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019 and 2020, to explain to her teammates how the selection show goes.
Klanke’s message was short and sweet — basically you just sit here, wait to see your name and then get excited.
The Jayhawks did exactly that even while running through a range of emotions during the wait.
There were “oohs and ahhhs” when certain schools popped up on the screen, with their Big 12 foes drawing heightened responses.
There were moments of dead silence and moments of holding their breaths — and exhaling — and even a little laughter at all of it.
When the moment finally came, the Jayhawks exploded in applause and then quieted down to find out who they were playing. Many had hoped that they could host a first-round game — being an 8 seed instead of a 9 would’ve made that happen — but the disappointment they felt from missing out on that opportunity paled in comparison to the joy they felt of getting in and keeping their run going.
Decked out in matching white Big 12 tournament champs shirts, the Jayhawks watched the rest of the show, got a 5-minute speech from Lie that included his “unfiltered thoughts” on their first-round opponent and then moved on with their day.
Other commentary overheard during the selection show watch party included: "I'm so nervous" | "Oh, that's not too far" | "Is this gonna be us?" | "Thank goodness" |
It’s been a whirlwind for the Jayhawks, who won 4 games in 11 days, 3 of them against NCAA Tournament teams in West Virginia, Texas Tech and TCU. And the order of the day on Sunday and Monday, after Saturday’s victory, was to recharge and rest.
The coaches planned to dive into their prep full bore on Monday night and the Jayhawks will start ramping back up a little on Tuesday and more full speed on Wednesday.
“You don't get a ton better on the field this time of year,” Lie said. “Too many players are nursing injuries, not participating. If you’re decent coaches, you probably already kind of imparted most of your knowledge. So, it’s more just kind of getting a rhythm back (and) our sharpness back.”
Added Castans: “I think we have lots of confidence. We've been apart for the past two days. It's been nice to get a little break, but coming back together, I think everyone's so excited about hearing who we get to play and everyone's ready to take it on.”
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