May 8, 2006

WACO, Texas - The Baylor men's golf team earned the fifth seed in the NCAA West Regional to be played May 18-20 at Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz., the NCAA Men's Golf Selection Committee announced Monday.

The Bears will be making their ninth straight NCAA Regional appearance, their third under head coach Greg Priest, and will be looking to earn their first berth in the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2002. In its previous 10 regional appearances, Baylor had never been sent outside of the Central Regional, so the Bears will be playing in the West Regional for the first time.

"I feel good about the seed and where we're playing, it will be nice for a fresh start and a change of scenery," Priest said. "We've played some of these teams and there are some we haven't played, but I believe we have a great chance to go there and be successful."

The top 10 teams and two individuals from each of the three 27-team regionals will play for the NCAA Championship May 31-June 3 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. The Central Regional will be played at Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon, Ohio, while the East Regional will be held at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.

Baylor will be one of 11 Big 12 Conference schools that will be represented in the regionals, the most of any conference. The Southeastern Conference is second with nine, while the Atlantic Coast, the Pacific-10 and the Big Ten Conferences have six each.

Florida will be the top seed in the West Regional, while Arizona State, BYU, East Tennessee and Baylor round out the top five seeds.

The Bears will tune-up for the postseason by competing in The Maxwell May 13-14 in Ardmore, Okla.

"We've had a great year, but we haven't played the way we've wanted the last three tournaments," Priest said. "We'll go up to Oklahoma and build some confidence, work out some of the kinks and get ready for the regional."