Illinois will host an NCAA Regional for the first time in school history and make its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Big Ten regular season champions drew the No. 6 overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Championship and welcome Ohio, Notre Dame and Wright State to Illinois Field for the NCAA Regional this weekend.

The double-elimination competition will begin on Friday afternoon at noon CT when second-seeded Notre Dame faces third-seeded Wright State. The Illini will take on fourth-seeded Ohio on Friday evening at 7 p.m. CT.

The Illini are 22-2 at home in 2015, and its current 16-game home winning streak is the longest active home streak in the nation.

>>Bradley Baseball Ends Long NCAA Baseball Tournament Drought

It's been almost half a century since Bradley's baseball team played in the NCAA Tournament but the Braves' wait ends Friday.

Bradley (35-19) made the 64-team field and will play in the Louisville Regional. The Braves first face Michigan (37-23) on Friday in the double-elimination opening round.

Bradley hasn't made the post season since 1968.

Coach Elvis Dominguez told The Journal Star in Peoria (http://bit.ly/1J5436H ) that former players told him they got goose bumps when they found out the team was in the tournament.

Federal Judge Jim Shadid (shah-DEED') is one of those former players. He played in the 1970s and he still holds the school record with 30 stolen bases in a season.

Shadid stopped by practice Wednesday. He said he's proud of the team and what it's accomplished.