CHESTNUT HILL - On Sunday night when the NCAA revealed its 16 regional sites for the field of 64 baseball tournament, Boston College wasn't on the list.

The disrespect chatter amongst the team quickly began.

By Monday morning, most of them just took it for what it was when the team gathered inside the beautiful Pete Frates Center to have some lunch and watch the NCAA selection show on ESPN to find out where they'd be headed. John and Nancy Frates were also inside the room to watch with the team as well.

The Eagles didn't have to wait long as they were one of the first teams to appear in the reveal. A loud roar went up inside the clubhouse when BC saw its name and learned they'll be in the Tuscalossa Regional hosted by Alabama. BC's first game will be against Troy to kick off the double-elimination weekend on Friday at 3 P.M. Alabama, BC, Troy and Nicholls State make up the group. This will be the program's first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2016 and even though it's not at home like many expected and hoped, that simply serves as extra motivation.

"I think what we're showing, or what we believe, is that we can build a Northeast program, an ACC program, that can make runs in the postseason, and we'd like to start one this year" head coach Mike Gambino said to a few reporters on hand.

"For sure, I think that's just the competitive aspect in all of us," Peter Burns said when asked if the chatter amongst the team on Sunday night was along the lines of "let's go prove something" upon hearing BC wouldn't host a regional. "All athletes have that factor, you know what I mean? You want to be the best and if you're not upset about stuff like that, then you're just not competitive. It wasn't like we were angry or anything. We've always been saying we've had that chip on our shoulder all year and we're excited to go down to Alabama."

As soon as the selection show ended, Gambino quickly told the guys "it's time to go to work," before they got dressed and headed out to the field. While showing off the beautiful facility of a Northeast team to the rest of the country would have been a great opportunity for NCAA baseball and the Eagles, there's an element of 'us vs. the world' when a team heads out on a road trip, just adding to the fuel BC will have after getting snubbed.

Not just this weekend, but in 2024 as well.

"Obviously, we felt like the team did what we needed to do to be able to play at home," added Gambino. "Honestly, not just the team, but the people that have supported us...I feel bad that we didn't do enough to reward that group with a chance to watch us play at home in the postseason. Hopefully, in the future we will. Now, grand scheme...we've talked about it for years. The things people see from the outside of our program as disadvantages, we believe, are advantages. The reasons people say we can't win will be the reasons why we can.

"Going on the road for a regional, we've spent half the year on the road, so the boys aren't phased by it. Heading into what is going to be a great road atmosphere, well, we do that all year and they love it. They thrive on it...honestly, from a program development stand point, and building something, you can make the argument you've got to crawl before you can walk. We're back in a regional...I'm not looking to next year, but next fall, it'll be something we talk about, leaving no doubt...I think we're going to have a chip on our shoulder now and I think the team will have a chip on its shoulder next year early on when the conversation is going to be hosting."