CHAMPAIGN — Nicole Evans might have subconsciously uttered the words without realizing it in the moments after Illinois softball’s season-ending loss to Kentucky on Saturday night in the NCAA tournament.
“When we host next year,” the Illini junior said, “it’s not going to be enough to just be there.”
A lofty goal, indeed, for a program that has never hosted an NCAA tournament game at Eichelberger Field since the Illini’s first season in 2000.
But coming off a season in which few outside the program expected Illinois to find itself among the 64-team field, Evans made it clear the players expect the 2017 season to bear even more progress.