ACC – 2ND ROUND (Single elimination)
A large number of conference baseball tournaments got underway yesterday, and all but two of the conferences will have begun as of today. In the ACC, Pittsburgh kept their faint chances of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid alive with a 16-8 win against Louisville yesterday. Duke also won a 21-12 slugfest against NC State yesterday despite being the #16 seed in the bracket.
ATLANTIC SUN – 2ND ROUND (Single elimination round)
Jacksonville and Austin Peay won their respective first round games today; both teams need a win today if they are to advance to the double elimination portion of the A-Sun bracket that begins on Thursday.
B1G – 2ND ROUND (Double elimination round)
On a surprisingly cool day in Omaha, the B1G got underway in the double elimination portion of their bracket with 4 teams advancing to potentially qualify for the 8-team single elimination quarterfinal round. Michigan did make quick work of Rutgers with a 10-0 mercy rule win in 7 innings. The Michigan State/Iowa and Michigan/Washington winners advance to the quarterfinal round; the losers will fight the winners of the Purdue/Illinois and Rutgers/Ohio State consolation games fighting for the two final quarterfinal spots.
Big 12 2ND ROUND (Single elimination)
Only a couple of games were played yesterday; BYU and Kansas State advanced to play for the right to play the top two seeds in the quarterfinal round on Thursday. (And no, we do not believe that the tournament is being played on an LED field like the basketball tournament was for the early rounds).
OHIO VALLEY 2ND ROUND (Double elimination)
Southern Indiana and Lindenwood won yesterday to advance to the 6-team double elimination portion of the bracket. The top 2 seeds SIU-Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois have byes into the 3rd round that begins tomorrow.
PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Bucknell defeated Holy Cross 9-5 to stave off elimination; both teams will play at 2 PM today for the Patriot League auto bid.
SEC – 2ND ROUND (Single elimination)
Missouri had a rare win in the SEC Tournament yesterday; it was only the 2nd one in program history and may have cost Ole Miss a shot at being a regional host when the bracket is announced on Monday. Vandy is still alive for NCAA Tournament contention after defeating Kentucky.
SUN BELT – 2ND ROUND (Double elimination)
Both games yesterday ended in 7 innings due to the 10-run mercy rule; Louisiana and Georgia State move on to the double elimination portion of the bracket.
And now we have the other conferences starting today:
AMERICA EAST (Hybrid, 6-team bracket)
Today’s first round will be single elimination; the 2 winners advance to a 4-team double elimination bracket that begins tomorrow. The tournament will be played at top-seeded Binghamton’s home field and all games will be televised on ESPN+.
AMERICAN (Hybrid, 8-team bracket)
The American begins with a pair of single elimination games today; the winners move on to a 6-team double elimination bracket that begins on Thursday. All games will be played at a neutral park in Clearwater, Florida and will have all games through the semifinals aired on ESPN+. The championship game on Sunday will be aired on ESPNews.
ATLANTIC 10 (Double elimination, 6-team bracket)
The A-10 kicks off today at Capital One Park in Tysons, Virginia (at the corporate headquarters of Capital One Bank). The winners get to avoid an extended losers’ bracket that gets underway tomorrow. All games will be aired on ESPN+.
BIG EAST (Double elimination, 4-team bracket)
This may be the most wide open bracket this weekend with St. John’s, UConn and Xavier finishing in a 3-way tie for first place. While Xavier is hosting the event at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio – keep in mind they’ve only won the Big East Tournament once since the tournament moved to Mason in 2019. All games will be aired on ESPN+ and are one of the few events where admission AND concessions are free for everybody.
BIG SOUTH (Double elimination, 6-team bracket)
The setup is the same as the A-10 bracketwise; the top two seeds High Point and Winthrop begin on Thursday. All games will be aired on ESPN+; we will also notify you if we get the baseball edition of the Winwood Cup tomorrow between Winthrop and Longwood.
BIG WEST (Hybrid, 5-team bracket)
There is one single elimination opening round game that will be played tonight before the 4-team double elimination bracket begins tomorrow. UC-Irvine is hosting the tournament and all games will be played on ESPN+.
COASTAL (Double elimination, 6-team bracket)
Campbell and Northeastern are the top two seeds in this tournament being played at Wilmington, North Carolina; all games will be aired on FloSports since they have the media rights to the CAA.
CONFERENCE USA (Hybrid, 9-team bracket)
This tournament begins with 3 pools of 3 teams apiece. The winners of each pool along with the best 2nd place team advance to the 4-team single elimination semifinals that begin on Saturday. Games through Saturday will be aired on ESPN+ and the Sunday championship game will be aired on CBS Sports Network.
HORIZON LEAGUE (Hybrid, 5-team bracket)
Wright State is hosting the tournament by virtue of their regular season championship; the tournament has a single elimination opening round before the 4-team double elimination bracket begins tomorrow. All games will be aired on ESPN+.
METRO ATLANTIC (Double elimination, 6-team bracket)
This bracket gets underway in suburban Wappingers Falls, New York; Rider and Niagara get byes into the 2nd round by virtue of clinching the top two seeds in the regular season. All games will be aired on ESPN+.
MAC (Double elimination, 6-team bracket)
There is some intrigue in this tournament with Mother Miami having an RPI in the 30s going into the tournament. Should the Redhawks win, it’s plausible that they could be in contention for a top 32 national seed (meaning they’d be a 2-seed in their regional), but it’s also plausible that they’d miss the NCAA Tournament should they not win this tournament. All games will be played in Avon, Ohio (outside of Cleveland) and will be aired on ESPN+.
MISSOURI VALLEY (Double elimination, 6-team bracket)
Murray State, coming off of a Cinderella appearance in the College World Series last year, is the predetermined host for the tournament (despite being only the #3 seed). All games will be aired on ESPN+.
SOUTHERN (Hybrid, 8-team bracket)
The tournament begins with 2 single elimination games; the bracket then changes to a pair of 3-team double elimination pods through the semifinals. The winners of the two pods will face off in a single elimination championship game on Saturday. The early rounds will air on ESPN+; the championship game will air on ESPNU.
SUMMIT (Double elimination, 4-team bracket)
The format is the same as the Big East; the tournament will be played in Minneapolis (with St. Thomas with all games being aired on the Summit League Digital Network. Also note that Northern Colorado plays in the Summit League since the Big Sky does not sponsor baseball.
SWAC (Hybrid, 8-team bracket)
This tournament is broken down into 2 4-team double elimination pods; the winners of each of the pods will face off in a single elimination championship game. All of the games will air on SWAC TV.
WEST COAST (Hybrid, 6-team bracket)
The opening round will consist of two single elimination games; the remaining four teams will advance to the double elimination portion of the bracket. All games through the semifinals will air on ESPN+ with the first game of the championship round airing on ESPNU. Should a winner-take-all game be necessary on Championship Saturday, that game would air on ESPN+.
WAC (Double elimination, 6-team bracket)
There have been some wild brackets in this conference in prior years, but this is more of a conventional double elimination bracket that’s similar in style to the Metro Atlantic this season. Tarleton and California Baptist are the top two seeds in what will be the final event in the storied history of the WAC. All games will be aired on ESPN+.
