Mid-American Conference baseball tournament

Last updated
Mid-American Conference baseball tournament
Conference baseball championship
SportBaseball
Conference Mid-American Conference
Number of teams6
Format Double-elimination
Played1981–1983
1992–2019
2022–present
Last contest 2024
Current champion Western Michigan (2nd)
Most championships Kent State (12)
Official website getsomemaction.com/..
Host stadiums
Campus sites (1981, 1983, 1992–2007, 2022–2023)
Franklin County Stadium (1982)
V.A. Memorial Stadium (2008–2011)
Crushers Stadium (2012–2019, 2024–present)

The Mid-American Conference baseball tournament is the conference baseball championship of the Mid-American Conference, Division I members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2024, the top six finishers participate in the double-elimination tournament, which is played at the home field of the top seed. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The tournament began in 1981, but was not held from 1984 through 1991. It returned in 1992 and was held annually through 2019. It was scheduled to be played in May 2020, but was cancelled in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. As part of several changes announced in May 2020 related to the pandemic, the tournament was eliminated along with the post-season tournaments of seven other sports, for at least four seasons. [1] The tournament, however, returned in May 2022 after the conference announced in May 2021 that the baseball tournament, along with all other conference tournaments that had been eliminated, would be restored for the 2021–22 athletic season. [2] Kent State has won the most tournament titles with 12, followed by Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan with four each.

Contents

Format

The MAC baseball tournament is held in mid to late May at the conclusion of the regular season. As of 2024, the tournament is held at a neutral site and the top six teams in conference play qualify, with the top two seeds receiving byes to the second round. Although the number of qualifying teams has been as low as four and as high as eight, the tournament has always used a double-elimination bracket.

The first tournament, in 1981, featured only the top four conference finishers in a double-elimination format. The following two seasons, 1982 and 1983, the conference was divided into East and West divisions and the top two seeds from each division qualified. When the tournament returned in 1992, the original format featuring the top four teams was again used and remained in place through 1997. The 1992 tournament was also when the All-Tournament Team and Most Valuable Player award were instituted.

Beginning in 1998, the conference was again divided into East and West divisions for the regular season and the tournament format was expanded to a six-team field in a double-elimination bracket, with the top three finishers from each division qualifying. In 2001, the format changed from the top three in each division to the top six overall, regardless of division. The number of qualifying teams was expanded to eight in 2008 and remained there through the 2017 tournament, but was reduced back to six teams for the 2018 and 2019 tournaments following the decisions to shutter the baseball programs at Akron in 2015 and Buffalo in 2017. The separate divisions were also eliminated after the 2017 season.

When the tournament was reinstated in 2022, the original format of only the top four teams qualifying was instituted again and remained in place for 2023. The conference expanded the tournament back to six teams in 2024 as part of its return to a neutral location. [3]

Location

Initially, the tournament was hosted by the top seed, with Central Michigan hosting the inaugural tournament in 1981 at Theunissen Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The following season, the MAC held the tournament at a neutral location, playing the 1982 tournament at Franklin County Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The tournament returned to a campus site in 1983, being hosted by Western Michigan at Hyames Field in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

When the tournament was revived in 1992, it continued to be held at campus sites, usually the home field of the top seed. Kent State hosted the first three tournaments after it was revived at Gene Michael Field in Kent, Ohio. The top seed continued to host through the 2007 tournament.

The conference began using a neutral site in 2008. V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio, hosted the tournament from 2008 through 2011, followed by Crushers Stadium (initially known as All Pro Freight Stadium) in Avon, Ohio, where it remained from 2012 through 2019 and was scheduled to be held in 2020. Following the tournament's reinstatement in 2022, it was again held at campus sites in 2022 and 2023, but the conference announced in August 2023 that the tournament would return to Mercy Health Park in 2024 through at least 2026. [3]

Champions

By year

The following is a list of tournament champions and sites listed by year. [4] [5] [6] [7]

YearSiteChampionMost Valuable Player
1981 Theunissen Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan Eastern Michigan —
1982 Franklin County Stadium • Columbus, Ohio Eastern Michigan —
1983 Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan Miami —
No tournament held, 1984–1991
1992 Gene Michael Field • Kent, Ohio Kent State Dustin Hermanson (Kent State)
1993 Kent State Ryan Beeney (Kent State)
1994 Central Michigan Tim Fails (Kent State)
1995 Steller Field • Bowling Green, Ohio Central Michigan Pat Mahoney (Central Michigan)
1996 Gene Michael Field • Kent, Ohio Akron Dave Yoder (Akron)
1997 Trautwein Field • Athens, Ohio Ohio Bart Leahy (Ohio)
1998 Steller Field • Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green Bob Niemet (Bowling Green)
1999 Ball Baseball Field • Muncie, Indiana Bowling Green Sean Ryan (Bowling Green)
2000 Gene Michael Field • Kent, Ohio Miami John Lackaff (Miami)
2001 Ball Diamond • Muncie, Indiana Kent State John Van Benschoten (Kent State)
2002 Steller Field • Bowling Green, Ohio Kent State Brad Snyder (Ball State)
2003 Gene Michael Field • Kent, Ohio Eastern Michigan Brian Bixler (Eastern Michigan)
2004 Theunissen Stadium • Mt. Pleasant, Michigan Kent State Ryan Ford (Eastern Michigan)/Andy Sonnanstine (Kent State)
2005 Hayden Park • Oxford, Ohio Miami Paul Frietch (Miami)
2006 Schoonover Stadium • Kent, Ohio Ball State Kyle Dygert (Ball State)
2007 Oestrike Stadium • Ypsilanti, Michigan Kent State Jason Patton (Kent State)
2008 V.A. Memorial Stadium • Chillicothe, Ohio Eastern Michigan Jack Leonard (Eastern Michigan)
2009 Kent State Chris Tremblay (Kent State)
2010 Kent State Justin Gill (Kent State)
2011 Kent State David Starn (Kent State)
2012 All Pro Freight Stadium • Avon, Ohio Kent State David Starn (Kent State)
2013 Bowling Green Nick Bruns (Bowling Green)
2014 Kent State Cody Koch (Kent State)
2015 Ohio Logan Cozart (Ohio)
2016 Western Michigan Keegan Akin (Western Michigan)
2017 Sprenger Stadium • Avon, Ohio Ohio Spencer Ibarra (Ohio)
2018 Kent State Eli Kraus (Kent State)
2019 Central Michigan Griffin Lockwood-Powell (Central Michigan) [8]
2020 Crushers Stadium • Avon, OhioCancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
No tournament held in 2021
2022 Ball Diamond • Muncie, Indiana Central Michigan Garrett Navarra (Central Michigan)
2023 Schoonover Stadium • Kent, Ohio Ball State Adam Tellier (Ball State)
2024 Crushers Stadium • Avon, Ohio Western Michigan Dylan Nevar (Western Michigan)
2025
2026

By school

The following is a list of tournament champions listed by school and the years each team was eligible to play in the tournament.

ProgramTenureTitlesTitle years
Kent State 1981–1983
1992–2020
2022–present		12 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018
Central Michigan 1981–2020
1992–2020
2022–present		4 1994, 1995, 2019, 2022
Eastern Michigan 1981–1983
1992–2020
2022–present		4 1981, 1982, 2003, 2008
Bowling Green 1981–1983
1992–2020
2022–present		3 1998, 1999, 2013
Miami 1981–1983
1992–2020
2022–present		3 1983, 2000, 2005
Ohio 1981–1983
1992–2020
2022–present		3 1997, 2015, 2017
Ball State 1981–1983
1992–2020
2022–present		2 2006, 2023
Western Michigan 1981–1983
1992–2020
2022–present		2 2016, 2024
Akron 1993–2015
2020
2022–present		1 1996
Northern Illinois 1981–1982
1998–2020
2022–present		0
Toledo 1981–1983
1992–2020
2022–present		0
Marshall 1998–20050
Buffalo 2001–20170

Former conference members shaded in ██ silver

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References

  1. ↑ Strack, Jordan (May 12, 2020). "Major changes coming to Mid-American Conference". WTOL . Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  2. ↑ Paul, Tony (May 7, 2021). "MAC's back! Conference restores eight championships cut amid pandemic". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "MAC Announces Return of Baseball Championship to Avon's Mercy Health Stadium". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. August 16, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Ohio Bobcats 2012 Media Guide" (PDF). ohiobobcats.com. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  5. ↑ 2012 Miami RedHawks Baseball Media Guide (PDF). muredhawks.com. pp. 10–17. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Mid-American Conference Tournament History" (PDF). Mid-American Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  7. ↑ "All-Tournament Teams & Tournament MVP's" (PDF). Mid-American Sports. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Chippewas Win First MAC Baseball Championship Since 1995". Mid-American Conference. May 25, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
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