The playoffs, play-offs, postseason and/or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
The College World Series (CWS) is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The CWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Baseball Championship tournament—featuring 64 teams in the first round—which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight participating teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets, with the winners of each bracket playing in a best-of-three championship series.
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the single elimination, the best-of- series, the total points series more commonly known as on aggregate, and the round-robin tournament.
A wild card is a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that fails to qualify in the normal way, for example by having a high ranking or winning a qualifying stage. In some events, wild cards are chosen freely by the organizers. Other events have fixed rules. Some North American professional sports leagues compare the records of teams which did not qualify directly by winning a division or conference.
The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the eight-team College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Mississippi State is the 2021 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament champion, defeating runner-up Vanderbilt 9-0 in Game 3 to win the 2021 College World Series championship finals.
The Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament is the conference tournament in baseball for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It is a double-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The SEC Tournament champion is separate from the conference champion. The conference championship is determined solely by regular season record.
The Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Sun Belt Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. After Coastal Carolina University hosts the competition in Conway, South Carolina in 2019, the tournament will move to a neutral site, Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, AL, from 2020 to 2024.
The Colonial Athletic Association Baseball Tournament, sometimes referred to simply as the CAA Tournament, is the conference baseball championship of the NCAA Division I Colonial Athletic Association. The top six finishers in the regular season of the conference's nine baseball teams advance to the double-elimination tournament, which in 2019 was played at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
The 1996 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 4 and 5, 1996 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 1996 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Regular season champion Bucknell won their first championship and then won a play-in round to advance to the 1996 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Pete Cann of Bucknell was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 1997 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 4 and 5, 1997 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 1997 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Regular season champion Army won their first championship and advanced to a play-in round ahead of the 1997 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, where they lost to Harvard in three games. Bryan Price of Army was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 1998 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 2 and 3, 1998 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 1998 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Regular season champion Navy won their second championship and advanced to a play-in round ahead of the 1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, where they lost to Monmouth in three games. Luke Braham of Navy was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 1999 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 17 and 18, 1999 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 1999 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Second seeded Navy won their third championship and claimed the Patriot's automatic bid to the 1999 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Pat Klakow of Navy was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 2000 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 13 and 14, 2000 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 2000 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Third seeded Army won their second championship and claimed the Patriot's automatic bid to the 2000 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Josh Minney of Army was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 2001 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 12 and 13, 2001 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 2001 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Second seeded Bucknell won their second championship and claimed the Patriot's automatic bid to the 2001 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Brad Gething of Bucknell was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 2002 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 11 and 12, 2002 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 2002 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Top seeded Navy won their fourth championship and claimed the Patriot's automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Matt Foster of Navy was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 2003 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 10 and 11, 2003 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 2003 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Top seeded Bucknell won their third championship and claimed the Patriot's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Brian Day of Bucknell was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 2004 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was a collegiate baseball tournament held on May 8 and 9, 2004 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 2004 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Top seeded Army won their third championship and claimed the Patriot's automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Justin Long of Army was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 2005 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 14 and 15, 2005 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 2005 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Top seeded Army won their fourth championship and claimed the Patriot's automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Walker Gorham of Army was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 2006 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 13 and 14, 2006 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 2006 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Top seeded Lehigh won their first championship and claimed the Patriot's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Kyle Collina of Lehigh was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The 2007 Patriot League Baseball Tournament was held on May 13 and 14, 2007 to determine the champion of the Patriot League for baseball for the 2007 NCAA Division I baseball season. The event matched the top three finishers of the six team league in a double-elimination tournament. Top seeded Lafayette won their first championship and claimed the Patriot's automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Mike Raible of Lafayette was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
