Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament | |
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Conference baseball championship | |
Sport | Baseball |
Conference | Sun Belt Conference |
Number of teams | 10 |
Format | Double-elimination tournament |
Current stadium | Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium |
Current location | Montgomery, Alabama |
Played | 1978 present | to
Last contest | 2024 |
Current champion | Southern Miss |
Most championships | South Alabama (13) |
Official website | SunBeltSports.org Baseball |
Sponsors | |
Golden Flake |
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. [1]
The Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament is a ten team double-elimination tournament held annually at various sites in the Sun Belt Conference region. The bottom four seeds play a one round single elimination play in game. The six teams with the best conference record at the end of the regular season earn automatic berths in the tournament. After the play-in round, the remaining eight teams will play 2 four team double-elimination brackets with a single elimination championship game between the bracket winners. The division winner with the best conference record will be seeded #1 and will play the lowest remaining seed from the play-in round. The winner of the other division will receive the #2 seed (regardless of overall conference ranking) and will play the higher seeded play-in game winner. The champion of the competition receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. [2]
The tournament started in 1978 as a four team double-elimination tournament.
In 1979 the tournament expanded to include six teams but still remained double-elimination.
The tournament expanded again in 1980 and included seven teams.
In 1981 the conference was divided into divisions and the top two teams in each division made the tournament, returning it to a four team double-elimination format. It remained that way through 1985.
In 1986 the conference retained the division format but expanded the tournament to include the top four teams in each division, making the tournament an eight team double-elimination tournament.
In 1987, the conference returned to the a four team double-elimination format.
The tournament format was changed again in 1988 when it expanded to include the top three teams in each division, now making it a six team double-elimination tournament. In 1995, the conference dropped the division format but kept the tournament format as a six team double-elimination tournament through 1998.
In 1999, the tournament expanded to an eight team double-elimination format. The format was a double bracket round robin in 2011-2012.
In 2017, the Conference expanded the field to 10 teams, with the bottom four seeds playing a single-elimination play-in round before the standard eight team double-elimination bracket. [3]
As of July 1, 2022, there are 14 schools in the conference that competes in baseball.
School | Tourney Titles | Title Years |
---|---|---|
South Alabama | 13 | 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2017, 2021 |
Louisiana | 5 | 1998, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022 |
Coastal Carolina | 2 | 2018, 2019 |
Southern Miss | 2 | 2023, 2024 |
Arkansas State | 1 | 1994 |
Louisiana–Monroe | 1 | 2012 |
Old Dominion | 1 | 1985 |
Troy | 1 | 2006 |
School | Tourney Titles | Title Years |
---|---|---|
New Orleans | 3 | 1978, 1979, 2007 |
South Florida | 3 | 1982, 1986, 1990 |
FIU | 2 | 1999, 2010 |
Lamar | 2 | 1993, 1995 |
Middle Tennessee | 2 | 2003, 2009 |
Western Kentucky | 2 | 2004, 2008 |
Florida Atlantic | 1 | 2013 |
Jacksonville | 1 | 1989 |
Little Rock | 1 | 2011 |
New Mexico State | 1 | 2002 |
UAB | 1 | 1991 |
VCU | 1 | 1988 |
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The 2014 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament was held at Eddie Stanky Field on the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama from May 21 to May 25, 2014. The tournament used a double-elimination format. Louisiana–Lafayette won the tournament, earning the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. The league was expected to divide into two six team divisions for 2014, but due to the departures of three baseball playing schools the plan was shelved, possibly to be implemented in 2015 with the additions of Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.
The 2016 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament was held at Bobcat Ballpark on the campus of the Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, from May 25 to May 29, 2015. The tournament used a double-elimination format. The winner of the tournament earned Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament was held at J. I. Clements Stadium on the campus of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, from May 24 to May 28, 2017, using a double-elimination format. The winner of the tournament earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 2018 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament was held at M. L. Tigue Moore Field on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana, from May 22 to May 27, 2018. The tournament used a double-elimination format as in past years. Coastal Carolina, the winner of the tournament, earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 2019 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament will be held at Springs Brooks Stadium on the campus of the Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, from May 21 to May 26, 2019. The tournament will again use a double-elimination format. The winner of the tournament will earn the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 2019 Sun Belt Conference softball tournament was held at the Bobcat Softball Complex on the campus of the Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, from May 8 to May 11, 2019. The tournament used a double-elimination format for the tournament as in past years. Louisiana, the winner of the tournament, earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Division I softball tournament.
The Sun Belt Conference softball tournament is the conference championship tournament in softball for the Sun Belt Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I softball tournament. The 2023 host of the tournament is the University of Louisiana at Lafayette at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park, the largest softball facility in the conference.
The 2022 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament will be held at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama from May 24 to May 29, 2022. The tournament will again use a double-elimination format. The winner of the tournament will earn the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 2021 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament was held at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama, from May 25 to May 30. The tournament used a double-elimination format as in past years. South Alabama, the winner of the tournament, earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 2023 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament was held at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama from May 23 to May 28, 2023. The tournament used a double-elimination format. The winner of the tournament earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 2024 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament was held at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama from May 21 to May 26. The tournament used a double-elimination format as in past years. The winner of the tournament, Southern Miss, earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. This was the second straight tournament title for Southern Miss, a team who has only been in the conference for two years.