Southern Conference baseball tournament
Conference baseball championship
Southern Conference logo
SportBaseball
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Number of teams8
FormatDouble-elimination
Current stadiumFluor Field
Current locationGreenville, South Carolina
Played1950–1953, 1984–present
Last contest2023
Current championSamford (4)
Most championshipsWestern Carolina (10)
Official websiteSoConSports.com Baseball

The Southern Conference baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Southern Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. The event is scheduled for the Tuesday through Saturday before Memorial Day each year, five days prior to the NCAA Regionals.[1]

Tournament

The Southern Conference Baseball Tournament is held annually. Beginning in 2009, the top eight teams (eleven teams sponsor baseball in the conference) participated in a two-bracketed double-elimination tournament. The previous format included ten teams participating in the tournament with the lowest four seeds (#7–#10) competing in a single elimination first round. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament while the other teams must rely on an at-large bid.

History

The Southern Conference first held a baseball tournament in 1950.[2] Maryland and Virginia Tech from the North division, and Clemson and Wake Forest from the South played the inaugural year in Greensboro, North Carolina,[3] with Wake Forest defeating Maryland for the title. In 1951, Clemson, Duke, Maryland, and West Virginia met, with Duke defeating Clemson in the final.[4] Duke repeated their title in 1952, over N.C. State, George Washington, and Richmond.[5] Duke, George Washington, Maryland, and North Carolina participated in 1953, with Duke again the winner.[6][7]

The tournament was renewed in 1984 as a four-team tournament. The tournament was held at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park in Charleston, South Carolina, from 1997 to 2008, and again in 2010 and 2011.

Champions

By year

Year[8] Champion Site MVP[9]
1950 Wake Forest Greensboro, North Carolina
1951 Duke Greensboro, North Carolina Bob Davis, Duke
1952 Duke Devereux Meadow • Raleigh, North Carolina Red Smith, Duke
1953 Duke Devereux Meadow • Raleigh, North Carolina
1984 Appalachian State Hennon Stadium • Cullowhee, North Carolina Rusty Weaver, Appalachian State
1985 Western Carolina Boone, North Carolina Mike Carson, Western Carolina
1986 Western Carolina Hennon Stadium • Cullowhee, North Carolina David Hyatt, Western Carolina
1987 Western Carolina Asheville, North Carolina Clint Fairey, Western Carolina
1988 Western Carolina Asheville, North Carolina Keith LeClair, Western Carolina
1989 Western Carolina Asheville, North Carolina Paul Menhart, Western Carolina
1990 The Citadel College Park • Charleston, South Carolina Billy Baker, The Citadel
1991 Furman College Park • Charleston, South Carolina Brent Williams, Furman
1992 Western Carolina College Park • Charleston, South Carolina Joey Cox, Western Carolina
1993 Western Carolina College Park • Charleston, South Carolina Phillip Grundy, Western Carolina
1994 The Citadel College Park • Charleston, South Carolina Jermaine Shuler, The Citadel
1995 The Citadel College Park • Charleston, South Carolina Donald Morillo, The Citadel
1996 Georgia Southern College Park • Charleston, South Carolina Mark Hamlin, Georgia Southern
1997 Western Carolina Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina J. P. Burwell, Western Carolina
1998 The Citadel Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Brian Rogers, The Citadel
1999 The Citadel Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Rodney Hancock, The Citadel
2000 Georgia Southern Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Matt Easterday, Georgia Southern
2001 The Citadel Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Randy Corn, The Citadel
2002 Georgia Southern Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Brett Lewis, Georgia Southern
2003 Western Carolina Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Brian Sigmon, Western Carolina
2004 The Citadel Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Jonathan Ellis, The Citadel
2005 Furman Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Nick Hollstegge, Furman
2006 College of Charleston Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Nick Chigges & Jess Easterling, College of Charleston
2007 Wofford Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Brandon Waring, Wofford
2008 Elon Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Cory Harrilchak, Elon
2009 Georgia Southern Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina Kyle Blackburn, Georgia Southern
2010 The Citadel Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Justin Mackert, The Citadel
2011 Georgia Southern Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Chris Beck, Georgia Southern
2012 Samford Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina Josh Martin, Samford
2013 Elon Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina Joe Jackson, The Citadel
2014 Georgia Southern Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Jason Richman, Georgia Southern
2015 Mercer Riley Park • Charleston, South Carolina Eric Nyquist, Mercer
2016 Western Carolina Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina Matt Smith, Western Carolina
2017 UNC Greensboro Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina Tripp Shelton, UNC Greensboro
2018 Samford Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina Brooks Carlson, Samford
2019 Mercer Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina Trevor Austin, Mercer
2020 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
2021 Samford Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina Towns King, Samford
2022 UNC Greensboro Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina
2023 Samford Fluor Field • Greenville, South Carolina Heath Clevenger, Samford

By school

School Tournament Titles Years
Western Carolina 10 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2016
The Citadel 8 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2010
Georgia Southern 6 1996, 2000, 2002, 2009, 2011, 2014
Samford 4 2012, 2018, 2021, 2023
Duke 3 1951, 1952, 1953
UNC Greensboro 2 2017, 2022
Mercer 2 2015, 2019
Elon 2 2008, 2013
Furman 2 1991, 2005
Wake Forest 1 1950
Appalachian State 1 1984
College of Charleston[lower-alpha 1] 1 2006
Wofford 1 2007
  • Italics indicate the school no longer sponsors baseball in the SoCon.
  1. ↑ Now athletically branded as Charleston.

Composite Records

Current schools only, 1984 through 2015[10][11]

Team Wins Losses Pct.
The Citadel 72 37 .661
East Tennessee State 14 34 .286
Furman 39 41 .488
Mercer 4 0 1.000
Samford 14 8 .636
UNC Greensboro 19 27 .413
VMI 14 29 .326
Western Carolina 67 48 .583
Wofford 12 10 .545

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Southern Conference Championship Sites and Dates" (PDF). soconsports.com. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Southern Champs To Be Crowned At Greensboro Meet". The Robesonian. Lumberton, N.C. AP. May 19, 1950. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Maryland To Play In Diamond Series". The Baltimore Sun. May 22, 1950. p. 14. Virginia Tech and Maryland from the North and Wake Forest and Clemson from the South will meet to determine the Southern Conference baseball championship.
  4. ↑ "Clemson Meets Duke For Southern League Title". The Dispatch. Lexington, N.C. May 21, 1951. p. 6. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Duke Nine Cops Conference Championship". The News and Courier. Charleston, S.C. May 19, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Maryland Nine Whips W. & M. In Double-Header". The Baltimore Sun. May 12, 1953. p. 19. George Washington will join Maryland as the Northern division's other representative against the two top teams in the southern branch of the league.
  7. ↑ "Rain-Check Team Emerging As Top Quality In Playoff". The Robesonian. Lumberton, N.C. May 19, 1953. p. 8. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Championship Results" (PDF). 2007 Southern Conference Baseball. Southern Conference. 2007. pp. 43–47. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  9. ↑ "SoCon Tournament MVPs" (PDF). 2006 Southern Conference Baseball. Southern Conference. 2006. p. 16. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  10. ↑ 2014 SoCon Baseball media Guide. Southern Conference. 14 February 2014. p. 48. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ https://admin.xosn.com/fls/4000//socon/Championships/2013-14/Baseball/14%20bb%20tny%20bracket.pdf?&DB_OEM_ID=4000
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