2018 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament


The 2018 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament was held from May 22 through 27 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. The annual tournament determined the tournament champion of the Division I Southeastern Conference in college baseball. The tournament champion earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament[1]

2018 Southeastern Conference
baseball tournament
 
Teams12
FormatSee below
Finals site
ChampionsOle Miss (3rd title)
Winning coachMike Bianco (2nd title)
MVPNick Fortes (Ole Miss)
TelevisionSEC Network, ESPN (championship game)
2018 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East Division
No. 3 Florida  x‍‍y 20 10   .667 49 21   .700
No. 20 Georgia  ‍‍‍y 18 12   .600 39 21   .650
No. 12 South Carolina ‍‍‍y 17 13   .567 37 26   .587
No. 16 Vanderbilt  ‍‍‍y 16 14   .533 35 27   .565
Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 13 17   .433 34 22   .607
Missouri  ‍‍‍ 12 18   .400 34 22   .607
Tennessee  ‍‍‍ 12 18   .400 29 27   .518
West Division
No. 19 Ole Miss  x‍‍y 18 12   .600 48 18   .727
No. 2 Arkansas  x‍‍‍y 18 12   .600 48 21   .696
No. 15 Auburn  ‍‍‍y 15 15   .500 43 23   .652
LSU  ‍‍‍y 15 15   .500 39 27   .591
No. 4 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍y 15 15   .500 39 29   .574
Texas A&M  ‍‍‍y 13 17   .433 40 22   .645
Alabama  ‍‍‍ 8 22   .267 27 29   .482
x – Division champion
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The tournament has been held every year since 1977, with LSU claiming twelve championships, the most of any school. Original members Georgia and Kentucky along with 1992 addition Arkansas have never won the tournament. This is the twentieth consecutive year and twenty-second overall that the event has been held at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, known from 2007 through 2012 as Regions Park. Texas A&M joined in 2013, and won its first title in 2016. Missouri, which also joined in 2013, has yet to win the event.

Format and seeding

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The regular season division winners claimed the top two seeds and the next ten teams by conference winning percentage, regardless of division, claimed the remaining berths in the tournament. The bottom eight teams played a single-elimination opening round, followed by a double-elimination format until the semifinals, when the format reverted to single elimination through the championship game. This was the sixth year of this format.[2][3]

Team W–L Pct GB #1 Seed
Eastern Division
Florida 20–10 .667 1
Georgia 18–12 .600 2 3
South Carolina 17–13 .567 3 5
Vanderbilt 16–14 .533 4 6
Kentucky 13–17 .433 7 10
Missouri 12–18 .400 8 12
Tennessee 12–18 .400 8
Team W–L Pct GB #1 Seed
Western Division
Ole Miss 18–12 .600 2 2
Arkansas 18–12 .600 2 4
Auburn 15–15 .500 5 7
LSU 15–15 .500 5 8
Mississippi State 15–15 .500 5 9
Texas A&M 13–17 .433 7 11
Alabama 8–22 .267 12

Bracket

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First round
SECN
Second round
SECN
Third round
SECN
Semifinals
SECN
Final
ESPN2
3 Georgia 0
6 Vanderbilt 1 11 Texas A&M 7
11 Texas A&M 3 11 Texas A&M 4
7 Auburn 2
2 Ole Miss 3
7 Auburn 4 7 Auburn 9
10 Kentucky 311 11 Texas A&M 1
2 Ole Miss 2
3 Georgia 4
2 Ole Miss 510
2 Ole Miss 7
7 Auburn 0
2 Ole Miss 9
8 LSU 1
1 Florida 4
8 LSU 8 8 LSU 3
9 Mississippi State 5 1 Florida 2
4 Arkansas 8
4 Arkansas 13
5 South Carolina 4 5 South Carolina 8
12 Missouri 2 4 Arkansas 1
8 LSU 2
8 LSU 6
5 South Carolina 412
8 LSU 11
1 Florida 07

Schedule

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Game Time* Matchup# Television Attendance
Tuesday, May 22
1 9:30 a.m. No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 11 Texas A&M SEC Network 5,514
2 1:00 p.m. No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 10 Kentucky
3 4:30 p.m. No. 8 LSU vs. No. 9 Mississippi State 8,072
4 8:00 p.m. No. 5 South Carolina vs. No. 12 Missouri
Wednesday, May 23
5 9:30 a.m. No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 11 Texas A&M SEC Network 7,126
6 1:00 p.m. No. 2 Ole Miss vs. No. 7 Auburn
7 4:30 p.m. No. 1 Florida vs. No. 8 LSU 6,710
8 8:00 p.m. No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 5 South Carolina
Thursday, May 24
9 9:30 a.m. No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 2 Ole Miss SEC Network 7,197
10 1:00 p.m. No. 8 LSU vs. No. 5 South Carolina
11 4:30 p.m. No. 11 Texas A&M vs. No. 7 Auburn 9,651
Friday, May 25
12 10:00 a.m. No. 1 Florida vs. No. 4 Arkansas SEC Network 1,384
13 3:00 p.m. No. 2 Ole Miss vs. No. 7 Auburn 8,945
14 6:30 p.m. No. 8 LSU vs. No. 1 Florida
Semifinals – Saturday, May 26
15 Noon No. 2 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Texas A&M SEC Network 10,381
16 3:00 p.m. No. 8 LSU vs. No. 4 Arkansas
Championship – Sunday, May 27
17 2:00 p.m. No. 2 Ole Miss vs. No. 8 LSU ESPN 14,126
*Game times in CDT. # – Rankings denote tournament seed.

References

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  1. ^ "SEC Championships - Full Schedule". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  2. ^ "SEC Announces Format Change to Baseball Tournament". Tennessee Volunteers. December 19, 2011. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "SEC adds two teams, changes format for postseason conference tournament". NCAA.com. December 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.