Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament

Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament
Conference Baseball Championship
File:SECBaseball.png SEC Baseball Tournament Logo
Sport	Baseball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Number of teams	14
Format	Double-elimination tournament
Current stadium	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium
Current location	Hoover, Alabama
Played	1977–present
Last contest	2016
Current champion	Texas A&M (1)
Most championships	LSU Tigers (11)
Official website	SECSports.com Baseball
Host stadiums
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium/Regions Park (1990, 1996, 1998-present) Golden Park (1997) Lindsey Nelson Stadium (1995 Eastern) Dudy Noble Field (1979, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1995 Western) Cliff Hagan Stadium (1994 Eastern) Swayze Field (1977, 1994 Western) Sarge Frye Field (1993 Eastern) Alex Box Stadium (1985-86, 1991, 1993 Western) Superdome (1992) Alfred A. McKethan Stadium (1989) Foley Field (1987) Perry Field (1978, 1980, 1982, 1984)
Host locations
Hoover, AL (1990, 1996, 1998-present) Columbus, GA (1997) Knoxville, TN (1995 Eastern) Starkville, MS (1979, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1995 Western) Lexington, KY (1994 Eastern) Oxford, MS (1977, 1994 Western) Columbia, SC (1993 Eastern) Baton Rouge, LA (1985-86, 1991, 1993 Western) New Orleans, LA (1992) Gainesville, FL (1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1989) Athens, GA (1987)

The Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament (sometimes known simply as the SEC Tournament) is the conference championship 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.

Tournament

The SEC Baseball tournament is a double-elimination tournament held each year at Regions Park in Hoover, Alabama. Twelve of the 14 SEC teams qualify for the tournament. The winner earns the SEC's guaranteed bid to the NCAA Tournament. Most of the other teams who qualify for the SEC tournament more often than not earn at-large bids to the NCAA field of 64 teams, due to the reputation of the SEC as one of the nation's elite baseball conferences. With the expansion of the NCAA baseball field from 48 to 64 teams in 1999, some teams which have not made the SEC tournament have still qualified for the NCAA tournament.

History

The tournament was first held in 1977.

1977–1986

From 1977–1986, the tournament consisted of four (out of 10) teams competing in a double elimination bracket. The winner was considered the conference's overall champion.

1987–1991

In 1987, the tournament expanded to 6 teams (out of 10), while remaining a double-elimination tournament. Beginning with the 1988 season, the winner was no longer considered the conference's overall champion, although the winner continued to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In 1990, however, the conference did not accept an automatic bid after lightning and rainfall disrupted the tournament's championship game and co-champions were declared.

1992

With the addition of Arkansas and South Carolina to the conference, the SEC held an eight team (out of 12) double elimination tournament. The tournament followed a format that included reseeding the teams once only four were still active in the tournament.

1993–1995

The SEC held separate tournaments for the Eastern and Western divisions in 1993, 1994 and 1995. The tournament games counted in the league standings, and the team with the best winning percentage at the end of each tournament, covering 24 regular season SEC games plus tournament games, was crowned league champion. Each division tournament consisted of all six teams in that division. The SEC devised the plan in the hopes of garnering two automatic berths to the NCAA tournament for each of the tournament champions; however, the NCAA rejected the SEC plan, instead awarding one automatic bid to the division tournament champion with the highest overall winning percentage.

1996–1997

For two years, eight teams qualified for the league tournament; however, the teams seeded fifth through eighth were forced into a single-elimination play-in round. The two winners of the play-in games advanced to the main bracket, which was a six-team, double-elimination format, exactly the same as the NCAA regional format used through 1998.

1998–2007

Starting in 1998, the SEC adopted the "Omaha" bracket, splitting the eight qualifying teams into two four-team double elimination brackets. The division winners are seeded 1 and 2, while the remaining six teams are seeded 3 through 8. Seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 form bracket one, while seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8 are in bracket two. The two bracket winners meet in a winner-take-all championship game. This was the format used in the College World Series from 1988 through 2002, prior to the NCAA instituting a best-of-3 championship series in 2003.

In 1998, the top three teams in each division plus two "wild card" teams qualiifed for the tournament. In 1999, the qualification standards were changed to the top two teams in each division plus the next four teams based upon overall conference winning percentage, which remains in place through 2008. Since 1996, SEC teams have played 30 conference games (10 3-game series), with each team playing all five of its division opponents and five of six opponents from the opposite division.

During this period, the popularity of the event rose significantly. There was speculation the Tournament could move to Memphis, Atlanta, or other larger Southern cities, but additional of RV accommodations and founding of Dannyville have secured the event in Hoover for the foreseeable future.

2008–2011

In 2008, the SEC adopted a "flipped bracket" on a trial basis. The tournament still consisted of 8 teams in a double elimination bracket. However, after two days of play the undefeated team from each bracket would move into the other bracket. This reduced the amount of rematches teams would have to play in order to win the tournament.

2012

With the addition of Texas A&M and Missouri for 2013, and the lack of any "bubble" in recent years to the tournament (in some years, all eight teams in the tournament and a team or two that does not make the tournament would qualify for the NCAA Regionals), the SEC expanded the tournament from 8 to 10 teams. The tournament will begin on Tuesday and conclude on Sunday. In 2012, the SEC will also begin a Baseball Legends Program, which will honor four former SEC baseball standouts.

2013–present

The 2013 format will see another expansion by two teams, bringing the total number of participants to 12. Seeds five through twelve will play a single-elimination opening round, followed by the traditional double-elimination format until the semifinals, when the format will revert to single-elimination.

Champions

Year	School	Site	MVP	Attendance
1977	Ole Miss	Swayze Field • Oxford, MS
1978	Auburn	Perry Field • Gainesville, FL
1979	Mississippi State	Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS	Mike Kelley (Mississippi State)
1980	Vanderbilt	Perry Field • Gainesville, FL	Dave Nenad (Vanderbilt)
1981	Florida	Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS	Jeff Keener (Kentucky)
1982	Florida	Perry Field • Gainesville, FL	Rich Bombard (Florida)
1983	Alabama	Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS	David Magadan (Alabama)
1984	Florida	Perry Field • Gainesville, FL	Alan Cockrell (Tennessee)
1985	Mississippi State	Alex Box Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	Gene Morgan (Mississippi State)
1986	LSU	Alex Box Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	Jeff Yurtin (LSU)	14,240
1987	Mississippi State	Foley Field • Athens, GA	Dan Paradoa (Mississippi State)	5,091
1988	Florida	Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS	Brian Reimsnyder (Florida)	43,068
1989	Auburn	Alfred A. McKethan Stadium • Gainesville, FL	Roger Miller (Georgia)	22,507
1990	LSU Mississippi State	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Jon Harden (Mississippi State)	32,163
1991	Florida	Alex Box Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	Herbert Perry (Florida) / Brian Purvis (Florida)	21,563
1992	LSU	Superdome • New Orleans, LA	Andy Sheets (LSU)	24,329
1993	Eastern: Tennessee Western: LSU	Sarge Frye Field • Columbia, SC Alex Box Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	Todd Helton (Tennessee) Harry Berrios (LSU)	8,050
1994	Eastern: Tennessee Western: LSU	Cliff Hagan Stadium • Lexington, KY Swayze Field • Oxford, MS	Todd Helton (Tennessee) / Steve Soper (Tennessee) Russ Johnson (LSU)	6,850
1995	Eastern: Tennessee Western: Alabama	Lindsey Nelson Stadium • Knoxville, TN Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS	Todd Helton (Tennessee) / Scott Vieira (Tennessee) Rusty Loflin (Alabama)	12,572
1996	Alabama	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Joe Caruso (Alabama)	57,231
1997	Alabama	Golden Park • Columbus, GA	David Tidwell (Alabama)	42,000
1998	Auburn	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Rodney Nye (Arkansas)	87,295
1999	Alabama	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	G.W. Keller (Alabama)	98,873
2000	LSU	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Wally Pontiff (LSU)	85,653
2001	Mississippi State	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Chris Young (Mississippi State)	85,771
2002	Alabama	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Brent Boyd (Alabama)	124,440
2003	Alabama	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Beau Hearod (Alabama)	122,393
2004	South Carolina	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Steven Tolleson (South Carolina) / Kevin Melillo (South Carolina)	75,259
2005	Mississippi State	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Jeff Butts (Mississippi State)	119,580
2006	Ole Miss	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Mark Wright (Ole Miss)	108,173
2007	Vanderbilt	Regions Park (formerly Hoover Metropolitan Stadium) Hoover, AL	Pedro Alvarez (Vanderbilt)	87,893
2008	LSU	Regions Park • Hoover, AL	Blake Dean (LSU)	124,139
2009	LSU	Regions Park • Hoover, AL	Mikie Mahtook (LSU)	86,048
2010	LSU	Regions Park • Hoover, AL	Austin Nola (LSU)	126,071
2011	Florida	Regions Park • Hoover, AL	Daniel Pigott (Florida)	97,675
2012	Mississippi State	Regions Park • Hoover, AL	Adam Frazier (Mississippi State)	129,112
2013	LSU	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Chris Cotton (LSU)	134,496
2014	LSU	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Tyler Moore (LSU)	120,386
2015	Florida	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	JJ Schwarz (Florida)	132,178
2016	Texas A&M	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Nick Banks (Texas A&M)	150,064

^1 Mississippi State and LSU were declared co-champions in 1990 when the tournament was abandoned because of weather issues.

By School

Updated as of 2016 season

School	Appearances	W-L	Pct	Tourney Titles	Title Years
LSU	30	71–38	.651	11	1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014
Mississippi State	32	62–48	.564	7	1979, 1985, 1987, 1990, 2001, 2005, 2012
Alabama	27	47–40	.540	7	1983, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003
Florida	35	54–57	.486	7	1981, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1991, 2011, 2015
Auburn	23	29–39	.426	3	1978, 1989, 1998
Tennessee	14	25–23	.521	3	1993, 1994, 1995
Vanderbilt	19	43–33	.566	2	1980, 2007
Ole Miss	20	33–33	.500	2	1977, 2006
South Carolina	23	24–39	.381	1	2004
Texas A&M	4	8–5	.615	1	2016
Georgia	22	25–40	.385	0
Arkansas	19	22–30	.423	0
Kentucky	17	16–31	.340	0
Missouri	4	1–5	.167	0

^1 Mississippi State and LSU were declared co-champions in 1990 when the tournament was abandoned because of weather issues.

^2 The SEC held separate tournaments for the Eastern and Western divisions in 1993, 1994 and 1995. The tournament games counted in the conference standings, and the team with the best winning percentage at the end of each tournament was crowned conference champion.

^3 The 1992 season was the first in SEC play for Arkansas and South Carolina.

^4 The 2013 season was the first in SEC play for Missouri and Texas A&M

External links

• SECSports.com Miscellaneous SEC Baseball Tournament Information
• SECSports.com All-Time SEC Baseball Tournament Results
• SECSports.com SEC Baseball Tournament Records
• SECSports.com SEC Baseball Tournament All-Tournament Teams
• 2015 SEC Baseball Tournament Attendance @ SECSports.com