HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — All 16 Southeastern Conference teams will compete in a single-elimination baseball postseason tournament after the league expands next year with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma.
SEC officials announced the new baseball tournament format Thursday after athletic directors approved the switch.
Under the existing format, only 12 of the SEC’s 14 current members participate in a hybrid single/double-elimination tournament over a six-day period. That format will continue for this year’s tournament, which takes place May 21-26 at Hoover, Alabama.
The tournament will continue to last six days under the new format that starts next year. Teams seeded ninth through 16th will play on the opening day. The winners advance to face the teams seeded fifth through eighth the next day. The top four seeds will receive a double-bye that enables them to advance directly to the quarterfinals.
There will be four games each on Tuesday and Wednesday. There will be two games each on Thursday, Friday and Saturday before Sunday’s championship game.
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