SEC Baseball Conference Tournament Preview

The SEC baseball conference tournament is upon us. Below, we give a preview of the week ahead. Find the full tournament bracket here.

The Good

Florida– The Gators don’t have a lot left to prove. After winning the regular season championship, Florida has sealed a national seed in the NCAA tournament, and possibly a top 4 seed. A conference tournament championship would be nice, but the Gators’ ultimate goal is still a month ahead.

First Round- Bye

LSU– The Tigers are entering the SEC tournament as maybe the hottest team in the conference. LSU is coming off sweeps against Auburn and Mississippi State and a 7 game win streak overall. With a strong performance this week, the Tigers could possibly find themselves with a national seed come the NCAA tournament as well.

First Round-Bye

Kentucky– Kentucky was the best offensive team in the SEC this season. The Wildcats led the conference in virtually every offensive statistic during the year. It’s hard to keep Kentucky off the board, and in a tournament setting, they could be even more difficult to beat.

First Round- Bye

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Arkansas– Arkansas has been steady throughout the entire year. They finished 18-11 in conference play and 39-15 overall, while smashing a conference-leading 70 home runs. The Razorbacks entered last weekend as third in the West, but after an LSU sweep of Mississippi State, and Arkansas taking two-of-three from A&M, they find themselves in the top-4 of the conference.

First Round- Bye

Mississippi State– Mississippi State comes into the conference tournament with slowed momentum after being swept by LSU. The back end of the pitching rotation has been an achilles heel for Mississippi State all year, and it showed again against the Tigers, allowing 22 runs in the final 2 games of the series. The Bulldogs are a lock for the NCAA tournament, but a few wins in the SEC tournament to get back on track would be ideal.

First Round- 5/23 8:00 pm CT vs. Georgia

The Average

Vanderbilt– Vandy has been riding the middle of the road the entire season. They finished 15-13 in conference and 33-21 overall. The Commodores beat the teams they should’ve beat, and were unable to beat the top of the conference. Vandy is projected in the field of 64, but wins over higher-seeded teams in the conference tournament can give extra confidence to the ‘Dores.

First Round- 5/23 9:30 am CT vs. South Carolina

Texas A&M– The Aggies, much like Auburn, are limping into the postseason. A&M hasn’t won a conference series since late April, and are coming off losses to the Mississippi schools and Arkansas, and the Aggies are no longer in the top-25. Luckily for A&M, their first round game is against the last team they beat in a series– Missouri. Although a win would only set up a showdown with red-hot LSU.

First Round- 5/23 1:00 pm CT vs. Missouri

Auburn– Auburn is stumbling their way into the tournament. A month ago, the Tigers were top 5 in the country, and the number 1 team in the conference. But being swept by Alabama and LSU down the stretch left Auburn in question of making the NCAA tournament. A series victory over Ole Miss last weekend may have saved their NCAA tournament chances, but Auburn would like to make some noise in the SEC tournament for security.

First Round- 5/23 4:30 pm CT vs. Ole Miss

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Ole Miss– Ole Miss is squarely on the bubble. The Rebels do have series victories over Arkansas and A&M, but the A&M victory is looking less impressive. Ole Miss might need to win the tournament to enter the NCAA field, and that journey starts against a team they just dropped 2-of-3 to: Auburn.

First Round- 5/23 4:30 pm CT vs. Auburn

The Rest

The last three teams in the conference tournament field, Missouri, South Carolina, and Georgia, are all obvious underdogs. All three likely need to win the SEC tournament to get into the field of 64. Georgia has been playing the best of the three, winning 6 of their last 9 conference games. In this stretch, the Dawgs have defeated Kentucky, Mississippi State, and South Carolina. Georgia has the momentum to make a little run.

Missouri is coming off two series wins against South Carolina and Tennessee, and winners of 5 in a row. They have a good shot at taking down A&M, but LSU will be waiting for them in the second round.

Lastly, South Carolina probably wants this season to just be over with. Starting the year highly ranked, the Gamecocks won their first two conference series, only to drop every single one since. They haven’t won a series since spring break, and nothing points towards them making a deep run. Sure, anything can happen, but it doesn’t look good for South Carolina.

It should be an exciting week in the world of SEC baseball.