2026 Southern Conference baseball season
Sports season
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The 2026 Southern Conference baseball season is the baseball season for the Southern Conference as part of the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. UNC Greensboro was predicted to win the conference in the preseason poll.[2] The conference tournament is being played from May 20 to May 23 at Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, South Carolina.[3]
| 2026 Southern Conference baseball season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | Southern Conference |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | February 13, 2026 - June 22, 2026 |
| Games | 21 (conference) |
| Teams | 8 |
| TV partner | ESPN+ |
| Regular Season | |
| Conference Tournament | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Carolina | 10 | – | 5 | .667 | 29 | – | 16 | .644 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samford | 8 | – | 4 | .667 | 23 | – | 19 | .548 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wofford | 8 | – | 4 | .667 | 30 | – | 14 | .682 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Tennessee State | 9 | – | 6 | .600 | 26 | – | 15 | .634 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mercer | 7 | – | 5 | .583 | 32 | – | 12 | .727 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Citadel | 6 | – | 9 | .400 | 21 | – | 22 | .488 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VMI | 3 | – | 9 | .250 | 26 | – | 17 | .605 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UNC Greensboro | 3 | – | 12 | .200 | 16 | – | 28 | .364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of April 27, 2026[1] Rankings from D1Baseball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
The Southern Conference began conference play on March 20. Conference play ends on May 16. Each team will play 21 conference games, with three games against each conference opponent home or away.
Conference Game Results and Standings
Conference game results and standings are presented below, and are current as of all games played on April 27, 2026.
| Pos | Team | Pld | CW | CL | CPCT | GB | W | L | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Carolina | 45 | 10 | 5 | .667 | — | 29 | 16 | .644 | Qualification for the third round of conference tournament |
| 2 | Samford | 42 | 8 | 4 | .667 | 0.5 | 23 | 19 | .548 | |
| 3 | Wofford | 44 | 8 | 4 | .667 | 0.5 | 30 | 14 | .682 | Qualification for the second round of conference tournament |
| 4 | East Tennessee State | 41 | 9 | 6 | .600 | 1 | 26 | 15 | .634 | |
| 5 | Mercer | 44 | 7 | 5 | .583 | 1.5 | 32 | 12 | .727 | Qualification for the first round of conference tournament |
| 6 | The Citadel | 43 | 6 | 9 | .400 | 4 | 21 | 22 | .488 | |
| 7 | VMI | 43 | 3 | 9 | .250 | 5.5 | 26 | 17 | .605 | |
| 8 | UNC Greensboro | 44 | 3 | 12 | .200 | 7 | 16 | 28 | .364 |
Tournament
| |
| Teams | 8 |
|---|---|
| Format | Single elimination play-in round, then two-bracket double-elimination tournament, followed by winner-take-all championship game |
| Finals site | |
| Television | ESPN+ |
The 2026 Southern Conference baseball tournament will be held from May 20 through May 23 at Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, South Carolina. The winner of the conference tournament will receive an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
Beginning with the 2026 edition of the tournament, two separate brackets will be maintained until the championship game, consisting of four teams each. All eight SoCon baseball teams will participate in the tournament and will be placed in a bracket and seeded based on regular season conference record. The bottom four seeds will play in the single-elimination first round to begin the tournament. The two first round winners will then join the top four seeds in two separate double-elimination brackets, with the top two seeds receiving byes into the third round, and the third and fourth placed teams playing the first round winners in the second round. Once one team advances from each bracket, they will play each other in a winner-take-all championship game.[3] The East Tennessee State Buccaneers are defending champions, having won the 2025 edition of the tournament.
Bracket
| First Round Wednesday, May 20 | Second Round Wednesday, May 20 | Third Round Thursday, May 21 | Semifinal Round Friday, May 22 | Championship Saturday, May 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Game 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Game 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Game 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Games 9 & 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Game 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Game 2 | Game 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Game 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Game 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Games 10 & 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Game 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game times are in EDT.
All games televised on ESPN+.
Rankings denote tournament seed.
Superscripted number next to scores denote games that use extra innings or the run rule.
Source: Southern Conference[3]
Schedule
| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 (Wednesday, May 20) | |||||
| 1 | 9:00 a.m. | No. 5 vs. No. 8 | |||
| 2 | 12:30 p.m. | No. 6 vs. No. 7 | |||
| 3 | 4:00 p.m. | Winner Game 1 vs. No. 4 | |||
| 4 | 7:30 p.m. | Winner Game 2 vs. No. 3 | |||
| Day 2 (Thursday, May 21) | |||||
| 5 | 9:00 a.m. | Winer Game 3 vs. No. 1 | |||
| 6 | 12:30 p.m. | Winner Game 4 vs. No. 2 | |||
| 7 | 4:00 p.m. | Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 3 | |||
| 8 | 7:30 p.m. | Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 4 | |||
| Day 3 (Friday, May 22) | |||||
| 9 | 9:00 a.m. | Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 7 | |||
| 10 | 12:30 p.m. | Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8 | |||
| 11 | 4:00 p.m. | Loser Game 9 vs. Winner Game 9 (if necessary) | |||
| 12 | 7:30 p.m. | Loser Game 10 vs. Winner Game 10 (if necessary) | |||
| Day 4 (Saturday, May 23) | |||||
| 12 | 7:00 p.m. | Winner Game 9 or 11 vs. Winner Game 10 or 12 | |||
| Game times are in EDT. All games televised on ESPN+. Rankings denote tournament seed. Superscripted number next to scores denote games that use extra innings or the run rule. Source: Southern Conference[3] | |||||
Conference leaders
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|
Updated to games played as of April 27, 2026. Includes conference and non-conference games.
Source: Southern Conference[5]
Note: AVG, OPS, ERA, and WHIP leaders must qualify for their respective leaderboards per the SoCon Baseball 2026 Statistics webpage.[5]