Conference USA Baseball Tournament
The Conference USA Baseball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for Conference USA (C-USA). The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The tournament format, which has changed several times, currently consists of an eight-team double-elimination tournament format, in which the winners of two four-team brackets play in a single-game final. Rice, which has won the tournament seven times, is the most successful team in the tournament's history.[1]
Conference USA Baseball Tournament | |
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Conference Baseball Championship | |
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Sport | Baseball |
Conference | Conference USA |
Number of teams | 8 |
Format | Double Elimination |
Current stadium | MGM Park |
Current location | Biloxi, Mississippi |
Played | 1996–present |
Last contest | 2019 |
Current champion | Southern Miss (5) |
Most championships | Rice (7) |
Official website | ConferenceUSA.CSTV.com Baseball |
Host stadiums | |
MGM Park (2017–19) Pete Taylor Park (1996, 2005, 2009, 2014–16) Reckling Park (2006, 2013) Trustmark Park (2011–12) Cougar Field (2004, 2010) Turchin Stadium (1997, 2003, 2008) Clark-LeClair Stadium (2007) Grainger Stadium (2002) Zephyr Field (1998, 2001) Florida Power Park (2000) USA Stadium (1999) | |
Host locations | |
Biloxi, MS (2017–19) Hattiesburg, MS (1996, 2005, 2009, 2014–16) Pearl, MS (2011–12) Houston, TX (2004, 2006, 2010, 2013) New Orleans, LA (1997–98, 2001, 2003, 2008) Greenville, NC (2007) Kinston, NC (2002) St. Petersburg, FL (2000) Millington, TN (1999) |
History
The tournament was first held in 1996, the first season after Conference USA was formed from the merger of the Metro Conference and the Great Midwest Conference.[2]
1996–1999
From 1996 to 1999, the tournament format consisted of an eight-team double-elimination tournament preceded by a single-game play-in round. The play-in round determined which of the lowest seeds (by regular season conference record) would qualify for the eight-team bracket. In 1996, when the league had nine baseball-sponsoring schools, the play-in round included the 8th and 9th seeds. When Houston joined from the Southwest Conference prior to the 1997 season, the play-in round featured the 7th–10th seeds. The eight-team double-elimination tournament consisted of two four-team double-elimination brackets, the winners of which met in a single-game final.[1]
2000–2009
In the 2000 tournament, the play-in round was eliminated, and the top eight seeds qualified for the eight-team double-elimination tournament automatically. The eight-team bracket followed the same format as it had from 1996 to 1999.[1]
2010
In 2010, the tournament format was changed from double-elimination to round robin. The top six regular season finishers qualified for the tournament field, which consisted of two three-team "pods." Pod 1 included the 1st, 4th, and 5th seeds, and Pod 2 included the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th seeds. Each team played three preliminary games, two against its podmates and one against a team from the opposite group. The cross-group games matched up the seeds as follows: 1st vs. 6th, 2nd vs. 5th, and 3rd vs. 4th. The winner of each round robin pod advanced to a single-game final.[1]
2011–2013
In 2011, the round robin format was expanded to the top eight regular season finishers. The tournament field consisted of two four-team pods. Pod 1 included the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th seeds, and Pod 2 included the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th seeds. Each team played three preliminary games, one against each member of its pod. The winner of each pod advanced to a single game.[1]
2014–Present
Beginning in 2014, the format returned to the eight team double-elimination format used from 1996 through 2009.[3]
Champions
Year | School | Site | MVP |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Tulane | Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS | Jason Fitzgerald (Tulane) |
1997 | Houston | Turchin Stadium • New Orleans, LA | Scottie Scott (Houston) |
1998 | Tulane | Zephyr Field • New Orleans, LA | Brian Hughes (Tulane) |
1999 | Tulane | USA Stadium • Millington, TN | Mickey McKee (Tulane) |
2000 | Houston | Florida Power Park • St. Petersburg, FL | Jarrod Bitter (Houston) |
2001 | Tulane | Zephyr Field • New Orleans, LA | Barth Melius (Tulane) |
2002 | East Carolina | Grainger Stadium • Kinston, NC | Darryl Lawhorn (East Carolina) |
2003 | Southern Miss | Turchin Stadium • New Orleans, LA | Clint King (Southern Miss) |
2004 | TCU | Cougar Field • Houston, TX | Austin Adams (TCU) |
2005[lower-alpha 1] | TCU Tulane |
Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS | Nathan Southard (Tulane) |
2006 | Rice | Reckling Park • Houston, TX | Joe Savery (Rice) |
2007 | Rice | Clark-LeClair Stadium • Greenville, NC | Aaron Luna (Rice) |
2008 | Houston | Turchin Stadium • New Orleans, LA | Bryan Pounds (Houston) |
2009 | Rice | Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS | Anthony Rendon (Rice) |
2010 | Southern Miss | Cougar Field • Houston, TX | Scott Copeland (Southern Miss) |
2011 | Rice | Trustmark Park • Pearl, MS | Tyler Duffey (Rice) |
2012 | UAB | Trustmark Park • Pearl, MS | Michael Busby (UAB) |
2013 | Rice | Reckling Park • Houston, TX[lower-alpha 2] | Christian Stringer (Rice) |
2014 | Rice | Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS | Michael Aquino (Rice) |
2015 | FIU | Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS | Josh Anderson (FIU) |
2016 | Southern Miss | Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS | Daniel Keating (Southern Miss) |
2017 | Rice | MGM Park • Biloxi, MS | Glen Otto (Rice) |
2018 | Southern Miss | MGM Park • Biloxi, MS | Mason Strickland (Southern Miss) |
2019 | Southern Miss | MGM Park • Biloxi, MS | |
2020 | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic |
Current schools
Updated as of 05/23/2019.
School | Appearances | W-L | Pct | Tourney Titles | Title Years |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rice | 14 | 39–16 | .709 | 7 | 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 |
Southern Miss | 24 | 57–38 | .600 | 5 | 2003, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2019 |
FIU | 5 | 5–8 | .385 | 1 | 2015 |
UAB | 17 | 19–31 | .380 | 1 | 2012 |
Charlotte | 10 | 16–18 | .471 | ||
Marshall | 6 | 8–12 | .400 | ||
Florida Atlantic | 5 | 13–10 | .565 | ||
UTSA | 5 | 8–11 | .421 | ||
Old Dominion | 5 | 4–10 | .286 | ||
Louisiana Tech | 4 | 4–8 | .333 | ||
Middle Tennessee | 2 | 3–4 | .429 | ||
Western Kentucky | 1 | 1–2 | .333 |
References
- "2012 Conference USA Baseball Media Guide" (PDF). pp. 74–75. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-21. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- O'Connell, Jim (12 November 1995). "25 Tips on the 1996-1996 Season". The Mount Airy News. p. 5B. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
Conference USA will be the only new league, a merger of the Great Midwest and Metro conferences, ... .
- "Southern Miss to host 2014 C-USA Baseball Championship". Conference USA. October 10, 2014. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- Joseph Duarte (November 15, 2012). "Rice to host 2013 C-USA baseball tourney". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
- TJ Werre (November 20, 2012). "C-USA Baseball Tournament Leaves Pearl". wjtv.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2012.