Let the SEC Baseball Madness Begin!
It’s tourney time in the SEC, and this year, all 16 teams are in the mix thanks to a brand-new single-elimination format. Yep, no more byes for anyone—it’s win or go home, starting bright and early on May 20.
Alabama (40-15, 16-14 SEC) just hit the 40-win mark in the regular season for the first time since 2002—pretty impressive! But a tough 9-3 loss to Florida on Saturday kept them from snagging a first-round bye. So now, the Tide rolls into the tourney as the No. 9 seed.
Their opening game? A Tuesday morning showdown against 16-seed Missouri at 9:30 a.m. CT. Bama already swept Mizzou back in April, but don’t sleep on the Tigers—they broke an 0-24 SEC slump with a surprise sweep of Texas A&M.
Win that one, and Bama moves on to face No. 8 Tennessee on Wednesday morning (also at 9:30 a.m.). The Tide dropped that series 2-1 at home earlier this season, so they’ll be looking for revenge.
Here’s how the final SEC regular season standings shake out:
1. Texas
2. Arkansas
3. LSU
4. Vanderbilt
5. Georgia
6. Auburn
7. Ole Miss
8. Tennessee
9. Alabama
10. Florida
11. Mississippi State
12. Oklahoma
13. Kentucky
14. Texas A&M
15. South Carolina
16. Missouri
Bama was the No. 9 seed last year too—and went on a run, winning twice in Hoover, hosting a regional, and reaching the Super Regional. Can they do it again? Let’s find out.