Conference USA Baseball Tournament
| Conference USA Baseball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference Baseball Championship | |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Conference | Conference USA |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Format | Double Elimination |
| Current stadium | Pete Taylor Park |
| Current location | Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
| Played | 1996-present |
| Last contest | 2015 |
| Current champion | FIU (1) |
| Most championships | Rice (6) |
| 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) | |
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 six times, is the most successful team in the tournament's history.[1]
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 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 | |
| 2016 | Southern Miss | Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS | |
| 2017 | MGM Park • Biloxi, MS[6] | ||
| 2018 | MGM Park • Biloxi, MS | ||
| 2019 | MGM Park • Biloxi, MS |
By school
Current schools
| School | Appearances | W-L | Pct | Tourney Titles | Title Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 11 | 30-12 | .714 | 6 | 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014 |
| Southern Miss | 21 | 44-35 | .557 | 3 | 2003, 2010, 2016 |
| UAB | 16 | 19-29 | .396 | 1 | 2012 |
| FIU | 3 | 5-4 | .556 | 1 | 2015 |
| Charlotte | 8 | 11-14 | .440 | ||
| Marshall | 5 | 7-10 | .412 | ||
| Old Dominion | 3 | 3-6 | .333 | ||
| UTSA | 2 | 4-4 | .500 | ||
| Florida Atlantic | 2 | 3-4 | .429 | ||
| Middle Tennessee | 2 | 3-4 | .429 | ||
| Louisiana Tech | 1 | 3-2 | .600 | ||
| Western Kentucky | 0 | 0-0 | .000 |
Former schools
| School | Tourney Titles | Title Years |
|---|---|---|
| East Carolina | 1 | 2002 |
| Houston | 3 | 1997, 2000, 2008 |
| TCU | 2 | 2004, 2005 |
| Tulane | 5 | 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "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. Archived from the original on 2012-06-23. 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. 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. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
- ↑ Patrick Magee (November 11, 2015). "Biloxi to become Conference USA baseball tourney's new home in 2017-19". Sun Herald. Biloxi, Mississippi. Retrieved November 12, 2015.