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]
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[a] | 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[b] | 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 | Glenn Otto (Rice) |
| 2018 | Southern Miss | MGM Park • Biloxi, MS | Mason Strickland (Southern Miss) |
| 2019 | Southern Miss | MGM Park • Biloxi, MS | Matt Wallner (Southern Miss) |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | ||
| 2021 | Old Dominion | J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park • Ruston, LA | Tommy Bell (Old Dominion) |
| 2022 | Louisiana Tech | Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS | Taylor Young (Louisiana Tech) |
| 2023 | Charlotte | Reckling Park • Houston, TX | Cam Fisher (Charlotte) |
| 2024 | Dallas Baptist | J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park • Ruston, LA | Alex Pendergast (Dallas Baptist) |
By school
End of the 2024 tournament, updated.
| School | Appearances | W-L | Pct | Tourney Titles | Title Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 15 | 38–18 | .679 | 7 | 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 |
| Tulane | 17 | 39–23 | .629 | 5 | 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005 |
| Southern Miss | 26 | 60–42 | .588 | 5 | 2003, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2019 |
| Houston | 17 | 36–28 | .563 | 3 | 1997, 2000, 2008 |
| TCU | 4 | 9–5 | .643 | 2 | 2004, 2005 |
| Louisiana Tech | 8 | 17–15 | .531 | 1 | 2022 |
| Charlotte | 13 | 22–23 | .489 | 1 | 2023 |
| Old Dominion | 7 | 11–12 | .478 | 1 | 2021 |
| East Carolina | 13 | 20–22 | .476 | 1 | 2002 |
| Dallas Baptist | 2 | 7–1 | .875 | 1 | 2024 |
| FIU | 6 | 6–10 | .375 | 1 | 2015 |
| UAB | 18 | 19–33 | .365 | 1 | 2012 |
| Sam Houston | 1 | 1-2 | .333 | ||
| New Mexico State | 1 | 0-2 | .000 | ||
| Florida Atlantic | 8 | 16–15 | .516 | ||
| South Florida | 9 | 15–17 | .469 | ||
| UTSA | 8 | 11–13 | .458 | ||
| Memphis | 12 | 15–22 | .405 | ||
| Marshall | 6 | 8–12 | .400 | ||
| Saint Louis | 5 | 6–10 | .375 | ||
| Middle Tennessee | 6 | 6–12 | .333 | ||
| Liberty | 1 | 2-2 | .500 | ||
| Cincinnati | 6 | 5–9 | .357 | ||
| Western Kentucky | 4 | 6–8 | .429 | ||
| UCF | 6 | 5–11 | .313 | ||
| Louisville | 10 | 8–19 | .296 |
- Bold indicate school currently sponsors baseball in Conference USA.
- Italics indicate school no longer sponsors baseball in Conference USA.
References
- ^ a b c d e "2012 Conference USA Baseball Media Guide" (PDF). pp. 74–75. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-12. 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.
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