Is the SEC baseball tournament single or double-elimination? Putting the SEC format under the microscope

The SEC baseball tournament is almost upon us. With the Kentucky Wildcats having crowned themselves champions of the SEC's regular season, fans of the premier athletic conference in America are already looking to the post-season tournament. The event is set to have a new format in 2025, which has raised some doubts as to what format it will have this season.

Is the SEC baseball tournament single or double-elimination?

The SEC baseball tournament has a hybrid format of single and double-elimination games. Straight out of the SEC webpage, here's an explanation as to which games are single and which games are double elimination:

"Seeds 5-12 will meet in a single elimination format on the opening day of the tournament, followed by traditional double-elimination play Wednesday-Friday. The tournament will return to single-elimination play on Saturday. A total of 17 games will be played throughout the tournament."

2024 will be the last season in which the SEC tournament will have a mixed format in which some games are double elimination and others single elimination. In 2025, the tournament will change to a format in which all games will be single elimination and all 16 SEC schools (including recent add-ons Texas and Oklahoma) will participate.

When will the SEC tournament change format?

The SEC baseball tournament will have a new format in 2025, given the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the conference. From now on, it will be only a single-elimination tournament in which the 16 SEC schools will participate.

How many schools participate in the current SEC tournament?

Currently, 12 out of the 14 member schools participate in the SEC tournament. The event is traditionally played in late May of every year in Hoover, Alabama, lasting six days. The current reigning champions are the Vanderbilt Commodores, and the LSU Tigers are the ones with the most titles (12).