2016 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament

The 2016 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament was held from May 24 through May 29 at Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, South Carolina. Western Carolina University won the tournament. The annual event determines the conference champion of the Division I Southern Conference in college baseball. The tournament winner earns the league's bid to the 2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. This is the last of 20 athletic championships held by the conference in the 2015–16 academic year.[2]

2016 Southern Conference
Baseball Tournament

Teams	9
Format	Double-elimination tournament
Finals site	Fluor Field at the West End Greenville, SC
MVP	,

2016 Southern Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Mercer  ‍†‍‍	16	–	8		.667			38	–	23		.623
Western Carolina  ‍‍‡‍^y	15	–	9		.625			31	–	31		.500
UNC Greensboro  ‍‍‍	15	–	9		.625			38	–	21		.644
Furman  ‍‍‍	14	–	10		.583			29	–	30		.492
Samford  ‍‍‍	13	–	11		.542			35	–	26		.574
East Tennessee State  ‍‍‍	13	–	11		.542			27	–	30		.474
Wofford  ‍‍‍	12	–	12		.500			30	–	28		.517
The Citadel  ‍‍‍	6	–	18		.250			17	–	42		.288
VMI  ‍‍‍	4	–	20		.167			21	–	35		.375
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 11, 2016[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The tournament was originally held from 1950-53, when the Southern Conference was a large conference composed of several small schools and several large schools, the latter of which would form the Atlantic Coast Conference after the 1953 season. The event was re-established in 1984 and has been held every year since. Western Carolina has claimed nine championships, the most of any school, with The Citadel close behind at eight tournament wins. Furman is the only other school current school with multiple championships, winning two. East Tennessee State, UNC Greensboro, and VMI have never won a title, although East Tennessee State and VMI returned to the conference in 2015 after over ten years in other conferences. Defending champion Mercer claimed the conference championship in its first ever appearance.

The tournament will be played in Greenville, which has hosted three of the past seven events.[3]

Seeding and format

All nine teams will participate in the tournament, with the bottom two seeds playing a single-elimination play-in round. The winner will play the top seed, as part of the double-elimination tournament.[4]

Team	W	L	Pct	GB	Seed
Mercer	16	8	.667	—	1
Western Carolina	15	9	.625	1	2
UNC Greensboro	15	9	.625	1	3
Furman	14	10	.583	2	4
East Tennessee State	13	11	.542	3	5
Samford	13	11	.542	3	6
Wofford	12	12	.500	4	7
The Citadel	6	18	.250	10	8
VMI	4	20	.167	12	9

Bracket

Play-In Round

Tuesday, May 24

Team	R
#9 VMI	2
#8 The Citadel	3

Bracket

	First Round					Second Round					Third Round					Semifinals					Finals
	Winner's Bracket
	1	Mercer	13
	8	The Citadel	1
						1	Mercer	6
						4	Furman	1
	4	Furman	3
	5	East Tennessee State	0
											1	Mercer	9
											2	Western Carolina	8
	3	UNC Greensboro	5
	6	Samford	8
						6	Samford	4
						2	Western Carolina	14
	2	Western Carolina	10
	7	Wofford	9																		1	Mercer	2	2
																					2	Western Carolina	4	3
	Loser's Bracket
	8	The Citadel	2
	5	East Tennessee State	4			5	East Tennessee State	11
						6	Samford	12
											6	Samford	2
	3	UNC Greensboro	9								4	Furman	0			6	Samford	4
	7	Wofford	6			3	UNC Greensboro	10								2	Western Carolina	7
						4	Furman	15

References

1. "Southern Conference - 2016 Standings". d1Baseball.com. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
2. "2015-16 Southern Conference Championship Schedule". soconsports.com. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
3. "2016 Baseball Championship". Southern Conference. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
4. "2016 Southern Conference Baseball Championship Bracket" (PDF). Southern Conference. Retrieved November 16, 2015.