The Pac-12 Conference finally has a postseason baseball tournament, and the inaugural version will take place in the state of Arizona.
The league announced the creation of the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament on Wednesday. The tournament’s debut is slated for May 25-29 — a delay of a year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The venue for at least the first three years will be Scottsdale Stadium, the spring-training home of the San Francisco Giants.
“The Pac-12 Baseball Tournament is a marquee event that will serve to enhance the exposure of the conference’s baseball programs with competitive, late-season matchups prior to NCAA Tournament selections,” Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said in a news release. “It will also provide student-athletes with a first-class experience and the opportunity to compete for a championship in a premier destination for the sport on the West Coast.”
The tournament will feature the top eight regular-season finishers in a double-elimination format. Critically, it will draw eyeballs to the Pac-12 in the week leading up to Selection Monday. The Pac-12 had been one of only a handful of leagues that didn’t conduct a season-ending tournament, which gives “bubble” team a chance to earn an automatic berth and all participants an opportunity to enhance their résumés.
“Creating this tournament is a meaningful way to showcase Pac-12 baseball at an important time of the year,” Stanford coach David Esquer said. “I’m excited for the competitive opportunities the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament will provide our programs, the championship experience it will deliver for student-athletes and the atmosphere it will create in an unbeatable location for both fans of our schools and those who may just be fans of the game.”
Arizona is the defending conference champion. The Pac-12 sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament, tied for the second most in league history. Three schools hosted regionals, including the UA, which advanced to the College World Series.
Arizona would have qualified for the Pac-12 Tournament each of the past five season a full campaign was waged. (Conference play never started during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.)
The Wildcats are set to begin a new era under first-year coach Chip Hale. The former UA standout replaces Jay Johnson, who left to become the head coach at LSU.
