HOOVER, Ala. — Eleven months ago, LSU swept Coastal Carolina at Charles Schwab Field to claim the program’s eighth national championship — the most in modern college baseball, and the second title in three years under Jay Johnson. This week, the Tigers arrive in Hoover as the No. 14 seed at the SEC Tournament, opening Tuesday night against No. 11 Oklahoma in a single-elimination first-round game. That’s how brutal a year in the SEC can be: defending champs to bottom-four seed in twelve months. LSU isn’t the only program with a story in this seed tier — Monte Lee is in his first season as South Carolina’s interim head coach after Mark Kingston’s departure; Kentucky is playing one year removed from its first College World Series appearance in program history; Missouri is rebuilding under Kerrick Jackson in his third year. But LSU is the story everyone in Hoover will be watching.
This is the fourth and final World Baseball Network preview of the 2026 SEC Baseball Tournament. The tournament runs May 19-24 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, single-elimination, with first-round play opening Tuesday on the SEC Network and the championship game scheduled for Sunday, May 24 at 2 p.m. EDT on ABC. This piece covers the No. 13 through No. 16 seeds.
The bracket’s bottom four:
- Kentucky (31-20, 13-17 SEC) — Nick Mingione, 10th season
- LSU (29-27, 9-21 SEC) — Jay Johnson, 5th season
- South Carolina (22-34, 7-23 SEC) — Monte Lee, 1st season (interim)
- Missouri (23-30, 6-24 SEC) — Kerrick Jackson, 3rd season
No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats (31-20, 13-17 SEC)
Head coach: Nick Mingione, 10th season
Two years ago, Kentucky made the College World Series for the first time in program history under Mingione — a stunning run from a program that hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2017 before that. The 2026 group hasn’t matched that trajectory; the Wildcats are 31-20 overall, 13-17 in conference, unranked in the D1Baseball Top 25, and matched against Vanderbilt — last year’s tournament champ — in a Tuesday first-round game.
Shortstop Tyler Bell — MLB Pipeline‘s No. 23 prospect — is the headliner.
Players to watch:
- SS Tyler Bell — 1st-Team All-SEC (SS) · (Top 150: No. 23) · Projected first-round 2026 MLB Draft pick. Drafted No. 66 overall by Tampa Bay in 2024 but returned to school.
- RHP Jaxon Jelkin — 2nd-Team All-SEC (SP) · Houston transfer, back from Tommy John surgery. Named by head coach Nick Mingione as Kentucky’s Tuesday starter against Vanderbilt.
- RHP Nate Harris — Sophomore returning weekend starter. Pitched 6.0 IP of 3-run ball to help eliminate top-seeded Clemson in the 2025 Regional.
Program resume: CWS Appearance 2024. NCAA Regional Champions 2017, 2023, 2024. SEC Regular Season Champion 2024.
No. 14 LSU Tigers (29-27, 9-21 SEC)
Head coach: Jay Johnson, 5th season
The defending national champions are the No. 14 seed. That sentence is going to feel strange every time it appears in print this week. LSU swept Coastal Carolina at the 2025 College World Series to bring the program its eighth national title — Johnson’s second as head coach after the 2023 championship over Florida. The Tigers went 9-21 in SEC play in 2026, finishing 14th in conference and 29-27 overall. Whether that record reflects roster turnover after the 2025 title run or a more durable downturn, the calendar doesn’t care: LSU plays Oklahoma on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET, and a tournament run is the only thing standing between this team and a long offseason.
The bats to watch: outfielder Derek Curiel (MLB Pipeline No. 15) and outfielder Jake Brown (No. 45) are both on the Top 150 draft board.
Players to watch:
- OF Derek Curiel — 2nd-Team All-SEC (OF) · All-SEC Defensive Team · (Top 150: No. 15)
- SS Steven Milam — 2nd-Team All-SEC (SS) · All-SEC Defensive Team (SS)
- OF Jake Brown — (Top 150: No. 45)
- C Omar Serna Jr. — Freshman All-SEC
- RHP Mason Braun — Freshman All-SEC
Program resume: Eight CWS Championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2009, 2023, 2025). CWS Runner-Up 2017. 20 CWS appearances. SEC Tournament Champions 1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017. The eight national titles are the most among active Division I programs.
No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks (22-34, 7-23 SEC)
Head coach: Monte Lee, 1st season (interim)
A difficult year in Columbia. South Carolina is 22-34 overall and 7-23 in conference, second-worst record in the league. Mark Kingston was removed from the head-coaching position during the season, with longtime college coach Monte Lee — formerly of Clemson and College of Charleston — taking over on an interim basis. The Gamecocks open Tuesday evening against Tennessee, a program that just won the national title two years ago.
The history at South Carolina is real: back-to-back national championships in 2010 and 2011 under Ray Tanner, four CWS Finals appearances, a top-three SEC program for most of the 2000s. The current group is rebuilding from that foundation rather than near it. When the SEC released its 2026 postseason awards Monday, no South Carolina player appeared on any All-SEC team — first, second, freshman, or defensive. Left-hander Jake McCoy is the program’s only player on MLB Pipeline’s Top 150 draft board.
Players to watch:
- LHP Jake McCoy — (Top 150: No. 139)
Program resume: CWS Champion 2010, 2011. CWS Runner-Up 1975, 1977, 2002, 2012. 11 CWS appearances. SEC Tournament Champion 2004.
No. 16 Missouri Tigers (23-30, 6-24 SEC)
Head coach: Kerrick Jackson, 3rd season
The No. 16 seed in single-elimination tournaments has a clear job: arrive, play one game, and try to make it two. Mizzou is 23-30 overall and 6-24 in SEC play in Jackson’s third season — last in the conference, lowest seed in Hoover. The Tigers open Tuesday morning against No. 9 Ole Miss, the 2022 College World Series champions, at 10:30 a.m. ET. The smart money says it’s one and done. The smart money is also exactly what gets upset on Tuesday morning at the Hoover Met.
Like South Carolina, Missouri did not place a player on any of Monday’s All-SEC postseason teams. The roster — heavy on first-year transfers and freshmen — is still establishing identity in Kerrick Jackson’s third season.
Players to watch:
- C Mateo Serna — Switch-hitting junior catcher
- RHP Josh McDevitt — Junior, weekend starter
- LHP Isaiah Salas — Freshman from The Woodlands, Texas
Program resume: CWS Champion 1954. CWS Runner-Up 1952, 1958, 1964. Six CWS appearances. Conference Tournament Champions 1976, 1980, 2012.
Bracket entry path — bottom four seeds:
All four of these teams enter the tournament in the Tuesday first round, on the lower line of their respective matchups:
- No. 13 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt — Game 2, 2 p.m. ET, Tuesday May 19, SEC Network
- No. 14 LSU vs. No. 11 Oklahoma — Game 4, 9 p.m. ET, Tuesday May 19, SEC Network
- No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Tennessee — Game 3, 5:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday May 19, SEC Network
- No. 16 Missouri vs. No. 9 Ole Miss — Game 1, 10:30 a.m. ET, Tuesday May 19, SEC Network
Winners advance to Wednesday’s second round to face the higher seeds: Missouri/Ole Miss winner plays No. 8 Mississippi State; Vanderbilt/Kentucky winner plays No. 5 Florida; Tennessee/South Carolina winner plays No. 7 Arkansas; LSU/Oklahoma winner plays No. 6 Auburn.
2026 SEC Baseball Tournament Reference
Venue: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala. Capacity 10,800 (expandable to 16,000+ with patio, banquet, and grass seating). 12 suites. The Hoover Met hosted the SEC Tournament in 1990, 1996, and continuously since 1998. The Double-A Birmingham Barons of the Southern League — a Chicago White Sox affiliate — played at the venue from 1988 to 2012.
Format: 16-team single-elimination. First round Tuesday, second round Wednesday, quarterfinals Thursday and Friday, semifinals Saturday, championship Sunday.
Tournament Champions and National-Title Pairings: Programs that won the SEC Tournament and the NCAA national championship in the same season — LSU (2009, 2023), South Carolina (2010, 2011), Vanderbilt (2014, 2019), Florida (2017), Tennessee (2024). Vanderbilt won the 2025 tournament 3-2 over Ole Miss in the championship game, head coach Tim Corbin’s fourth SEC Tournament title.
2025 NCAA Champion: LSU. Defeated Coastal Carolina in a three-game sweep at Charles Schwab Field in the College World Series finals — the program’s eighth national championship. LSU and Arkansas were the SEC’s only representatives in the 2025 CWS.
NCAA Tournament Selection Show: Monday, May 25, 12 p.m. EDT on ESPN2. The 64-team bracket, top-16 national seeds, and regional host sites will be revealed.
2026 SEC Final Regular-Season Standings
- Georgia (23-7, 43-12)
- Texas (19-10, 40-12)
- Texas A&M (18-11, 39-13)
- Alabama (18-12, 37-18)
- Florida (18-12, 37-18)
- Auburn (17-13, 36-18)
- Arkansas (17-13, 36-19)
- Mississippi State (16-14, 39-16)
- Ole Miss (15-15, 36-20)
- Tennessee (15-15, 37-19)
- Oklahoma (14-16, 32-20)
- Vanderbilt (14-16, 32-24)
- Kentucky (13-17, 31-20)
- LSU (9-21, 29-27)
- South Carolina (7-23, 22-34)
- Missouri (6-24, 23-30)
2026 SEC Postseason Awards
- Player of the Year: Daniel Jackson, C, Georgia
- Pitcher of the Year: Aidan King, RHP, Florida
- Freshman of the Year: Anthony Pack Jr., OF, Texas
- Newcomer of the Year: Aiden Robbins, OF, Texas (Seton Hall transfer)
- Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Gavin Grahovac, 1B, Texas A&M
- Coach of the Year: Wes Johnson, Georgia
MLB Pipeline Top 150 — SEC Players
- No. 5 — SS Justin Lebron, Alabama
- No. 12 — 2B Chris Hacopian, Texas A&M
- No. 14 — RHP Liam Peterson, Florida
- No. 15 — OF Derek Curiel, LSU
- No. 16 — C Ryder Helfrick, Arkansas
- No. 18 — LHP Hunter Dietz, Arkansas
- No. 21 — RHP Cade Townsend, Ole Miss
- No. 23 — SS Tyler Bell, Kentucky
- No. 25 — OF Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M
- No. 26 — OF Aiden Robbins, Texas
- No. 27 — 2B Chris Rembert, Auburn
- No. 28 — 3B Ace Reese, Mississippi State
- No. 32 — 1B Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M
- No. 43 — RHP Tegan Kuhns, Tennessee
- No. 45 — OF Jake Brown, LSU
- No. 55 — C Daniel Jackson, Georgia
- No. 83 — RHP Carson Wiggins, Arkansas
- No. 84 — LHP Shane Sdao, Texas A&M
- No. 85 — RHP Joey Volchko, Georgia
- No. 86 — RHP Gabe Gaeckle, Arkansas
- No. 96 — C/OF Brendan Brock, Oklahoma
- No. 99 — C Carson Tinney, Texas
- No. 119 — RHP Taylor Rabe, Ole Miss
- No. 123 — OF Kyle Jones, Florida
- No. 127 — RHP LJ Mercurius, Oklahoma
- No. 128 — 3B Camden Johnson, Oklahoma
- No. 132 — SS Jaxon Willits, Oklahoma
- No. 137 — 3B Henry Ford, Tennessee
- No. 139 — LHP Jake McCoy, South Carolina
Full Bracket Schedule
All times Eastern. Second game of each session begins approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.
Tuesday, May 19 — First Round (SEC Network)
Game 1: No. 9 Ole Miss vs. No. 16 Missouri — 10:30 a.m.
Game 2: No. 12 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Kentucky — 2 p.m.
Game 3: No. 10 Tennessee vs. No. 15 South Carolina — 5:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 11 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 LSU — 9 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20 — Second Round (SEC Network)
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 8 Mississippi State — 10:30 a.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 5 Florida — 2 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 7 Arkansas — 5:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 6 Auburn — 9 p.m.
Thursday, May 21 — Quarterfinals (SEC Network)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. No. 1 Georgia — 4 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. No. 4 Alabama — 8 p.m.
Friday, May 22 — Quarterfinals (SEC Network)
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. No. 2 Texas — 4 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. No. 3 Texas A&M — 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 23 — Semifinals (SEC Network)
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 — 1 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 — 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 24 — Championship (ABC)
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 — 2 p.m.
