The 2025 Big 12 Conference Championship opened Wednesday at Globe Life Field with two significant upsets as No. 12 BYU blanked No. 5 Arizona State 2-0 and No. 11 Houston routed No. 6 Kansas State 9-2. No. 8 Cincinnati held off No. 9 Texas Tech in a tightly contested matchup, while No. 7 Oklahoma State edged No. 10 Baylor to close out the first day of tournament action.
This year marks the fourth consecutive season that Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, is hosting the Big 12 Conference Championship. It’s also the second year in a row the tournament coincides with MLB All-Star festivities and the MLB Draft in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with last year’s draft held at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth.
The 2025 tournament features 12 teams, with Arizona and Arizona State making their Big 12 postseason debuts. Utah and UCF did not qualify. Among current members, TCU and Oklahoma State lead the conference with four Big 12 Tournament titles apiece.
All games are being broadcast across the ESPN Family of Networks, with the championship game set for Saturday, May 24, on ESPNU.
Game 1 – No. 12 BYU 2, No. 5 Arizona State 0 – Final
The No. 12 seed BYU Cougars shocked No. 5 seed Arizona State 2-0 in the Big 12 Tournament opener, securing their first conference tournament win over the Sun Devils since 1972. Right-hander Justis Reiser pitched four scoreless innings on just 48 pitches before Ashton Johnson took over and delivered five shutout frames, striking out four and walking none.
Crew McChesney broke the scoreless tie with an RBI double in the second inning, driving home Krew Painter, who had reached on a hit-by-pitch and moved up on a balk. Britton Hurdsman added an RBI walk in the fifth to score Trey Gambill.
BYU’s defense turned two double plays and held Arizona State hitless in six chances with runners in scoring position. The Sun Devils, who led the Big 12 in batting average and slugging during the regular season, were blanked for just the second time all year. BYU, picked to finish last in the conference, will now face No. 4 Arizona on Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT on ESPN+.
Editors Note: BYU vs. Arizona will be updated on the next publication from the 2025 Big 12 Tournament
Game 2 – No. 9 Texas Tech 5, No. 8 Cincinnati 6 – Final
Cincinnati moved to 32-23 after holding off a late push from Texas Tech to win 6-5. Bearcats starter Nathan Taylor struck out 10 over six innings and improved to 6-2 on the year, while Kellen O’Connor earned the six-out save.
In the second inning, Derrick Pitts opened the scoring with a single up the middle, plating Cal Sefcik and advancing to second on a throwing error.
B3 | UC 2, TTU 1
Back in front!
RBI triple @JackNatili7!#Bearcats | #TenGames pic.twitter.com/YuyOJDVqH6
— Cincinnati Baseball (@GoBearcatsBASE) May 21, 2025
After Texas Tech tied it 1-1, catcher Jack Natili ripped an RBI triple, and Quinton Coats followed with a sac fly to make it 3-1. Pitts added an RBI groundout for a 4-1 lead.
Robin Villeneuve brought Tech back within two in the sixth with a solo home run, his 12th of the season.
Big League Pop from Big Rob! #WreckEm | @robinvilleneuv3 pic.twitter.com/g0SU03NdXi
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) May 21, 2025
Cincinnati capitalized on an error in the bottom half, extending the lead to 5-2. Tech clawed back again, but in the seventh Coats went deep to make it 6-3.
B7 | UC 6, TTU 3
That one is 𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘺 out of here!
Home run, @qsc_25! #Bearcats | #TenGames pic.twitter.com/kiAGAht8Mp
— Cincinnati Baseball (@GoBearcatsBASE) May 21, 2025
Villeneuve’s RBI double and Dylan Maxcey’s RBI single cut it to 6-5 in the eighth.
B7 | UC 6, TTU 3
That one is 𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘺 out of here!
Home run, @qsc_25! #Bearcats | #TenGames pic.twitter.com/kiAGAht8Mp
— Cincinnati Baseball (@GoBearcatsBASE) May 21, 2025
O’Connor closed the door in the ninth to secure the win. Cincinnati will play top-seeded West Virginia at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday.
Game 3 – No. 10 Baylor 3, No. 7 Oklahoma State 4 – Final
Oklahoma State took advantage of three Baylor errors to rally for a 4-3 win in the seventh. Cowboys pitching held Baylor to one earned run as Mario Pesca improved to 7-2 with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Kollin Ritchie started the scoring with a solo homer in the second.
Punched back 👊@b_bishop25 + @LottMalachi = 2 pic.twitter.com/sjzxbd4S6u
— Houston Baseball (@UHCougarBB) May 22, 2025
Baylor tied it 1-1 in the third on a fielding error, then took a 2-1 lead when Tyriq Kemp grounded out to score Enzo Apodaca.
WAVE HIM HOME! Bears tie it right away in the 3rd!
Top 3 | Baylor 1, Oklahoma State 1 #SicEm 🐻⚾️ | #Together pic.twitter.com/nzcj3rB0LH
— Baylor Baseball (@BaylorBaseball) May 21, 2025
Kemp added a sac fly in the fifth, but OSU responded with a pair of runs in the sixth to tie it 3-3. The game-winner came an inning later when Ian Daughherty scored on a fielding error by Kemp.
Gabe Davis retired Baylor in order in the ninth to secure the win. Oklahoma State faces No. 2 Kansas on Thursday at 5 p.m. EDT.
Game 4 – No. 11 Houston 9, No. 6 Kansas State 2 – Final
Houston trailed 2-0 after one inning, but exploded for nine unanswered runs and shut down Kansas State the rest of the way.
Brandon Bishop put Houston on the board with a double to right, scoring Tyler Cox.
Punched back 👊@b_bishop25 + @LottMalachi = 2 pic.twitter.com/sjzxbd4S6u
— Houston Baseball (@UHCougarBB) May 22, 2025
Malachi Lott followed with an RBI single to tie the game. Kenneth Jimenez drove in the go-ahead run with a single, and Connor McGinnis added a two-run double to make it 5-2.
It's a hit party! 🎉@Kenneth27237754 x @ConnorMcginni20 pic.twitter.com/cWIoxspVxP
— Houston Baseball (@UHCougarBB) May 22, 2025
Xavier Perez tripled to plate McGinnis in the fifth to push it to 6-2.
X gonna give to ya! @xavierperez2022 pic.twitter.com/ZClCsN1uq3
— Houston Baseball (@UHCougarBB) May 22, 2025
Perez tacked on another RBI in the seventh, followed by a two-run single from Evan Haeger that capped the scoring at 9-2.
Whose House chants echoing from Globe Life 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/LjK7820CVJ
— Houston Baseball (@UHCougarBB) May 22, 2025
The Cougars’ bullpen threw eight shutout innings after the first and allowed just two total hits. Houston plays No. 3 TCU on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN+ or ESPNU.
The D1Baseball.com Top 25 Rankings that were published on May 19, has No. 25 Kansas that is from the Big 12 Conference.
🆕 D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings: Week 14
(Presented by @NettingPros)@LSUbaseball remains No. 1 entering conference tournament week 🏆🔗 https://t.co/YjQteGBg1P pic.twitter.com/RYT0PsAETU
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) May 19, 2025
2025 Big 12 Conference Standings
Conference Record Weighs More Than Overall Record
* Did Not Qualify For Big 12 Tournament
*13. UCF (9-21) (29-26)
*14. Utah (8-22) (21-29)
Thursday, May 22 Schedule
Game 5 – No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 12 BYU – 10 a.m. – ESPN+
Game 6 – No. 1 West Virginia vs. No. 8 Cincinnati – 1:30 p.m. – ESPN+
Game 7 – No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State – 5 p.m. – ESPNU & ESPN+
Game 8 – No. 3 TCU vs. No. 11 Houston – 8:30 p.m. – ESPNU & ESPN+
Friday, May 23
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 5 p.m. – ESPN+
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner – 8:30 p.m. – ESPN+
Saturday, May 24 – Championship Game
Game 11 – 7 p.m. – ESPNU & ESPN+
Big 12 MLBPipeline.com Top 150 Draft Prospects
No. 22 – OF – Brendan Summerhill – Arizona
No. 39 – OF – Brandon Compton – Arizona State
No. 87 – LHP – Ben Jacobs – Arizona State
No. 98 – OF – Nolan Schubart – Oklahoma State
No. 112 – RHP – Gabe Davis – Oklahoma State
No. 134 – SS – Mason White – Arizona
