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A look at notes and key information heading into the 2024 Big 12 Conference Tournament being held from May 21 to 25 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Where to watch? Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and ESPNU. The Conference championship game will be televised on ESPNU on May 26 at 7 p.m. EST at Globe Life Field.
Who’s playing? No. 1 University of Oklahoma, No. 2 Oklahoma State University, No. 3 University of Texas, No. 4 West Virginia University, No. 5 University of Cincinnati, No. 6 Kansas State University, No. 7 University of Kansas, No. 8 University of Central Florida, No. 9 Texas Christian University, and No. 10 Texas Tech University.
Globe Life does it all: Globe Life Field is home to the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers and will host the 94th Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 16 at 8 p.m. EST on FOX. FOX is broadcasting the MLB All-Star Game for the 25th season. The first year FOX broadcasted the MLB ASG was during the 1999 Mid-Summer Classic in Boston at Fenway Park.
NBC aired the 2000 MLB ASG in Atlanta at Turner Field before the television rights went back to FOX for the 2001 Midsummer Classic at Safeco Field in Seattle and has been broadcasting the ASG for 23 consecutive seasons.
This is the third consecutive year that the Big 12 Conference tournament will be played at Globe Life Field. It will be the fifth time that the conference tournament has been held at an MLB stadium since 2002 and 2004 at The Ballpark in Arlington.
Everything is bigger in Texas: The Big 12 Conference tournament will feature MLBpipeline.com’s Top 150 Ranked Draft Prospects, including certain players who could return to North Texas for the 2024 MLB Draft, which will be held from July 14 to 16 at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.
This will be the first time that a NCAA Division I Power Five conference tournament will be held in the same region as the MLB Draft in the same year during 2024.
The Cowtown Coliseum opened in 1908 and is part of the Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District. The Cowtown Coliseum is the first-ever indoor arena for rodeos in the United States and holds 3,418 seats and is home to the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame, as well as the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.
The first round of the 2024 MLB Draft will be held on July 14 at 7 p.m. EST on MLB Network at the Cowtown Coliseum.
This will be the fourth consecutive season that the MLB Draft will be held during ASG weekend and opened to the public.
The 2023 MLB Draft was held at Lumen Field, home to the National Football League Seattle Seahawks franchise from July 9-11, the 2022 Draft was held at Xbox Plaza at L.A. Live in Los Angeles from July 17-19 and the first Draft opened to the public for ASG weekend was in 2021 at the Bellco Theatre in Denver from July 11-13.
This will be the first time that an MLB stadium will host an NCAA Division I Power Five conference tournament and an MLB All-Star Game in the same season, 2024.
The Rangers have not hosted an All-Star Game since the 1995 regular season, during the second year of The Ballpark in Arlington. They will host the ASG for the second time in their franchise history.
The State of Texas has only hosted the Midsummer Classic four times, alongside the Houston Astros, who had the MLB ASG in 1968 and 1986 at the Astrodome and in 2004 at Minute Maid Park.
Did you know these facts about Globe Life? Globe Life Field will host another neutral site MLB event in its stadium’s existence since the facility opened during the 2020 60-game MLB shortened season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and hosted the 2020 National League Championship Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers beating the Atlanta Braves in seven games with an average of 10,600 plus fans attending and the 2020 World Series with the Dodgers beating the 2020 American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays in six games with an average of 11,300 plus fans in attendance.
Globe Life Field was the only stadium in the 2020 regular season with fans in attendance for an MLB game during the postseason.
The Big 12 Conference tournament is the only college baseball conference to have ever been hosted at a retractable roof stadium.
Globe Life Field also hosted its first college baseball event in 2021 with the 2021 State Farm College Baseball Showdown that featured three Big 12 Conference programs with Texas, Texas Tech University, and TCU, and the three SEC teams with Arkansas, Mississippi, and Mississippi State University and took place from Feb. 19-21.
The 2022 CBB Showdown was also at Globe Life Field. Oklahoma, Texas Tech University, and Kansas State University participated in the Big 12 Conference, and Arizona, Auburn University, and Michigan played at the event, which was held from Feb. 18-20.
The CBB Showdown was held at Globe Life Field last season from Feb. 17-19 with Texas Tech University, Texas, and TCU from the Big 12 Conference participating and three SEC programs Missouri, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt University.
The 2024 Big 12 Conference tournament will be Globe Life Field’s seventh NCAA Division I Power Five college baseball event since the stadium had its first MLB event in the 2020 regular season. On July 24, 2020, the Texas Rangers defeated the Colorado Rockies 1-0 with no fans in attendance.
Texas played Colorado for two exhibition games at Globe Life Field on July 21 and July 22 prior to the start of the 2020 regular season.
Fast forward to 2024 where some of the game’s future stars will soon make their mark at the MLB level and that will be showcased at Globe Life Field heading into Memorial Day weekend for the 2024 Big 12 Conference Tournament in Arlington, Texas.
Inside Big 12 Baseball: The University of Central Florida and the University of Cincinnati played their programs’ first regular season in the Big 12 Conference after being in the American Athletic Conference from 2013-23. They will appear at the seventh NCAA Division I Power Five college event at Globe Life Field on May 21.
University of Cincinnati head coach Jordan Bischel and University of Central head coach Rich Wallace are both in their first seasons at their programs, which are in their first year in the Big 12 Conference.
The University of Central Florida went 14-15 in the Big 12 Conference and closed out the 2024 regular season with an overall record of 33-18.
The University of Central Florida’s pitching staff has given up the fewest earned runs in the Big 12 Conference, with 21 and 374 hits, while recording the most saves, with 16.
Batter’s are hitting .226, which is the lowest in the Big 12 Conference against the UCF pitching staff in 2024.
In its first season, the University of Cincinnati went 17-13 in the Big 12 Conference and 31-23 overall.
Cincinnati’s offense has the most hit-by-pitches in the Big 12 Conference with 88.
Brigham Young University and the University of Houston played in the Big 12 Conference for the first year this season and did not qualify for the conference tournament for the seventh NCAA Division I Power Five college baseball event at Globe Life Field.
BYU ended the 2024 season in last place of the conference with their conference record at 7-23 and their overall record at 21-31. BYU’s offense had the most strikeouts in the Big 12 Conference with 577 and their pitching staff had the second-most hit-by-pitches with 69.
The University of Houston ended up in 12th place and with their conference record at 7-21 and their overall record at 26-28.
Baylor University did not qualify for the 2024 Big 12 Conference tournament and finished the regular season in 11th place, with a conference record of 10-20 and an overall record of 22-31.
Baylor University’s pitching staff had the most hit-by-pitches thrown with 76 and 335 earned runs.
Oklahoma has appeared the most times at the Big 12 Conference tournament in 28 consecutive seasons since the first year in 1997 and has won three conference championship titles.
Oklahoma won the Big 12 Conference regular season title for the first time in program history since joining in the conference’s first year in 1997 while finishing in first place during the 2024 regular season.
Oklahoma’s offense leads the Big 12 Conference in average at .313, a .414 OBP, and 20 triples.
Oklahoma State University has appeared in the Big 12 Conference tournament 25 times and is tied with its in-state rival, Oklahoma, with three conference championship titles.
Oklahoma State University’s pitching staff leads the Big 12 Conference with a 4.23 ERA and has given up the least amount of walks during 2024 with 173.
Oklahoma State’s offense is second in strikeouts in the Big 12 Conference with 495 and first in walks with 317.
Texas has won the most Big 12 Conference championship titles with five and 23 appearances.
Texas’s offense has the most home runs in the Big 12 Conference with 106 and a .533 SLG in 2024.
Texas’s pitching staff has thrown the most innings this year in the Big 12 Conference with 490 innings.
West Virginia has appeared in 11 Big 12 Conference tournaments since joining in 2013 and has not won a conference title.
West Virginia University and Texas’s pitching staff are tied with the most shutouts in the Big 12 Conference with 5.
West Virginia and Texas Tech University’s pitching staff are tied with the most hit-by-pitches thrown with 66.
TCU is tied with non-current Big 12 Conference member Nebraska with four for second-most conference titles and are the ninth seed at the 2024 Big 12 Conference tournament after going 14-16 in conference and posting a 31-19 overall record.
TCU has appeared in the Big 12 Conference tournament 11 times since joining in 2013.
Kansas State University has not won a Big 12 Conference tournament title in program history, but it has made 15 appearances.
Kansas State University leads the Big 12 Conference in stolen bases with 120 in 143 attempts.
Kansas has only won one Big 12 Conference Championship and appeared in the tournament 13 times.
Kansas’s pitching staff allowed the fewest home runs in 2024, with 40, and their offense, with 346.
Texas Tech University has won one Big 12 Conference tournament title and has appeared 23 times.
Texas Tech University’s pitching staff allowed the most home runs, 81, and 559 hits in the 2024 season. It is second in allowing earned runs, with 331 in 2024.
Texas Tech University’s offense leads the Big 12 Conference in RBIs with 435, 125 doubles, 467 runs, and 587 hits in 2024.
