HOOVER, Ala. — Friday brings the second half of the SEC Baseball Tournament quarterfinals at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, with two of the conference’s most decorated programs facing off against two of the conference’s hottest mid-tier seeds. No. 2 seed Texas faces No. 7 seed Arkansas at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) on the SEC Network. No. 3 seed Texas A&M faces No. 6 seed Auburn at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) on the SEC Network, approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 11.
The two Friday winners advance to Saturday’s semifinal at 5 p.m. ET on the SEC Network — opposite the Florida-Georgia semifinal at 1 p.m. ET. The bracket is down to six teams. By Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, it’s down to two.
It’s also Memorial Day weekend. The Hoover Met opens its gates to one of college baseball’s biggest crowds of the year.
Friday’s quarterfinals at a glance
Game 11: No. 7 Arkansas Razorbacks vs. No. 2 Texas Longhorns
Time: 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT)
TV: SEC Network
Streaming: ESPN+ / SEC Network app (cable login)
D1Baseball rankings: Arkansas #12, Texas #5
Records: Arkansas 39-19 (17-13 SEC); Texas 41-15 (20-10 SEC)
Series context: The regular-season series was a sweep — Texas won three in Austin in April
Game 12: No. 6 Auburn Tigers vs. No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies
Time: 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT, approximately 30 min after Game 11 concludes)
TV: SEC Network
Streaming: ESPN+ / SEC Network app (cable login)
D1Baseball rankings: Auburn #6, Texas A&M #10
Records: Auburn 37-18 (17-13 SEC); Texas A&M 39-15 (18-12 SEC)
Series context: Texas A&M won the regular-season series 2-1 in College Station in May
Arkansas-Texas: the SEC’s most-watched rivalry of 2026
The Friday afternoon quarterfinal is the matchup the conference has been waiting for since this year’s bracket was set. Texas, in its second SEC season, lost the regular-season series to Arkansas in Fayetteville in March — and then took it right back in Austin in April. Arkansas swept that April series; Texas swept the April series; the two split games. The history depends on which fan you ask.
What’s settled: Arkansas brings the SEC’s most talented MLB Draft pipeline. The Razorbacks have four players in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 draft prospect rankings: junior catcher Ryder Helfrick (No. 16 overall, projected first-round), redshirt sophomore right-hander Hunter Dietz (No. 18 overall), junior right-hander Carson Wiggins (No. 83), and senior closer Gabe Gaeckle (No. 86). The lineup is rounded out by All-SEC First Team OF Charles Davalan, junior 2B Cam Kozeal, redshirt freshman SS Justin Stewart, and senior 3B Kuhio Aloy.
Texas counters with arguably the conference’s deepest two-way roster. The Longhorns — ranked No. 5 in the D1Baseball Top 25 — won the SEC West with a 20-10 league record. Coach Jim Schlossnagle, in his second year at Texas (he won the SEC Tournament three times at Texas A&M before crossing the rivalry line), enters Friday at 0-1 in the SEC Tournament with the Longhorns and 6-6 all-time across his SEC tournament career.
The Arkansas-Texas matchup carries serious NCAA Tournament weight. Arkansas demolished Tennessee 8-4 on Wednesday with a four-run first inning (Stewart 2-run HR, Pompey HR, Kozeal HR). Texas comes in off a first-round bye, fully rested, with right-hander Drew Markle and the lineup that won the SEC West.
For the Razorbacks, this is their first matchup at the No. 7 seed since 2014 — the lowest seed they’ve held in over a decade. For the Longhorns, this is their second SEC Tournament appearance and a chance to win their first conference tournament game (they fell 7-5 in 12 innings to Tennessee in their 2025 SEC Tournament debut).
Dave Van Horn, Arkansas’s head coach since 2003, is 28-33 in the SEC Tournament across 21 appearances. He won the 2021 SEC Tournament. Schlossnagle, the Texas head coach, won the SEC Tournament with Texas A&M in 2016.
Auburn-Texas A&M: defense, depth, and a rested-arm advantage
The Friday late game brings two teams that have been quietly stacking quality all year. Auburn, fresh off Wednesday’s 3-1 elimination of defending national champion LSU, used just two pitchers — Jake Marciano (6 IP) and Jackson Sanders (3 IP for the save) — and is the most-rested staff in the bracket among second-round survivors.
“It’s actually the greatest relief ever,” Marciano said in his Wednesday postgame of handing the ball to Sanders for the final three innings. “I know having whoever comes in, especially Jackson, that they’re gonna get the job done. Having the best pitching staff in the country is really, really great.”
Texas A&M comes in off a first-round bye, fully rested. The Aggies — 2026 SEC East champions at 18-12 — feature 2026 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Gavin Grahovac (.378, 17 HR, 60 RBI), All-SEC First Team OF Caden Sorrell, and All-SEC Second Team 2B Chris Hacopian. Michael Earley, in his second year as head coach, is 2-1 in the SEC Tournament with the Aggies after reaching the 2023 final in his predecessor’s program-defining year.
For Auburn, this is the No. 6 seed for the second straight year — the program’s deepest tournament position since the 2003 semifinal. Butch Thompson, Auburn’s head coach since 2016, is 5-11 in SEC Tournaments across 8 appearances. The Tigers have won at least 17 SEC games in four of the last five seasons.
For Texas A&M, this is the No. 3 seed for the third time in tournament history. The last time the Aggies were a top-3 seed was 2016, the same year they won the tournament. Earley’s program is at 39 wins and a likely NCAA Tournament regional host — but the SEC Tournament championship game would be a program-elevating moment.
The pitching matchup: Marciano was named to the 2026 All-SEC First Team as a starting pitcher; Auburn’s Sanders made the All-SEC Second Team as a reliever. Texas A&M’s pitching depth includes All-SEC starters Mason Howell and Cameron Tilly, plus reliever Hunter Brewer. The strikeout battle is real on both sides.
The bracket from here
The two Friday winners advance to Saturday’s two semifinals, both on the SEC Network.
Saturday, May 23 — Semifinals
Game 13: No. 5 Florida vs. No. 1 Georgia — 1 p.m. ET (SEC Network)
Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 — 5 p.m. ET (SEC Network)
The Florida-Georgia semifinal is already locked. Florida advances after a 13-3 run-rule elimination of No. 4 seed Alabama on Thursday. Georgia advances after a 5-3 win over No. 8 seed Mississippi State, also on Thursday.
Sunday, May 24 — Championship Game
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 — 2 p.m. ET on ABC
Sunday’s championship game airs on ABC — over the air via local ABC affiliates and through ABC.com / ESPN+ for cord-cutters.
The matchups, by the numbers
Arkansas pitching (last 10 games): 2.83 ERA, .219 OBA, 89 K in 73 IP. Starter likely to be Hunter Dietz (4-3, 3.45 ERA, MLB Pipeline #18).
Texas pitching (last 10 games): 2.41 ERA, .197 OBA, 102 K in 75 IP. Starter likely to be Drew Markle.
Auburn pitching (Wednesday + 5 days’ rest): Marciano and Sanders combined to throw 136 pitches across nine innings Wednesday — efficiency that gives Thompson rotation flexibility. Starter Friday likely to be Cooper McMurray.
Texas A&M pitching (5 days’ rest): Mason Howell (8-2, 3.24 ERA) or Cameron Tilly (7-3, 3.61 ERA) — Earley has options.
Arkansas offense: .298 team BA, 78 HR, 12 stolen bases. Stewart, Pompey, Kozeal, and Davalan are the four key bats.
Texas offense: .305 team BA, 92 HR, 30 stolen bases. The Longhorns lead the conference in HR and slugging.
Auburn offense: .279 team BA, 65 HR, 35 stolen bases. Solid balance, with Fralick, Rembert, Guevara, and McCraine as anchors.
Texas A&M offense: .298 team BA, 75 HR, 22 stolen bases. Grahovac, Sorrell, and Hacopian as the heart of the order.
How to watch from home
Both Friday games air on the SEC Network, which is available on most major cable and satellite providers. The full SEC Tournament — including Sunday’s championship — is also available through:
- SEC Network app (with cable login)
- ESPN+ (subscription required)
- Fubo (free trial available)
- YouTube TV, Hulu Live, DirecTV Stream, Sling TV (all carry SEC Network)
Sunday’s championship game airs on ABC at 2 p.m. ET — over the air via local ABC affiliates, plus ABC.com and ESPN+.
Memorial Day weekend at Hoover
Friday’s quarterfinals open Memorial Day weekend at the Hoover Met. The Saturday-Sunday-Monday holiday weekend traditionally produces some of the largest crowds of the SEC Tournament — last year’s semifinal Saturday drew 14,775 for the fourth-largest single-session crowd in tournament history.
Butch Thompson, Auburn’s head coach, said in his Wednesday postgame that the Hoover Met crowd has been “top-five ever” for an SEC Tournament he’s been part of across 25 years at three schools. That’s a meaningful endorsement from a coach who saw the program at Mississippi State as an assistant under Ron Polk in the 1990s.
The bracket is now in its most-watched phase. Six teams left, three days, one trophy.
For more on the 2026 SEC Tournament
- Game 10 Recap: Florida 13, Alabama 3 (8 inn., run rule)
- Game 9 Recap: Georgia 5, Mississippi State 3
- Game 8 Recap: Auburn 3, LSU 1
- Game 7 Recap: Arkansas 8, Tennessee 4
- Game 6 Recap: Florida 8, Vanderbilt 3
- Game 5 Recap: Mississippi State 12, Missouri 2 (7 inn.)
- Game 4 Recap: LSU 6, Oklahoma 2
- Game 3 Recap: Tennessee 11, South Carolina 6
- Game 2 Recap: Vanderbilt 8, Kentucky 5
- Game 1 Recap: Missouri 10, Ole Miss 8
- How to Watch: Day 3 Quarterfinal Preview
- How to Watch: Original Tournament Preview
Official sources
Tournament Bracket — Full Schedule
All times Eastern. Second game of each session begins approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.
Tuesday, May 19 — First Round
Game 1: Missouri 10, Ole Miss 8 — FINAL
Game 2: Vanderbilt 8, Kentucky 5 — FINAL
Game 3: Tennessee 11, South Carolina 6 — FINAL
Game 4: LSU 6, Oklahoma 2 — FINAL
Wednesday, May 20 — Second Round
Game 5: Mississippi State 12, Missouri 2 (7 inn.) — FINAL
Game 6: Florida 8, Vanderbilt 3 — FINAL
Game 7: Arkansas 8, Tennessee 4 — FINAL
Game 8: Auburn 3, LSU 1 — FINAL
Thursday, May 21 — Quarterfinals
Game 9: Georgia 5, Mississippi State 3 — FINAL
Game 10: Florida 13, Alabama 3 (8 inn., run rule) — FINAL
Friday, May 22 — Quarterfinals (SEC Network)
Game 11: Arkansas vs. No. 2 Texas — 4 p.m. ET
Game 12: Auburn vs. No. 3 Texas A&M — 8 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 23 — Semifinals (SEC Network)
Game 13: Florida vs. No. 1 Georgia — 1 p.m. ET
Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 — 5 p.m. ET
Sunday, May 24 — Championship (ABC)
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 — 2 p.m. ET
