The Big 12 Conference baseball tournament starts Tuesday at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona, a change of location from previous years.
The last four tournaments were held at Globe Life Field, the home stadium of the Texas Rangers, in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers and the Kansas City Royals share Surprise Stadium as their spring training location.
Before Globe Life Field, Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City had served as the host site for the past three decades, with 2002, 2004, and 2015 the exceptions.
Arizona defeated TCU in last year’s championship game, earning an automatic bid to the Men’s College World Series. As the four seed, they took down the top-seeded West Virginia in the semi-finals.
A single-elimination format will push coaches to make aggressive decisions with their pitching staff and on the basepaths if home runs are scarce. As always, there are front-runners, and there are the long shots.
Let’s meet the teams and make note of one player from each squad to keep an eye on.
A Player To Watch From Each Team
*Stats used are from all games played, not conference games only.
No. 1 Kansas (39-16, 22-8 Big 12) – Kansas clinched its first Big 12 regular season title in program history with a win against BYU on Friday. D1Baseball Preseason First Team All-American Brady Ballinger had 23 extra-base hits in 54 games and has hit .320 in his two seasons with the Jayhawks.
No. 2 West Virginia (37-13, 21-9 Big 12) – The Mountaineers concluded their regular season with a Senior Day game against TCU on Saturday. Catcher and second baseman Gavin Kelly hit .384 and launched 12 of the team’s 40 home runs this year, making him a power threat for opposing pitching staffs.
No. 3 Arizona State (36-18, 19-11 Big 12) – Head Coach Willie Bloomquist’s squad had a .719 winning percentage at home during the regular season. Left-hander Cole Carlon’s 12.79 strikeouts per nine innings ranks 11th among active pitchers, but the MLB Draft prospect exited Friday’s start against Houston in the second inning due to a significant drop in velocity.
No. 4 UCF (31-20, 19-11 Big 12) – The Knights started the season 10-2 in conference play and are vying for a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Outfielder Andrew Williamson’s four triples were tied for fourth in the conference, and he finished with a team-high 1.041 OPS.
No. 5 Oklahoma State (36-19, 18-12 Big 12) – The Cowboys eliminated Arizona from postseason contention with a win on Friday. Outfielder Kollin Ritchie led the Big 12 with 29 home runs, including two three-homer games (Feb. 28 vs. Sam Houston, May 1 vs. TCU).
No. 6 Cincinnati (37-19, 17-13 Big 12) – The Bearcats finished the regular season with eight wins in their final 10 games, enjoying two separate winning streaks of seven victories or more during the campaign. Junior Nathan Taylor led the pitching staff with 111 strikeouts in 81 innings, allowing more than two walks in 14 starts just once.