American Conference baseball tournament
| American Conference baseball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference baseball championship | |
 | |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Conference | American Conference |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Format | Double-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | BayCare Ballpark |
| Current location | Clearwater, Florida |
| Played | 2014–present |
| Last contest | 2026 |
| Current champion | East Carolina |
| Most championships | East Carolina (5) |
| Official website | theamerican.org/baseball |
| Host stadiums | |
| BayCare Ballpark (2014–present) | |
| Host locations | |
| Clearwater, FL (2014–present) | |
The American Conference baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in college baseball for the American Conference, known until July 2025 as the American Athletic Conference. It is a round-robin tournament, with seeding based on regular season records. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship each season. The Tournament champion is separate from the conference champion. The conference championship is determined solely by regular season record.
The American is one of two successors to the original Big East Conference, which split after the 2013 season. The tournament was held in the same location as the previous six Big East Conference baseball tournaments in 2014, at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida.[1]
Format
[edit]Unlike the previous Big East Tournament, the American adopted a round-robin tournament format in 2014. The top eight teams were divided into two groups of four, with each team facing the others in the group. The winners of each group then faced off in a single championship game. This format was similar to the format used by several new members from the Conference USA baseball tournament from 2010 to 2013.[1]
In 2015, the event reverted to the traditional two-bracket, double-elimination tournament leading to a single championship game.
Champions
[edit]By year
[edit]| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Venue | Most Valuable Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Houston | Louisville | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Josh Vidales, Houston |
| 2015 | East Carolina | Houston | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Hunter Allen, East Carolina |
| 2016 | UConn | Houston | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Anthony Kay, UConn |
| 2017 | Houston | East Carolina | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Jake Scheiner, Houston |
| 2018 | East Carolina | UConn | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Spencer Brickhouse, East Carolina |
| 2019 | Cincinnati | UConn | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | A.J. Bumpass, Cincinnati |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic | |||
| 2021 | South Florida | UCF | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Daniel Cantu, South Florida |
| 2022 | East Carolina | Houston | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, East Carolina |
| 2023 | Tulane | East Carolina | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Teo Banks, Tulane |
| 2024 | Tulane | Wichita State | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Jackson Linn, Tulane |
| 2025 | East Carolina | Tulane | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Braden Burress, East Carolina |
| 2026 | East Carolina | UTSA | BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL | Ethan Norby, East Carolina |
By school
[edit]This table of championship statistics is updated after each event. It is current as of the end of the 2025 tournament.[2]
| School | App. | W | L | Pct. | Titles | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Carolina | 11 | 32 | 14 | .696 | 5 | 2015, 2018, 2022, 2025, 2026 |
| Houston | 9 | 20 | 13 | .606 | 2 | 2014, 2017 |
| Tulane | 9 | 18 | 15 | .545 | 2 | 2023, 2024 |
| South Florida | 9 | 13 | 15 | .464 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cincinnati | 8 | 5 | 14 | .263 | 1 | 2019 |
| UConn | 6 | 15 | 10 | .600 | 1 | 2016 |
| UCF | 9 | 14 | 17 | .452 | 0 | |
| Memphis | 9 | 13 | 17 | .433 | 0 | |
| Wichita State | 7 | 10 | 14 | .417 | 0 | |
| UTSA | 3 | 4 | 5 | .444 | 0 | |
| Florida Atlantic | 3 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 0 | |
| Charlotte | 3 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 0 | |
| Rice | 3 | 2 | 6 | .250 | 0 | |
| UAB | 2 | 1 | 4 | .200 | 0 | |
| Louisville | 1 | 2 | 2 | .500 | 0 | |
| Rutgers | 1 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 0 | |
| Temple | 1 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 0 |
Italics indicate school no longer sponsors baseball in The American.
References
[edit]- 1 2 "First American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship To Be Held At Bright House Field". The American. July 1, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- ↑ "2021 American Baseball Record Book" (PDF). theamerican.org. American Athletic Conference. 22 Apr 2020. Retrieved 7 Jul 2020.
