The No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks (43-12, 20-10 SEC) and the 15 other teams in the 2025 Southeastern Conference Tournament are looking to improve their resume for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. This is the first time the SEC Tournament will feature all 16 teams in a fully single-elimination bracket, replacing the previous 12-team, double-elimination format.
We’ll be taking a deep dive into what the SEC Tournament means for each team, examining which programs can afford an early exit and which ones need to pick up a few key wins to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
SEC Baseball Tournament Preview
How is Arkansas looking?
First and foremost, there is one important question in mind we have on this site.
“Where is Arkansas at in the NCAA Tournament projections?”
The Razorbacks moved up in the rankings to No. 5 in the nation and are looking strong after taking two out of three from the Tennessee Volunteers over the weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium to end the regular season on a high note. The Hogs are projected to be a No. 2 national seed, according to D1Baseball.com, drawing Kansas, Creighton and Wright State to the Fayetteville Regional. Arkansas would be paired up with No. 15 TCU, which would draw UTSA, Oklahoma and Oral Roberts.
The OmaHogs are in no need of winning the SEC Tournament, even though it would be nice to get another trophy in the case. Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn knows the true task at hand and knows for a fact that the team will be a Top-8 national seed to not only host a regional but a super regional as well.
Teams that don’t necessarily need to win some games in the SEC Tournament
Texas, LSU, Auburn, Vanderbilt and Georgia are pretty much locks as regional hosts in the NCAA Tournament. All five teams are projected to be Top 8 national seeds, according to D1Baseball.com, but a win would not hurt to be safe.
Oklahoma and Mississippi State can not really do much in improving their resumes besides winning a couple of games to go to an easier regional. The Sooners are projected to be a three seed going to the Fort Worth Regional (TCU), and the Bulldogs are predicted to be a three seed going to the Tallahassee Regional (Florida State), according to D1Baseball.com.
Teams that need some victories to protect their status as a regional host
Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Alabama are all projected to make the postseason but are currently listed as non-regional hosts despite all being in the Top 25 rankings. The Gators are ranked No. 15 in the nation but are projected to travel to the Chapel Hill Regional (North Carolina). The Rebels catapulted themselves from not being ranked to rising to No. 17 in the nation after upsetting the Auburn Tigers by taking two out of three in their final series of the season. The Volunteers and the Crimson Tide have both had a rough stretch as of late and have fallen to No. 21 and No. 23 in the rankings, respectively.
Winning the SEC Tournament would all but guarantee a regional host spot in the NCAA Tournament for any of these teams. Florida and Ole Miss could possibly get by with winning a couple of games in the conference tournament to secure a regional host spot.
Need of victories to make the NCAA Tournament
Kentucky and Texas A&M have put together a solid season, especially with the Aggies getting back on track with huge victories over Arkansas and Tennessee. The Wildcats had some ups and downs this season but are projected to be a three seed in the Corvallis Regional (Oregon State), according to D1Baseball.com. Meanwhile, Texas A&M is projected to barely miss the postseason after a rough end to the year. The Aggies were swept on the road by Texas and Missouri and dropped two out of three to Georgia to round out the regular season.
South Carolina and Missouri are going to have to win the whole SEC Tournament for either team to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks finished with an even 28-28 record with a conference record of 6-24. The Tigers finished dead last in the SEC with a 16-38 record and an abysmal conference record of 3-27. The only three wins Missouri snagged were in its only series victory of the season when the Tigers swept Texas A&M at Taylor Stadium in Columbia, Mo., in the second-to-last week of the regular season.
The SEC Tournament begins on Tuesday at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala., with the first round consisting of No. 9 Alabama-No. 16 Missouri, No. 12 Oklahoma-No. 13 Kentucky, No. 10 Florida-No. 15 South Carolina and No. 11 Mississippi State-No. 14 Texas A&M. The first 14 games will be broadcast on the SEC Network, and Sunday’s championship will be on ESPN2 at 2 p.m.
2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Schedule
First Round (May 20):
Game 1: #9 Alabama vs. #16 Missouri at 9:30 a.m. (SECN)
Game 2: #12 Oklahoma vs. #13 Kentucky, 30 minutes after Game 1 (SECN)
Game 3: #10 Florida vs. # 15 South Carolina at 4:30 p.m. (SECN)
Game 4: #11 Mississippi State vs. #14 Texas A&M 30 minutes after Game 3 (SECN)
Second Round (May 21):
Game 5: #8 Tennessee vs. Winner of Game 1 at 9:30 a.m. (SECN)
Game 6: #5 Georgia vs. Winner of Game 2, 30 minutes after Game 5 (SECN)
Game 7: #7 Ole Miss vs. Winner of Game 3 at 4:30 p.m. (SECN)
Game 8: #6 Auburn vs. Winner of Game 4, 30 minutes after Game 7 (SECN)
Quarterfinals (May 22 & 23):
May 22:
Game 9: #1 Texas vs. Winner of Game 5 at 3 p.m. (SECN)
Game 10: #4 Vanderbilt vs. Winner of Game 6 at 6:30 p.m. (SECN)
May 23:
Game 11: #2 Arkansas vs. Winner of Game 7 at 3 p.m. (SECN)
Game 12: #3 LSU vs. vs. Winner of Game 8 at 6:30 p.m. (SECN)
Semifinals (May 24):
Game 13: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10 at noon (SECN)
Game 14: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12 at 3:30 p.m. (SECN)
Championship (May 25):
Game 15: Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 14 at 2 p.m. (ESPN2)