Gamecocks lock in seed, game time as SEC tournament bracket is set

Michael Lananna
·3 min read

The South Carolina baseball team will be the No. 10 seed in the SEC tournament that starts Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama.

Coming off a regular season-ending series loss at Florida, the Gamecocks sit at No. 67 in the RPI and do not project to qualify for an NCAA regional. More than likely, USC’s only hope of making the NCAA tournament will be through winning the SEC tournament title outright.

The Gamecocks (27-27, 13-17 SEC) will open tournament play Tuesday against the very same Gators team they played this weekend in Gainesville. USC won Saturday’s game 4-1 to avoid a sweep after dropping the first two games.

No. 7 seed Florida and No. 10 seed South Carolina will play in the second game of the SEC tournament, starting at approximately 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The Gamecocks haven’t had much success in the SEC tournament under head coach Mark Kingston, going 1-4 in the tournament and losing in their first game of the tournament last season.

The SEC tournament includes the 12 top teams in the conference in terms of winning percentage. Missouri (10-20 SEC) and Mississippi State (9-21) both failed to make the cut this season.

SEC tournament seeding

1. Tennessee (25-5)

2. Texas A&M (19-11)

3. Arkansas (18-12)

4. LSU (17-13)

5.Auburn (16-13)

6. Georgia (15-15)

7. Florida (15-15)

8. Vanderbilt (14-16)

9. Ole Miss (14-16)

10. South Carolina (13-17)

11. Alabama (12-17)

12. Kentucky (12-18)

SEC tournament bracket, schedule

Tuesday, May 24 (single elimination)

Game 1: No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 11 Alabama, 10:30 a.m., SEC Network

Game 2: No. 7 Florida vs. No. 10 South Carolina, TBD, SEC Network

Game 3: No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. No. 9 Mississippi, 5:30 p.m., SEC Network

Game 4: No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 12 Kentucky, TBD, SEC Network

Wednesday, May 25 (double elimination)

Game 5: No. 3 Arkansas vs. Game 1 winner, 10:30 a.m., SEC Network

Game 6: No. 2 Texas A&M vs. Game 2 winner, TBD, SEC Network

Game 7: No. 1 Tennessee vs. Game 3 winner, 5:30 p.m., SEC Network

Game 8: No. 4 LSU vs. Game 4 winner, TBD, SEC Network

Thursday, May 26 (double elimination)

Game 9: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 10:30 am, SEC Network

Game 10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, TBD, SEC Network

Game 11: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 pm, SEC Network

Game 12: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, TBD, SEC Network

Friday, May 27 (double elimination)

Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 loser, 11 a.m., SEC Network

Game 14: Game 10 winner vs. Game 12 loser, TBD, SEC Network

Saturday, May 28 (single elimination)

Game 15: Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 winner, 11 a.m., SEC Network

Game 16: Game 12 winner vs. Game 14 winner, TBD, SEC Network

Sunday, May 29

Championship: Game 15 winner vs. Game 16 winner, 3 p.m., ESPN2