2026 SoCon Baseball Championship Bracket Set

2026 Championship Page | 2026 Bracket (PDF)

SPARTANBURG, SC – Mercer won its first SoCon regular season championship since 2017 and brings an eight-game win streak into the postseason as the 2026 SoCon Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases, begins on Wednesday (May 20) at Fluor Field in Greenville.

The Bears (43-13, 15-6 SoCon) swept ETSU on the road to clinch the regular season trophy and are ranked No. 27 in the latest NCAA RPI release. A road win at No. 11 Georgia Tech last week was another highlight for a team that ranks in the top 10 nationally in eight major offensive categories and has bashed 124 home runs on the season. Only Elon (138, 2008) and College of Charleston (130, 2009) have hit more long balls in a season than the Bears in 2026.

Three SoCon teams are rated inside the Top 60 nationally in RPI, with Western Carolina (57) and The Citadel (59) joining Mercer. Two more teams are rated inside the top 100, giving the SoCon one of its strongest regular season efforts as a league in the past decade. The SoCon is rated No. 6 in the latest NCAA RPI release and will look to place multiple teams in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.

Western Carolina (35-21, 14-7 SoCon) earned the No. 2 seed on the strength of two-straight wins to close out the regular season in Cullowhee. Samford (28-24, 12-9 SoCon) is the No. 3 seed based on its series win this weekend over Wofford (34-20, 12-9 SoCon).

The Citadel (30-24, 11-10 SoCon) is the No. 5 seed, followed closely by ETSU (30-22, 10-11 SoCon) in the No. 6 slot. UNC Greensboro (22-31, 7-14 SoCon), and VMI (28-26, 3-18 SoCon) round out the field.

With the bracket set, No. 5 The Citadel and No. 8 VMI will open the championship schedule on Wednesday morning at 9:00 AM (ESPN+) in a rivalry rematch of the final regular season series. No. 6 ETSU and No. 7 UNC Greensboro will play the second game at 12:30 PM (ESPN+), with the winner of The Citadel-VMI to battle No. 4 Wofford at 4:00 pm ET (ESPN+) and the winner of ETSU-UNCG taking on No. 3 Samford at 7:30 PM (ESPN+) in a busy day at the ballpark.

Tickets for the championship are  available online here .

Saturday’s championship game will air live on ESPNU at 7:30 PM

2026 SoCon Baseball Championship Schedule

Presented by Holston Gases

Wednesday | May 20 (ESPN+)

9:00 AM – #5 The Citadel vs #8 VMI

12:30 PM – #6 ETSU vs. #7 UNC Greensboro   

4:00 PM – Winner Game 1 vs. #4 Wofford         

7:30 PM – Winner Game 2 vs. #3 Samford

Thursday | May 21 (ESPN+)

9:00 AM – Winner G3 vs. #1 Mercer

12:30 PM – Winner G4 vs. #2 Western Carolina

4:00 PM – Loser G5 vs. Loser G3

7:30 PM – Loser G6 vs. Loser G4

Friday | May 22 (ESPN+)

9:00 AM – Winner G5 vs. Winner G7

12:30 PM – Winner G6 vs. Winner G8

4:00 PM – If Necessary (Game 11)

7:30 PM – If Necessary (Game 12)

Saturday | May 23 (ESPNU)

7:30 PM – Championship Game