The 2026 American Conference Baseball Tournament is set to begin in Clearwater, FL on Wednesday. Here’s how to watch and what to look for this week.
The field wasn’t finalized until the final weekend of the regular season, but now eight teams have secured their spots in the 2026 American Conference Baseball Tournament. An automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and hopes of playing for a trip to the College World Series are at stake. The bottom two teams in the standings: South Florida and Tulane, will be watching from home.
All games will be streamed on ESPN+ except the tournament championship, available on ESPN News. The tournament runs from Wednesday, May 20 to Sunday, May 24. The full schedule and updated bracket are available on the American Conference Baseball Tournament website.
The Bracket Change Up
In a move becoming increasingly more common as non-Power conferences are doing all they can to protect their highest seeded teams, the American Conference Baseball Tournament has a completely different structure this year.
The first and second seeds now get double byes into the double elimination portion of the tournament. The third and fourth seeds get a single bye. The bottom four seeds are thrown into single elimination and have to win on opening day, or they’ll be one-and-done.
Assessing the field
The favorite | UTSA earned a share of the regular season conference title for its second consecutive season and looked every bit the juggernaut they were a year ago until they dropped their last two conference series. The Roadrunners boast the best offense in the league and host an impressive array of arms on the mound.
The contender | East Carolina earned a share of the regular season title with UTSA. A dominant pitching staff leads the Pirates, who bring arguably the best complement of starting pitching in the conference to Clearwater as well as a top-three offense in league play. Postseason baseball is a perennial expectation in Greenville and this program has been to seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
The dark horse | Rice is more than a feel-good story. The Owls doubled their win total from a season ago and boast one of the best pitching staffs in the conference. The offense has been a work in progress, but it’s been at its best in recent weeks. The Owls have scored 10 or more runs six times in their last 10 games.
The wild card | Memphis has been far from the most consistent team in the conference, but at their best, the Tigers have already proven they can hang with the best of the best in this league. Memphis won series against 1-Seed UTSA, 2-Seed ECU, 3-Seed Rice and was an extra-inning decision from taking a series from 4-Seed UAB. Winning five games in five days is a tough ask, but the Tigers could be a tough out.
The bracket
The opening day of games will take place on Wednesday, May 20:
Game 1 – Wed. 1:00 PM | (6) Florida Atlantic vs (7) Wichita State
Game 2 – Wed. approx. 5:00 PM | (5) Memphis vs (8) Charlotte
Game 3 – Thr. 1:00 PM | (3) Rice vs Winner Game 1
Game 4 – Thr. approx 5:00 PM | (4) UAB vs Winner Game 2
** Photo credit: Maria Lysaker **