Vanderbilt Commodores

Could the SEC Send All 16 Teams to the NCAA Tournament? SEC Daily, May 27

The SEC set another record for most teams from one conference to be part of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Could all 16 make it one day?

Taylor Hodges

Vanderbilt Commodores players hoist the championship trophy as Ole Miss Rebels take on Vanderbilt Commodores during the SEC baseball tournament championship game at Hoover Met in Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Vanderbilt Commodores defeated Ole Miss Rebels 3-2.
Vanderbilt Commodores players hoist the championship trophy as Ole Miss Rebels take on Vanderbilt Commodores during the SEC baseball tournament championship game at Hoover Met in Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Vanderbilt Commodores defeated Ole Miss Rebels 3-2. / Jake Crandall/ Montgomery Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

All season long it was clear the SEC was the strongest baseball conference amongst the nearly 30 NCAA Div. I conferences.

It wasn’t a surprise to see the conference set (another) new record for most teams from one conference to make the NCAA Tournament. On Monday, 13 SEC teams were part of the field of 64. That’s 20 percent of tournament teams from the SEC and two more than last year when the SEC set the record with 11 teams.

But it’s not just the number of teams that’s impressive. Vanderbilt, the No. 1 overall seed, Texas, Arkansas and Auburn are the top four seeds in the tournament and half of the NCAA Regional sites are on SEC campuses.

2025 NCAA Div. I Baseball Championship Bracket
2025 NCAA Div. I Baseball Championship Bracket / NCAA.com

The SEC wasn’t far off from sending 14 teams to this year’s NCAA Tournament, but Texas A&M couldn’t get past the bubble after a run to the SEC tournament quarterfinals. If the Aggies don’t get swept by Missouri, they’re probably in the tournament.

That’s how close the SEC was to having 14 teams in the tournament. But how close is the conference to sending all 16 teams to the tournament? Or is that even possible?

Post-season-wise it’s feasible. One SEC team for each NCAA Regional. Mathematically, it’s possible, but might need the right set of outside circumstances. Realistically, probably not because Missouri has a long ways to go. But in today’s world with NIL and transfer portals, changes can happen quickly.

Speaking of sending a bunch of SEC teams to a tournament…

 Women’s College World Series Bracket Set

Five of the eight teams in Oklahoma City for the 2025 Women’s College World Series are SEC schools. Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Ole Miss are all in the bracket, along with the Big Ten’s Oregon and UCLA, and Big 12’s Texas Tech. First games are scheduled to begin at noon Thursday on ESPN.

Here’s the full WCWS bracket:

2025 Women's College World Series Bracket
2025 Women's College World Series Bracket / NCAA

D1Softball also announced its All-American softball teams and, unsurprisingly, there are a lot of SEC players on the teams. Oklahoma led the way with four and Texas, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas all had multiple All-Americans, too. You can see the full list here.

Did You Notice?

Ole Miss junior Michael La Sasso won the NCAA individual championship at the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships. He finished (11-under) two strokes ahead of Texas A&M’s Phichaksn Maichon (9-under).

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Taylor Hodges is a staff writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI covering all-things Vanderbilt. Taylor brings more than a decade’s worth of award-winning sports writing, photography and video experience covering every level of sports — from Little League baseball to professional sports and other sports like hunting and fishing. Taylor is fueled by his lifelong passion for sports that began the same day Kirk Gibson hit his legendary World Series walk-off home run, Arkansas beat Texas in Austin and No. 4 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami in the Catholics vs. Convicts game.

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