The Pac-12 Conference recently announced an inaugural baseball championship event at Scottsdale Stadium set for next spring.
The event — a partnership with the City of Scottsdale and the Arizona Sports & Entertainment Commission— is scheduled for May 25-29, 2022.
Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said in a news release that the tournament will enhance the exposure of the conference’s baseball programs with competitive, late-season matchups ahead of NCAA Tournament selections.
"It will also provide student-athletes with a first-class experience and the opportunity to compete for a championship in a premier destination for the sport on the West Coast," Kliavkoff said.
The double-elimination tournament will be spread over five days at the spring training home of the San Francisco Giants. According to Pac-12, the top eight teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season will earn berths in the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament. The top team will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Pac-12 said its initial agreement with the City of Scottsdale runs through 2024.
"Our city has a long history with Major League Baseball, including a nearly 40-year relationship with the San Francisco Giants, and we’re ecstatic to be able to add Pac-12 baseball to the mix," City of Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega said. "We look forward to hearing the roar of fans at the ballpark as the conference crowns its champion in Scottsdale."
Pac-12 said its programs have combined to win 29 of the 74 NCAA baseball championships all-time, 15 more than the next closest conference. The league also boasts nine Golden Spikes Award winners, tied for the most all-time, and paces its peers with eight No. 1 overall MLB Draft picks, including in four of the past 11 drafts and two of the past three.
The Pac-12 is coming off of a season in which six teams earned NCAA Tournament bids, tied for the second-highest total in league history, including three regional hosts for the sixth time since national seeding began in 1999.
The conference has had a representative in all but seven NCAA College World Series fields since the championship began in 1947 and in 39 of those championships, a Pac-12 team has finished either first or second.
Pac-12 programs account for six of the 15 schools that have captured multiple college baseball national championships, double the number of schools of any other conference, according to the release.
Pac12BSB is coming to scottsdaleazgov‼️
— Pac-12 Conference (pac12) August 25, 2021
The inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament is set for May 25-29, 2022.
https://t.co/0tYNgdQYwmBackThePac pic.twitter.com/ee4KC7CxKU
