The Pac-12 has announced changes to the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament format for the 2023 season. Here are the details via the Pac-12 release:
The Pac-12 announced today a change in format for the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament, expanding the field to nine teams and switching to pool play. There will be three teams in each pool, with each team playing two games in pool play. The 2023 tournament is scheduled for May 23-27, 2023 at Scottsdale Stadium which moves to Tuesday through Saturday.
Pool play will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with three games per day. Each pool will play a round-robin.
Pool play will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with three games per day. Each pool will play a round-robin.
The three pool winners will advance to the Friday single-elimination semifinals along with one Wild Card team. The Wild Card will be determined by the best record of the non-advancing teams. Any tiebreaker will be awarded to the highest seeded team.
The semifinal matchups will be pit the highest seed team against the lowest seeded team on one side with the second highest seed and 2nd lowest seed on the other. Teams from the same pool however will not play each other in the semifinals.
Pool A will include seeds #1, #6 and #9 with Pool B made up of seeds #2, #5, and #8. Seeds #3, #4 and #7 will compete in Pool C.
Each team in the tournament is guaranteed two games, while the two teams that advance to Saturday's championship will play four games. All teams will have at least one day off.
The tournament will be spread over five days at the Spring Training home of the San Francisco Giants. The top nine teams in the Conference standings (based on winning percentage in overall conference play) at the conclusion of the regular season will earn berths in the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament, from which the champion will receive the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Pac-12’s initial agreement with the City of Scottsdale runs through 2024.
Stanford won the inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament last season as the number one seed, defeating Oregon State 9-5 in the championship game. Stanford later advanced to the College World Series where they lost two straight games to Arkansas and Auburn.
“I am really excited for the new format that will make for another thrilling week of baseball in Scottsdale,” Stanford head coach David Esquer said in the Pac-12 release. “We train and work hard throughout the season to prepare for the postseason, and adding another team allows more Pac-12 programs to experience that atmosphere that will put the conference in a more advantageous position when the NCAA tournament begins.”
Stanford looks to get back to the College World Series for the third straight year in 2023. Quinn Mathews is returning for his senior season and looks to be the top pitcher on the Cardinal’s pitching staff alongside fellow lefty Drew Dowd while Braden Montgomery and Carter Graham look to anchor an explosive offensive lineup. Montgomery of course also looks to make more of an impact on the pitching staff as well and establish himself as the top two-way player in the nation.
Stanford also brings in a solid recruiting class headlined by 1st baseman/catcher Malcolm Moore out of C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento, CA. Moore was ranked the top California prospect in the 2022 class according to Perfect Game. Nationwide, Perfect Game ranked Moore 27th overall and number one among all catchers.
Stanford will return to action in late February/early March. Their 2023 schedule is not yet posted, but their roster can be found on GoStanford.com.
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