12 SEC teams featured in early-season college baseball tournaments

The 2025 college baseball season is here. For much of the SEC, early-season tournaments will serve as an opportunity to notch some impressive wins to open the year.

Twelve of the 16 SEC programs are set to compete in an event across the first three weekends of the season. On the opening weekend of the season, the Shriners Children’s College Showdown will feature both Ole Miss and Texas, who will play one another once at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

The Longhorns, Missouri and Vanderbilt will each take part in two tourneys to get their 2025 seasons off and running. Georgia, Florida, Kentucky and South Carolina are the lone SEC teams that aren’t competing in any event. 

Below is a look at each early-season tournament that will feature an SEC program through the first weekend of March.

Note: Rankings are via D1Baseball Preseason Top 25

Shriners Children’s College Showdown

Dates: Feb. 14-16
Location: Globe Life Field — Arlington, Texas
SEC Teams: No. 19 Texas, Ole Miss
Opponents: No. 15 Clemson No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 21 Arizona, Louisville

The biggest event of the first weekend of the season, six Power Four programs — four of whom are ranked in the D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 — will square off at Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers. The SEC sends Ole Miss and No. 19 Texas to Arlington. 

The Rebels have a stout three-game schedule set, as they’ll face No. 21 Arizona, Texas and No. 15 Clemson. Pegged to finish 15th in the SEC preseason coaches poll, Ole Miss won’t have a better opportunity to add to its non-conference résumé. Arizona was picked to finish second in the Big 12, while Clemson was picked to finish fourth in a stacked ACC. 

For Texas, it’ll get an early taste of conference play when it squares off against the Rebels on Feb. 15. As the Longhorns transition into the SEC, the famed program will have a spotlight under it all season as former Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle takes the reins in Austin. Texas will begin the event against Louisville and finish against preseason Big 12 favorite Oklahoma State. 

MLB Desert Invitational

Dates: Feb. 14-16
Locations: GCU Ballpark, Salt River Fields, Sloan Park — Phoenix, Ariz.
SEC Team: No. 16 Vanderbilt
Opponents: Grand Canyon, No. 24 Nebraska, UC Irvine

Vanderbilt is one of two Power Four teams headed to Phoenix to begin the season. The Commodores will play three games at three different ballparks against three teams who all made a Regional in 2024.

First up is a true road game at Grand Canyon. The Antelopes are WAC favorites once again and have made the postseason in three of the last four seasons. The highlighted game of the weekend will see the Commodores take on No. 24 Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are one of just two Big Ten programs ranked in the D1Baseball preseason top 25. 

Rounding things out, Vandy takes on UC Irvine, a Big West program that won 45 games a season ago and made just its second Regional appearance in the last decade.

Puerto Rico Challenge

Dates: Feb. 14-16
Location: Yldefonso Solá Morales Stadium — Caguas, P.R.
SEC Team: Missouri
Opponents: Penn State, UConn, Stetson

The inaugural Puerto Rico Challenge will welcome eight teams to Caguas to begin the season. Missouri will make the trek from Columbia and is set for three games, two of which are against mid-majors that made the postseason in 2024.

The Tigers will open against Penn State, which is looking to build off a 2024 season that saw it finish with a winning record for the first time in eight years. On the Saturday, Mizzou takes on postseason regulars UConn, which upset its way to a second Super Regional in the last three years last season. Stetson, who emerged from the Atlantic Sun a season ago, will round out the weekend. 

Mizzou is the only SEC school playing back-to-back tournaments, as it will leave P.R. and head up to Florida to compete in the Andre Dawson Classic from Feb. 21-23.

College Baseball Series

Dates: Feb. 21-23
Location: Globe Life Field — Arlington, Texas
SEC Team: No. 5 Arkansas
Opponents: No. 23 TCU, Michigan, Kansas State

Following the Shriners Children’s College Showdown, Globe Life Field in Arlington will host the College Baseball Series across the two following weekends. Arkansas headlines the quartet of teams taking the field for the first week of the event.

Ranked No. 5 in the D1Baseball preseason top 25, the Razorbacks will open the weekend against Kansas State, which upset the Hogs in the Fayetteville Regional a season ago. The Wildcats advanced to a Super Regional for the first time in over a decade but are picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 this season.

Then comes a showdown against TCU, which was picked third in the preseason Big 12 poll. The Horned Frogs haven’t missed consecutive postseasons in over 20 years and are poised for a bounce back 2025 after just missing the cut a season ago. Arkansas then rounds things out with Michigan, which is coming off a middling 32-win season in 2024. 

Jax Classic

Dates: Feb. 21-23
Location: 121 Financial Ballpark — Jacksonville, Fla.
SEC Team: Alabama
Opponents: NC State, Coastal Carolina, Ohio State

After opening the season with five games at home, Alabama heads down to Florida to take part in an evenly-matched Jax Classic. 

The Crimson Tide, picked to finish 13th in the preseason SEC poll, open against mid-major power Coastal Carolina, which is now hunting for its fourth Regional berth in a row. Then comes NC State, fresh off its second College World Series appearance in the last four seasons. The Wolfpack were picked to finish seventh in the preseason ACC poll.

Bama closes the event against Ohio State, which is once again looking to separate from the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes last cracked the postseason in 2019.

Round Rock Classic

Dates: Feb. 21-23
Location: Dell Diamond — Round Rock, Texas
SEC Team: Oklahoma
Opponents: No. 2 Virginia, No. 7 Oregon State, Minnesota

Oklahoma also heads to Texas in February, as it’ll take the field at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The Sooners open the season with four games at home before making the quick trip to the Lone Star State.

They’ll open the event against Minnesota, which finished with a winning record for the first time in five years last season. The Gophers are once again expected to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten. 

Then comes some real firepower, as OU will take on preseason No. 7 Oregon State and No. 2 Virginia once each. The Beavers, coming off a Super Regional appearance last season, are playing an independent schedule in 2025 but are still pegged to reign atop the Pacific Northwest. Virginia has now made the College World Series in three of the last four seasons and are once again a favorite to make it back to Omaha this summer. 

Andre Dawson Classic

Dates: Feb. 21-23
Location: Jackie Robinson Training Complex — Vero Beach, Fla.
SEC Team: Missouri
Opponents: Florida A&M, Alabama State, Southern

After beginning the season in Puerto Rico, Mizzou will head up to Orlando for a midweek game against UCF before pivoting over to Vero Beach to take part in the Andre Dawson Classic. 

The Tigers will take on Florida A&M, Alabama State and Southern once each before finally returning to Columbia. Both FAMU and Alabama State finished 2024 with a winning record. Mizzou head coach Kerrick Jackson was the head coach at Southern from 2018-2020.

“The Andre Dawson Classic is the annual, round-robin collegiate baseball tournament designed by Major League Baseball to highlight Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their baseball programs.” — via MLB.com

College Baseball Series

Dates: Feb. 28-March 2
Location: Globe Life Field — Arlington, Texas
SEC Team: Auburn
Opponents: No. 7 Oregon State, Ohio State, Baylor

The final weekend of college baseball at Globe Life Field will see Auburn make the trip down after playing its first nine games of the season at home. 

The Tigers will open the weekend against Ohio State, which was not selected to finish in the top half of the Big Ten preseason coaches poll. After playing in the Round Rock Classic, preseason No. 7 Oregon State will stay in Texas and begin March against the Tigers.

Auburn then close things out against Baylor, which was picked to finish 13th out of 14 schools in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll.

Frisco Classic

Dates: Feb. 28-March 2
Location: Riders Field — Frisco, Texas
SEC Team: No. 3 LSU
Opponents: No. 24 Nebraska, Kansas State, Sam Houston State

Following a midweek showdown against preseason No. 20 Dallas Baptist in Arlington, LSU will look to notch some more big non-conference wins in Frisco. The Tigers will be considered the top team in the event, though the competition won’t be easy.

Kansas State is coming off a Super Regional appearance in 2024, while No. 24 Nebraska is coming off a 40-win campaign a season ago. The Tigers finish the Frisco Classic against the always-respectable Sam Houston State Bearkats, who haven’t finished a season with a losing record since 2010. 

Las Vegas Classic

Dates: Feb. 28-March 2
Location: Las Vegas Ballpark — Las Vegas, Nev.
SEC Team: No. 19 Texas
Opponents: Texas Tech, Washington, Illinois

After opening the season with a tournament in Arlington, Texas will head out of state for the first time just a couple weeks later, taking on Power Four competition in Las Vegas. 

The Longhorns will face Washington, Texas Tech and Illinois once each. Of the three, Illinois was the lone team to make a Regional in 2024. Neither Big Ten program was tabbed to finish in the top six by the league’s coaches. 

Usual postseason mainstay Texas Tech was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 this year. The Red Raiders have reached the College World Series four times across the last 11 seasons.

Astros Foundation College Classic

Dates: Feb. 28-March 2
Location: Daikin Park — Houston, Texas
SEC Teams: No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 18 Mississippi State
Opponents: No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 21 Arizona, Rice

Potentially the most stacked event of the early season, the Astros Foundation College Classic will see three ranked SEC schools head to Daikin Park in Houston. No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 4 Tennessee and No. 18 Mississippi State make up half of an elite field that also features No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 21 Arizona and Rice.

Oklahoma State and Arizona were picked to finish No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big 12 by the league’s coaches. As for Rice, it’s looking to snap a seven-year skid without making a Regional. The Owls, which at one point reached the postseason 23 years in a row, were picked to finish last in the AAC preseason poll. 

None of the SEC programs will take on each other during the weekend. 

Southern California College Baseball Classic

Dates: Feb. 28-March 2
Location: Jackie Robinson Stadium, Great Park — Los Angeles/Irvine, Calif.
SEC Team: No. 16 Vanderbilt
Opponents: UCLA, USC, UConn

After beginning the season in Arizona, Vanderbilt’s second trip westward takes it to California, where it’ll take on two new Big Ten teams and a rock-solid mid-major. 

For the first of two games at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles, the Commodores will tackle UCLA, which was picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten. The Bruins are looking to rebound from a 19-win campaign in 2024.

Next, Vandy heads to Irvine Park to go toe-to-toe with middling USC, still seeking its first Regional berth since 2015. Big East favorite UConn will round things out for Tim Corbin’s club in the Golden State.