Baseball

Teams Vie for Postseason Positioning in Tight Sun Belt Baseball Race

WEEK 8 CONFERENCE NOTES

NEW ORLEANS – As the calendar turns to May, Sun Belt baseball teams continue to vie for postseason positioning in a tight conference race. With three weekends remaining on the regular-season schedule, the difference in earning a bye into the double-elimination portion of the Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University as a top-six seed and falling outside of the tournament’s 10-team field is just one game. 
 
Texas State will host South Alabama in the conference’s lone Top 100 RPI clash of the weekend, while two of the hottest teams in the Sun Belt—App State and Troy—will put four-series winning streaks on the line in a head-to-head matchup near the top of the Sun Belt table. 
 
All 21 Sun Belt games this weekend will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN+.
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
  • RISING – As the regular season enters its final month, the Sun Belt has once again positioned itself as one of the top five conferences in the country alongside the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten. The conference ranks fifth in conference RPI (.533) and is 1-of-4 leagues with two teams among the Top 20, five teams among the Top 50 and six teams among the Top 60 in the RPI. That grouping of postseason contenders includes—No. 12 Southern Miss (8 RPI), No. 9 Coastal Carolina (16 RPI), Texas State (41 RPI), Arkansas State (46 RPI), Louisiana (49 RPI) and Troy (57 RPI). The Chanticleers and Golden Eagles are ranked in all five national polls, as each aims to host an NCAA Baseball Regional for the second-straight season. The Sun Belt has sent 14 teams to NCAA Baseball Regionals over the past four seasons, including being a four-bid league in three of the past four years.  
  • GOING YARD – Three Sun Belt programs—Texas State (12th, 81 home runs) Arkansas State (35th, 66 home runs) and Southern Miss (40th, 62)—rank among the Top 40 programs in the country in home runs this season. South Alabama senior first baseman Blake Guerin leads all Sun Belt student-athletes and ranks 50th in the country with 14 home runs, followed closely by Troy sophomore catcher Jimmy Janicki (76th, 13), Southern Miss senior second baseman Kyle Morrison (76th, 13), Texas State sophomore shortstop Dawson Park (76th, 13), Texas State junior outfielder Jaquae Stewart (76th, 13), Texas State freshman outfielder Jackson Cotton (108th, 12), Southern Miss redshirt junior outfielder Davis Gillespie (108th, 12) and Arkansas State freshman designated hitter Derek Martinez (108th, 12). 
  • TOP OF THE TABLE – The Sun Belt’s two nationally-ranked teams—No. 9 Coastal Carolina and No. 12 Southern Miss—will attempt to maintain positioning atop the conference standings and strengthen their resumes as potential NCAA Baseball Regional hosts this weekend. The Chanticleers will visit Georgia Southern—a team they own a 10-3 mark against over the past four seasons, including a 6-1 record since 2024—for a three-game series. The Golden Eagles will host ULM—a team they own a 12-1 record against since 2014, including an 8-1 mark as conference foes—for a three-game set. 
  • BIGGER IN TEXAS – Texas State—which sits third among Sun Belt programs in the RPI—will attempt to get back to its winning ways after a difficult three-series stretch against fellow postseason contenders Troy, No. 12 Southern Miss and No. 9 Coastal Carolina. The Bobcats return home having won just two of their last nine conference games during that stretch to fall into a five-way tie for sixth place in the Sun Belt standings. Texas State welcomes fifth-place South Alabama to San Marcos, Texas, for a three-game set this weekend. The Jaguars lead the all-time series 22-11, including three-straight series wins over the Bobcats. 
  • ON A HEATER – App State and Troy enter this weekend’s head-to-head clash having each won four-straight conference series dating back to April 2. The Mountaineers are 10-2 against conference opposition over the span, including back-to-back weekend series sweeps. The Trojans are 8-4 against conference foes over the stretch. The winning streaks have vaulted the Mountaineers into a tie for second place in the Sun Belt standings and the Trojans into fourth place—just a game back of App State and nationally-ranked No. 12 Southern Miss. Troy leads the all-time series 22-9—including a 12-3 mark at Riddle-Pace Field—and has never lost a regular-season series to App State. The Mountaineers did eliminate Troy from the Sun Belt Baseball Championship in 2023 and 2024, avenging earlier tournament and regular-season series losses in both seasons. 
 
SUN BELT BASEBALL SERIES – WEEK 8
 
 Series  Friday  Saturday  Sunday 
 No. 9 Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern  5:30 p.m.  1:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 Marshall at James Madison  5:00 p.m.  5:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 Georgia State at Louisiana  6:00 p.m.  2:00 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 Arkansas State at Old Dominion  5:00 p.m.  2:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 ULM at No. 12 Southern Miss  6:00 p.m.  2:00 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 South Alabama at Texas State  6:00 p.m.  2:30 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 App State at Troy   1:00 p.m.  3:33 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 
All Times CT