Baseball

Eight Teams Remain in Contention for Final Five Spots in Sun Belt Baseball Championship on Final Regular-Season Weekend

WEEK 10 CONFERENCE NOTES

NEW ORLEANS – No. 12 Coastal Carolina and No. 8 Southern Miss remain in contention for the Sun Belt regular-season crown, which would be the third over the past four seasons for the Chanticleers or the first-ever for the Golden Eagles. 
 
Eight teams remain in contention for the final five spots in this year’s Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University, with Coastal Carolina, Southern Miss, App State, South Alabama and Troy having already clinched berths. 
 
All 21 Sun Belt games this weekend will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN+.
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
  • RISING – With two teams ranked in all five national polls this week, the Sun Belt is poised to be a multi-bid baseball conference for the 31st time in 37 seasons since 1989. No. 8 Southern Miss and No. 12 Coastal Carolina maintained positioning among the Top 25 in the national rankings and the RPI. The Sun Belt’s first-ever appearance in the College World Series final in 2025 came on the heels of a four-season span in which it has sent 14 teams to NCAA Baseball Regionals, 10 to NCAA Baseball Regional finals and two to NCAA Baseball Super Regionals. That grouping has included four regional hosts and national seeds—No. 13 Coastal Carolina (2025), No. 16 Southern Miss (2025), No. 10 Coastal Carolina (2023) and No. 16 Georgia Southern (2022). Both the Golden Eagles and Chanticleers remain in contention to repeat as regional hosts and national seeds in 2026.  
  • ON THE CUSP – With 11 days remaining before the 64-team NCAA Baseball Tournament field is announced, three Sun Belt teams—Texas State, Louisiana and Troy—sit on the cusp of an at-large berth. Texas State was listed among the Last Four In in the latest Field of 64 projections by Baseball America and D1Baseball, while Louisiana was among the First Four Out and Troy was among the Next Four Out. Each of these programs boasts a Top 37 non-conference RPI and a Top 51 overall strength of schedule. 
  • WATCH THE THRONE – Reigning Sun Belt regular-season and tournament champion No. 12 Coastal Carolina sits in the catbird seat at 20-7 in conference play heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The Chanticleers will look to clinch their third regular-season title over the past four years as they visit Louisiana for a three-game series this weekend. Coastal Carolina will look to hold off No. 8 Southern Miss, which sits at 19-8 in conference action and has already clinched a fourth-straight top-two finish in the Sun Belt regular-season. The Golden Eagles own three-straight runner-up finishes and two Sun Belt tournament crowns since joining the conference ahead of the 2023 season, but are still seeking their first regular-season title.   
  • CLASH OF THE TITANS – A pair of Top 61 RPI clashes dot the final weekend of the Sun Belt regular-season slate, as No. 12 Coastal Carolina travels to Louisiana and Arkansas State visits South Alabama. The Chanticleers are playing for their second-straight regular-season title. The Ragin’ Cajuns and Jaguars are competing to maintain top-six seeds in the Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University, while the Red Wolves look to play their way into the 10-team Sun Belt baseball tournament field.  
  • NEXT STOP MONTGOMERY – Five teams—No. 12 Coastal Carolina, No. 8 Southern Miss, App State, South Alabama and Troy—have already clinched spots in the 10-team Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University entering the final weekend of conference action. Five spots in the tournament remain up for grabs, with eight teams—Louisiana, Texas State, Old Dominion, Marshall, Georgia State, Arkansas State, ULM and James Madison—in contention for a trip to Montgomery, Ala. Coastal Carolina, App State and Troy have already continued their streaks of appearing in every Sun Belt Baseball Championship contested at DABOS Park in Montgomery, Ala., with Louisiana likely to join that group as well.  
 
SUN BELT BASEBALL SERIES – WEEK 10
 
 Series  Thursday  Friday  Saturday
 App State at Georgia State  5:00 p.m.  5:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 No. 12 Coastal Carolina at Louisiana  6:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m.  2:00 p.m.
 Troy at ULM  6:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 James Madison at Old Dominion  5:00 p.m.  2:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 Arkansas State at South Alabama  6:30 p.m.  6:30 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 Georgia Southern at No. 8 Southern Miss  7:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 Marshall at Texas State   6:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 
All Times CT