College Baseball Tourney Week

The college sports season of 2024-25 is beginning to wrap up as the spring sports head into postseason play. College baseball is usually the last of the sports to finish, as we then turn over the college calendar to 2025-26 in July. This week is their version of conference tourney week, with so many automatic bids up for grabs in the next few days.

This is a time not for the weak though, as on the West Coast, you can watch live baseball as early as 6 AM, and on the East Coast have games on till 1 AM into the night. The ACC started their tournament off with Boston College and Notre Dame finishing day one with a first pitch at 10:25 PM local time in Durham, North Carolina. Yes, you read that one right. With most conferences either stacked with almost 20 teams or playing a double-elimination–style bracket, they need to stick at least four games in a day for about three days in a row. Baseball is nothing like basketball where you can get a game done in an hour and 45 minutes...these things are going 3 to 3.5 hours, boys. And with it all at the same ballpark, this creates some long-ass days of baseball. Trust me though it's all worth it, whether you tune into Big 12, SEC, ACC, or C-USA, WAC, and American conferences.

So you’re going to need to fire up the ESPN+ at work over the next few days on a second screen, because with all this baseball on from sunup to midnight, you won't wanna miss it. The antics will be at an all-time high, as college baseball dudes get into this shit. This sport wears its heart oh-so-very exposed on its sleeves. Literally watching a game while I type this, and Florida International's pitcher, senior Jaydon Bishop, got back into the game of baseball by throwing rocks at his job site after high school, and got the love to go back to the game… come on, write the movie, Hollywood!!!

So that shows how similar to March Madness for some of these schools, just getting to the NCAA tourney is a dream. You could even argue it’s more of a big deal, as some of these small schools are playing on local-park–quality baseball fields all year. So the tournament is a chance to see the big-boy parks and amenities, to showcase your skills for the draft, or even just to get chosen for a good summer league team. So much is at stake for these boys, as college baseball is still such a hidden sport in so many ways.

This is the week you can find your potential tournament darling, best bet, or just the team you’re going to rage-hate in next weekend’s regionals. Either way, let’s give these boys the love they deserve by boosting the view numbers of the conference tournaments. I’m telling you—college baseball is the hidden gem of sports. It’s a sleeping giant waiting to gain recognition at the level of its brothers: football and basketball.