2026 South Atlantic Conference Tournament Preview

The South Atlantic Conference Tournament kicks off Friday, May 1 with the opening round being broken into two pods and hosted at No. 1 seed Catawba and No. 2 seed Wingate. Joining Catawba will be No. 4 seed Mars Hill, No. 5 seed Lincoln Memorial, and No. 8 seed Coker. Wingate will play host to No. 3 seed Lenoir-Rhyne, No. 6 seed Carson-Newman, and No. 7 seed Newberry.

The opening-round brackets are set to play out similarly to a Division I regional, with the only change being that an if necessary championship game would be played on Sunday, as opposed to being pushed to Monday in Division I.

The two bracket winners will then head to McCrary Park in Asheboro, N.C. for a best-of-three series, with Game 1 slated for Friday, May 8. Game 2 is set for Saturday, May 9, with the if necessary game to follow that same day.

Links to know:

Tournament Website

Opening-Round Brackets

Championship Series Bracket

Live Stream Page (Flo Sports $)

Live Stats Page (Catawba Bracket)

Live Stats Page (Wingate Bracket)

Tickets (Catawba Bracket)

Tickets (Wingate Bracket)

No. 1 Seed: #4 Catawba (38-9, 29-4 SAC)

Catawba claimed its third-straight SAC regular season title and its 15^th since 2003 with a series sweep at Newberry on April 17-18, and then closed out the regular season with a home sweep of Emory & Henry this past weekend, marking the Indians’ 30^th-straight SAC series win. The Indians are in a great spot for one of the two NCAA Southeast Region hosting duties heading into the SAC Tournament. Catawba opens up SAC Tournament play against No. 8 seed Coker on Friday. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Newman Park. Catawba swept the regular season series with Coker.

Catawba features six .300+ hitters in its everyday lineup, while also having six starters have more walks + HBP than strikeouts. The Indians are led by a pair of .400+ hitters in Brandon Crabtree and Jake Dunlap. Crabtree has had a monster first campaign in Salisbury after transferring over from Gaston College, hitting .449 with 20 doubles, 12 homers, 55 RBI, and a 39/11 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Crabtree’s 83 hits are good for third in Division II, while the junior sits fifth in the country in batting average. Dunlap enters the conference tournament with a .403 average and has tallied 14 doubles and 37 RBI. Logan Dyer (.395, 10 2B, .515 OBP) sets the table atop the order, with Sam Hunter (.383, 24 XBH, 40 RBI, 22-26 SB) and Ty Hubbard (.348, 21 XBH, 38 RBI) lurking behind as RBI threats. A staple of every Catawba team, the Indians currently lead Division II in fielding percentage at .983. Between the offensive approach, elite defense, and quality arms (more on them below), Catawba has a great recipe for success and rarely, if ever, beat themselves.

Casey Gouge and Colt Wilkins spearhead the Catawba pitching staff, with Gouge sitting at 8-0 with a 2.38 ERA with 61 Ks in 64.1 innings, while Wilkins is 8-2 with a 3.35 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 80.2 innings. Joe Burleyson has been nails out of the bullpen, entering SAC Tournament play with a 3-1 record and 11 saves, good for second in Division II. Burleyson has logged a 2.03 ERA in 21 appearances, to go along with 28 Ks in 31 innings. Seth Sharpe is second in Division II with 26 appearances, and has a 7-1 record and a 3.67 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 41.2 innings. Calvin Douglas is another notable bullpen arm, entering with a 4-0 record and a save in 19 appearances spanning 27.1 innings, while holding opponents to a miniscule .159 batting average. Parker Lakey can provide some length (17 appearances, 8 starts), posting a 4.59 ERA with 43 Ks in 51 innings in his freshman campaign.

No. 2 Seed: Wingate (34-16, 24-9 SAC)

Wingate opens up with No. 7 seed Newberry at 12 p.m. on Friday at Ron Christopher Stadium. The Bulldogs hit the 30-win mark for the 12^th time in 15 seasons under head coach Jeff Gregory, and after a 26-26 season last year, come into the SAC Tournament ranked fourth in the NCAA Regional rankings that were released Wednesday. Wingate took 2-of-3 from Newberry in the regular season series.

The Bulldogs open up SAC Tournament hitting .332 as a team, and feature five regulars hitting .370 or better. Jalen Evans leads the way with a .422 average, 16 doubles, 9 home runs, and 47 RBI, while also going 31-35 on SB attempts. Ben Karpowicz is tied for second in Division II with 22 home runs, and leads Wingate in RBI with 74 while slashing .390/.512/.868. The trio of Tanner McCammon (.379, 19 2B, 17 HR, 72 RBI), Jake Courville (.379, 15 2B, 45 RBI), and Bowen Powell (.370, 16 2B, 10 HR, 64 RBI) also help carry the load for this Wingate offense. Gavin Gropusso gets things started atop the order, coming into tournament play ranked third in Division II in walks with 56, while also matching Evans with 31 SB on 35 attempts.

On the mound, the Bulldogs are at their best with Chad Harvey on the mound, as the righthander has gone 9-0 with a 3.15 ERA this season. The redshirt junior has racked up 71 Ks in 74.1 innings and held opponents to a .222 batting average. After Harvey, Wingate has just one regular (Connor Longley) with 2+ innings pitched and a sub-5.00 ERA, but he hasn’t thrown since March 14. Wingate has used nine other guys for 10+ appearances, so the Bulldogs will look to find some magic from its bullpen to make a run at the SAC Tournament Championship. Carson Starnes leads the team with 23 appearances and has struck out 18 in 19.2 innings with a 5.03 ERA.

No. 3 Seed: #13 Lenoir-Rhyne (35-11-1, 23-9-1 SAC)

After a 50-win season and a World Series run last year, Lenoir-Rhyne kicks off the SAC Tournament against No. 6 seed Carson-Newman. The Bears come in ranked sixth in the latest NCAA Regional rankings and will take on the Eagles at 3 p.m. Friday at Wingate. Lenoir-Rhyne swept Carson-Newman back in February.

A year after racking up a D2-record 121 hits, Mackenzie Wainwright enters SAC Tournament play with only 74 hits, although the junior does come in on a heater, going 15-26 with six doubles and 11 RBI in his last seven games. Matt Procopio leads the Bears with a .429 average, and is tied with Wainwright for the team lead in RBI with 55, while also registering 14 doubles and eight homers. Seth Christmas comes in at .383 with 16 doubles, nine jacks, and 52 RBI, while Sylas Boris also provides some juice with 16 doubles and 13 home runs.

On the bump, the Bears are led by veteran Kellen Gradisar, as the righty enters the SAC Tournament with 23 career wins to his name, including a 7-3 mark this year. The junior brings with him a 3.34 ERA across 67.1 innings. Paul Toovalian has had an impressive rookie campaign, as the righthander is 4-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 46 innings, while also racking up 62 Ks and holding opponents to a .230 average. Preston Drebes is the go-to option in the pen, as the senior comes in with a 6-1 record and 3.50 ERA in a team-high 21 appearances. Michael Burnley provides some length with 42 innings across 14 appearances and has logged a 5-0 record with four saves and a 4.93 ERA. 

No. 4 Seed: Mars Hill (26-23-1, 19-13-1 SAC)

Mars Hill opens up play against No. 5 seed Lincoln Memorial in the second game of the day Friday at Catawba, set for a 6 p.m. first pitch. The Lions posted a 14-36 record last season, but head coach Zach Honeycutt has skippered a 12-win turnaround to get his squad into the conference tournament with a top-four seed. Mars Hill took 2-of-3 at Lincoln Memorial in the regular season series.

Peyton Starkey leads the Lions with a .350 average and has tallied 13 extra-base hits, as well. Yeriel Pastrana – no relation to Travis – is hitting .323 and leads the team with 13 doubles, while Chapel Matson (.304, 9 2B, 7 HR, 44 BB), and Mel Rubiera (.301, 44 BB, 14 SB) also come in hitting over .300.

On the mound, Collin Chappel leads the starting group and has been effectively wild, with a 29/39 K/BB ratio but also a 3.69 ERA and a .215 batting average against in 53.2 innings. Jacob Davis joins Chappel with 12 starts, and has logged a 5.46 ERA in 64.1 innings, while Austin Kutz leads the Lions in starts (13) and innings (70.1) and enters with a 6.27 ERA. The squad does have a reliable option at the back end, as Brody Stephens is 4-2 with five saves and a 3.02 ERA in 41.2 innings over a team-high 21 appearances.

No. 5 Seed: Lincoln Memorial (28-21, 19-14 SAC)

Lincoln Memorial battles the aforementioned Mars Hill club in the second game of the day at Catawba, with first pitch set for Friday at 6 p.m. The Railsplitters dropped 2-of-3 to Mars Hill in the regular season series in late February.

The Railsplitters are led by the three-headed monster that is Gabe Gray (.369, 17 XBH, 40 RBI, 15-17 SB), Caleb Jordan (.368, 9 2B, 6 3B, 37 RBI), and Brady Morse (.332, 17 2B, 55 RBI). The trio each has 60+ hits, while the next closest is 44. It is a squad light on power (24 home runs), but does feature six players with 20+ walks and four with exactly 10 HBP.

Lucas Smith leads LMU on the mound with a 4.20 ERA, also posting an 8-2 record in 45 innings across 21 appearances (4 starts). Payton Armour leads the club in starts with 13, and carries a 2-3 record and a 4.92 ERA in a team-high 71.1 innings into the SAC Tournament.

No. 6 Seed: Carson-Newman (31-17, 19-14 SAC)

After a 37-19 season last year and its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2008, the Eagles head to Wingate to take on No. 3 seed Lenoir-Rhyne at 3 p.m. Friday. While the Eagles were swept by Lenoir-Rhyne in February, the three games were decided by two, three, and four runs.

This Carson-Newman offense goes as leadoff man and 1^st baseman Logan Floyd does. Floyd enters postseason play with team-highs in average (.423), doubles (19), home runs (10), and RBI (56), while also posting a 28/13 BB/K ratio in 175 ABs. Floyd has also been rock solid with the glove, making just two errors in 347 chances this year. Bradley Soto Diaz follows Floyd with a .396 average and has tallied 14 doubles, six homers, and 38 RBI.

After being named a D2 Baseball 2^nd Team All-American last season, sophomore RHP Kolton Casson has followed it up with a ho-hum 9-2 record and 3.27 ERA in a team-high 66 innings, punching out 66 with just 17 walks. Christian Henderson joins Casson with 12 starts, and has somewhat unbelievably only recorded two decisions, entering with a 1-1 record with 48 Ks in 64 innings. Brock Culpepper is the key arm in the pen, logging a 5-0 record with a save in 42.1 innings across 22 appearances.

No. 7 Seed: Newberry (27-23, 19-14 SAC)

Newberry kicks things off against Bracket 2 host and No. 2 seed Wingate at 12 p.m. The Wolves dropped 2-of-3 at Wingate in mid-April. The 2023 SAC Tournament champs, Newberry will look to once again find that magic beginning this weekend.

Jomar Lugo leads the team with his .368 average and .560 OBP, as the grad student has drawn a team-high 38 walks while punching out just 14 times. Luke Compton leads the Wolves in hits with 61, turning in a .323 average thus far and a team-high 15 doubles and 20 stolen bases. Bryson Nuckols is the final regular entering SAC Tournament play hitting over .300, coming in at .302.

Freshman RHP Nick Riedel (9-0, 2.62 ERA, 79 IP) has the goods to knock off anyone, evidenced by his wins in back-to-back weeks over Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate, while also allowing just one run in six innings against Catawba. In total, the rookie combined to go 2-0 with a 3.79 ERA and 17 Ks in 19 innings against the SAC’s top three seeds. Jacob Clark enters the postseason with a narrow lead over Riedel in innings with 79.2, and has turned in a 5-6 record with a 4.52 ERA. Cayden Hansen is the arm to watch out of the pen, posting a 3-3 record with two saves in 31.1 innings. Hansen picked up the save against Lenoir-Rhyne earlier this season with three hitless and scoreless innings.

No. 8 Seed: Coker (15-32, 12-21 SAC)

Coker enters the SAC Tournament with a shot of momentum, picking up a series sweep of Tusculum last weekend to squeak into the field. The Cobras scored 14 runs in each of the three games, as Fico Kondla’s club looks to keep the bats rolling as they open up with Bracket 1 host and No. 1 seed Catawba at 2 p.m. Friday.

Luke Miller leads the team with a .400 average – albeit on just 45 ABs – since going on a tear after being inserted into the starting lineup in early April. Gavin Johnson leads the team in hits by a wide margin with 61 and has posted a .357 average with eight doubles. Johnson is also one of the toughest hitters to strike out, ranking 23^rd in Division II with just 12 in 182 at bats. Luke Alford has seven of the Cobras 13 home runs and is hitting .336 with a team-high 31 RBI, as well.

The Cobras will need to find some magic on the mound, as the squad enters tournament play with a 7.73 team ERA. Casey Cleghorn leads the Cobras in starts (12) and innings (76) and has posted a 6.16 ERA. Ian Hawk can give Coker extended innings out of the pen, logging 43 innings across 14 appearances (3 starts), and held Wingate to just one run in 4.2 relief innings in February.