The regular season is officially in the books after yet another great season of Big 12 baseball. Now it’s time for the annual Big 12 Conference tournament before selection Monday comes around. This year’s conference tournament will be a little different because it will be played in Surprise, Arizona, instead of Arlington.
The Kansas Jayhawks are the top seed after winning their first-ever regular-season title, and as of now, the Big 12 is projected to have seven teams make the postseason. Of course, that all can change depending on how this week goes. And speaking of this week, it’s going to be jam-packed with plenty of great baseball all day long. Now is the time to catch up on all the action you have missed this season, and here are three things to watch heading into the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament.
Can TCU Sneak In?
Among the Big 12 teams projected to make the field of 64, TCU seems to be the only true bubble team. Going into last weekend, the Horned Frogs were picked as one of the last four teams to make it in. And after a series of losses to West Virginia, I can imagine that only made their chances of getting into the postseason a little more complicated.
Going into the conference tournament, the Horned Frogs are sitting at 33-20 overall and 17-13 in Big 12 play. Their RPI is just inside the top 40, which isn’t bad, but that’s no guarantee to get in. It’s important that TCU wins at least a couple of games to build up that resume of theirs. They will play the winner of the Kansas State/Utah game, which seems like a favorable matchup, but then West Virginia will be waiting for them. That is likely to be the game that either makes or breaks their season, because if they aren’t able to win more than one game, they can probably kiss their postseason hopes goodbye.
Who wants to Host a Regional?
As of now, two Big 12 teams are projected to earn a top-16 seed and host a regional. Those two teams are Kansas and West Virginia. Before the final weekend of conference play, the Mountaineers were ranked as the best seed from the conference despite Kansas winning the Big 12 regular season title.
Both teams have excellent records and RPI’s inside the top 20, which is right where you want to be if you are hoping to host a regional. However, neither team is necessarily a lock to host without a little resume boost. It’s important that Kansas and West Virginia win at least one game to give them a small push to increase their chances. The last thing you want to do if you want to host a regional is get bounced in the first two games of the tournament. But I don’t expect either team to head home early this week.
Who Will Win?
Now that I have given you all the postseason talk you can handle, it’s time for the most important question to be answered. Who will win the conference tournament? Is it Kansas? West Virginia, perhaps? While those would be the obvious choices for any logical person, I am going to steer in a different direction.
Give me the Oklahoma State Cowboys to win it all. The Cowboys are one of the hottest teams in the Big 12 right now, having won 12 out of their last 15 games. After a shaky start to the season, they caught fire quickly and have played their way into being a solid two seed when the postseason comes around.
They have the pitching to get the job done, unlike in previous years, and their offense can compete with anyone in the Big 12. The Cowboys will face UCF in their opening game and then likely have to play Kansas. Call me crazy, but I believe they can knock off the Jayhawks and find themselves in the championship game and beat whoever comes their way.
