We had a very eventful 2017 conference tournament season. A lot of surprise winners came through to play their way in to their respective regional tournament, a lot of bubble teams saw their bubbles burst as a result, but there wasn't much jockeying around for those who were already entrenched in a spot, save for one or two regions.
Something interesting to me is that only four conference tournament champions ended up getting a #1 seed in their region. By contrast, FIVE conference tournament champions ended up being the bottom seed in their respective region. This is yet another season where I believe that the regular season champions should be granted the automatic bids (if any auto-bids are given at all) to the regional tournament, and the conference tournament should just be a chance to strengthen your resume. I understand that there obviously can not be more than one #1 seed in a region, but there are three conference champions in each region. My retort: There is also only one "last" spot in each region, too. I am not a fan of automatic bids as a result of a team getting hot for three days, nor am I fan of automatic bids because a good team had one bad game. We all know which teams below in the regional tournaments are not going to have a chance at winning a game. In those same regions, there are multiple teams sitting out who could compete for a regional championship that were booted out due to automatic conference tournament berths.
With all that said, here is a look at each and every conference tournament champion (or regular season champion for the Sunshine State Conference and PacWest Conference), and where they ended up being seeded in their regional tournament.
Atlantic
CIAA (May 3-6) - Tournament Page
Champion: Winston-Salem State (#7 A)
MEC (May 11-14) - Tournament Page
Champion: Shepherd (#6 A)
PSAC (May 10-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: Seton Hill (#3 A)
Seton Hill came through on top of a couple powerhouse favorites in Mercyhurst and West Chester, winning a very competitive PSAC Tournament. Winston-Salem State and Shepherd both ended up in the field via automatic bid, and the other five spots ended up going to PSAC schools.
Central
GAC (May 5-7 & 11-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: Arkansas-Monticello (#8 C)
MIAA (May 11-14) - Tournament Page
Champion: Lindenwood (#4 C)
NSIC (May 10-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: Minnesota State (#2 C)
A surprise winner in the GAC in Arkansas-Monticello shook things up, while maybe even a bigger upset took place in the MIAA with Lindenwood. The surprise in this regional tournament, in my opinion, ended up being Central Oklahoma, which jumped in to the #7 spot and a tournament berth, despite not being ranked in the top 10 last week.
East
CACC (May 6 & 11-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: Dominican (#7 E)
ECC (May 11-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: LIU Post (#4 E)
NE-10 (May 9 & 11-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: New Haven (#2 E)
Dominican sniped a spot away from an at-large bubble team as they captured the CACC Tournament auto-bid with an overall record below .500, while LIU Post was a minor upset in the ECC.
Midwest
GLIAC (May 11-14) - Tournament Page
Champion: Northwood (#1 MW)
GLVC (May 11-14) - Tournament Page
Champion: Quincy (#3 MW)
GMAC (May 10 & 12) - Tournament Page
Champion: Kentucky Wesleyan (#8 MW)
Not much drama in the Midwest region, as Northwood continued rolling the GLIAC and Quincy played good ball to capture the GLVC crown. Kentucky Wesleyan was the #3 seed in the GMAC Tournament and earned the victory in a minor upset over Trevecca Nazarene, but no matter what team would have won the GMAC, they would have been the final seed, so it wasn't a big deal.
South
GSC (May 6-9) - Tournament Page
Champion: Delta State (#1 S)
SIAC (May 4-7) - Tournament Page
Champion: Miles (#7 S)
SSC - No Conference Tournament
Champion: Tampa (#2 S)
The action had already concluded in the South, and the field was essentially all set last week.
Southeast
Conference Carolinas (Apr. 27-May 1) - Tournament Page
Champion: Mount Olive (#1 SE)
PBC (May 10-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: Georgia College (#6 SE)
SAC (Apr. 27-May 1) - Tournament Page
Champion: Lincoln Memorial (#7 SE)
Georgia College needed to win the PBC Tournament to earn a spot in the regional field, and they did just that, playing clutch baseball when they needed it to get in to the field as a formidable foe.
South Central
Heartland (May 11-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: St. Edward's (#5 SC)
LSC (May 11-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: West Texas A&M (#3 SC)
RMAC (May 10-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: Colorado Mesa (#2 SC)
The biggest surprise here was St. Edward's, the lowest seed in the Heartland, winning the tournament crown to sneak in to a spot in the regional tournament.
West
CCAA (May 10-13) - Tournament Page
Champion: Chico State (#1 W)
GNAC (May 10-12) - Tournament Page (No auto-bid)
Champion: Western Oregon
PacWest - No Conference Tournament
Champion: Azusa Pacific (#2 W)
Chico State continued its CCAA onslaught with a tournament victory, while Western Oregon took home another GNAC Tournament Championship, but it wasn't enough to get them a spot in the post-season field.
And finally, here is what the regional tournaments will look like this upcoming weekend. Starred teams are the hosts of the regionals. We will have an in-depth view of each regional being posted on Wednesday night.
Atlantic Regional at Jamestown, New York
1. Mercyhurst (37-6)*
2. West Chester (36-11)
3. Seton Hill (36-18)
4. Millersville (33-17)
5. Shippensburg (30-22-1)
6. Shepherd (31-21)
7. Winston-Salem State (35-17)
Central Regional at Emporia, Kansas
1. Emporia State (41-11)*
2. Minnesota State (44-9)
3. St. Cloud State (39-16)
4. Lindenwood (35-18)
5. Southern Arkansas (39-14)
6. Missouri Western (32-20)
7. Central Oklahoma (33-19-1)
8. Arkansas-Monticello (31-19)
East Regional at Manchester, New Hampshire
1. Southern New Hampshire (41-9)*
2. New Haven (29-11)
3. St. Thomas Aquinas (28-15)
4. LIU Post (30-18)
5. Felician (33-13)
6. Southern Connecticut State (27-14-1)
7. Dominican (21-27)
Midwest Regional at Midland, Michigan
1. Northwood (43-11)*
2. Southern Indiana (32-19)
3. Quincy (32-20)
4. Drury (36-18)
5. Bellarmine (34-19)
6. Wayne State (Mich.) (31-19)
7. St. Joseph's (Ind.) (34-20)
8. Kentucky Wesleyan (27-22)
South Regional at Cleveland, Mississippi
1. Delta State (41-11)*
2. Tampa (37-12)
3. Nova Southeastern (33-16)
4. Florida Southern (34-14)
5. Valdosta State (33-20)
6. West Alabama (34-19)
7. Miles (31-21)
Southeast Regional at Mount Olive, North Carolina
1. Mount Olive (47-8)*
2. North Georgia (42-10)
3. USC Aiken (39-13)
4. Catawba (37-15)
5. UNC Pembroke (40-15)
6. Georgia College (35-13)
7. Lincoln Memorial (33-17)
South Central Regional at San Angelo, Texas
1. Angelo State (41-13)*
2. Colorado Mesa (44-10)
3. West Texas A&M (35-16)
4. Lubbock Christian (37-14)
5. St. Edward's (33-18)
6. Arkansas-Fort Smith (33-20)
West Regional at Azusa, California
1. Chico State (45-9)
2. Azusa Pacific (40-10)*
3. Dixie State (37-12-1)
4. UC San Diego (36-17)
5. California Baptist (34-16)
6. Cal Poly Pomona (33-20)
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