• 2025 OVC Baseball Report - Final (PDF)
Highlights From Around the League: No. 8 Little Rock became the lowest seeded team to win the OVC Tournament, going 5-0 to win the 2025 Championship ... The Trojans had to win a tiebreaker to make the eight-team tournament field and then won two elimination games on the first day of the event ... Little Rock was making its second NCAA Tournament appearance (the other came in 2011) and the team was 3-2 in the Baton Rouge Regional ... Little Rock lost to host and No. 1 ranked LSU in the first game, and then beat Rhode Island and Dallas Baptist to make the Regional Final; the Trojans then knocked off LSU to force the if necessary game which was won by LSU (who went on to win the National Championship) ... Little Rock 1B Angel Cano was named MVP of the Baton Rouge Regional ... Eastern Illinois finished 17-7 in OVC play and win its fifth overall OVC Regular Season Championship and first since 2009 ... The OVC Tournament Championship was held at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Illinois; the event will be held at the venue through 2029 ... SIUE finished second in the league standings to earn its highest-ever seed for the OVC Tournament; the teams 18 OVC wins are the most under head coach Sean Lyons (and second most trailing only 19 by the 2015 team) ... Jalen Fithian became the UT Martin NCAA Division I single season stolen base leader with his 37th stolen base in the top of the first against Ole Miss; he ranks in the Top 15 nationally in stolen bases ... Tennessee Tech head coach Matt Bragga is now in sole possession of fifth in league history for wins with 563 in his career; he now sits just two wins away from passing Jacksonville State's Jim Case for fourth on the league's ranking ... Three former OVC players were on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters, including former Eastern Illinois pitcher Hayden Birdsong (San Francisco Giants), former EIU shortstop Trey Sweeney (Detroit Tigers), the 2021 OVC Player of the Year, and former Austin Peay closer Tyler Rogers (San Francisco Giants), the 2013 OVC Pitcher of the Year ... Three other former OVC players were on 40-man MLB rosters to open the season.
Little Rock Wins 2025 OVC Tournament Championship: Having lost 13 of its final 14 regular season games and winning a tiebreaker to earn the No. 8 and final spot in the OVC Tournament field, Little Rock became the lowest seeded team to win the OVC Tournament by going 5-0. The Trojans won a pair of elimination games on the first day and then went on to knock off No. 1 seed Little Rock in the Championship Round.
Little Rock in the NCAA Tournament: Little Rock made its second NCAA Division I Championship appearance this year, with the other going in 2011. After not winning a game in its initial appearance, the Trojans were 3-2 in 2025, advancing to the Final of the Baton Rouge Regional, knocking off host and No. 1 ranked LSU to force a winner-take-all finale. Along the way Little Rock beat Rhode Island and Dallas Baptist before beating LSU.
Eastern Illinois Wins 2025 OVC Regular Season Championship: Eastern Illinois finished the regular season with a 17-7 league record to claim the 2025 OVC Regular Season Championship. It marked the fifth time for the Panthers (1998, 1999, 2001, 2009, 2005). The Panthers, who had three games canceled due to weather, had the top winning percentage in the OVC (.708 compared to .692).
2025 OVC Baseball Championship presented by SERVPRO: For the third year in a row the OVC Baseball Championship presented by SERVPRO was held at Mtn. Dew Park in Marion, Illinois (May 21-24). The event was also held at the venue (which was previously known as Rent One Park) in 2019. It was announced in May 2025 that the event will be held at the venue through 2029. For the fourth year in a row, the bracket included four single-elimination games on Wednesday, with the winners advancing to the double elimination portion of the bracket which will include the No. 1 and 2 seeds (who receive a bye until Thursday games). The venue, home to the Thrillville Thrillbillies of the Prospect League (the team completed its first season in 2023), opened in 2007 and has a Sportexe Turf synthetic surface and features 3,400 chairback seats and lawn seating for over 2,000. It also has a new high-definition LED video board, 14 suites, a banquet facility, an entertainment plaza and kids’ play area. The stadium is located directly off Interstate 57. This year marked the 46th OVC Baseball Championship. The first elimination style OVC Baseball Tournament was held in 1980, most usually being played at the site of the regular season championship. Beginning in 2001 the tournament switched to a neutral site for the first time.
Seeding Success: Since the OVC Tournament switched to a neutral site format in 2001 (24 tournaments), the No. 1 seed has won eight championships, the No. 2 seed has seven titles, the No. 3 seed has won four times, the No. 4 seed has won twice, the No. 5 seed has won twice and the No. 8 seed has won once (Little Rock in 2025).
Wins Over No. 1 Ranked Teams: Since the beginning of the 2019 season, OVC teams have four wins over No. 1 ranked teams. Prior to 2019, and an OVC team had last beaten a No. 1 ranked team in 2009 (Jacksonville State over Georgia).
Little Rock 10, #1 LSU 4 (June 1, 2025)
Tennessee Tech 3, #1 Tennessee 2 (Kodak, TN) (April 12, 2022)
Morehead State 5, #1 Louisville 2 (March 2, 2021)
Austin Peay 7, #1 Vanderbilt 6 (February 27, 2019)
Ranked Wins: Here is a look at OVC teams with wins over nationally-ranked teams this season. From 2018 to the present OVC teams have 30 wins over nationally-ranked non-conference opponents.
April 15 - Little Rock 7, #11 Ole Miss 3
June 1 - Little Rock 8, #13 Dallas Baptist 6
June 1 - Little Rock 10, #1 LSU 4
Longest Game in OVC History: The Eastern Illinois at Southeast Missouri game on April 11 lasted 19 innings, making it the longest game by innings in OVC history. It broke the previous record of 17 innings done twice before (Jacksonville State vs. Kennesaw State in 2014, and Austin Peay vs. Eastern Illinois in 2002). After the seventh inning neither team scored again until EIU plated three runs in the top of the 19th to win 6-3.
SIUE Earns OVC Team Sportsmanship Award: SIUE was named the recipient of the 2024-25 Team Sportsmanship Awards for baseball. Voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of the respective sports, the team awards are bestowed upon the Conference squads deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA. Included in the areas for evaluation are the conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators and fans.
Two Named to Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List: Southeast Missouri junior
Jackson Kranawetter and Tennessee Tech sophomore
Juan Vargas were among the 56 players nationally added to the Midseason Watch List for the 20th Annual Stopper of the Year Award as announced by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). The award goes to the top relief pitcher in Division I baseball.
Southeast Missouri Picked as 2025 OVC Preseason Favorite: Defending tournament champion Southeast Missouri was picked as the 2025 OVC preseason baseball favorite in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors. The Redhawks picked up 13 of 20 first-place votes and 157 points in being picked first, just ahead of Little Rock who picked up five first-place votes and 144 points. Tennessee Tech was picked third (118), Morehead State fourth with one first-place vote (107), Eastern Illinois fifth (92) and SIUE got the final first-place vote while being picked sixth (89). The poll was rounded out by UT Martin (69), Southern Indiana (57), Lindenwood (45) and Western Illinois (22).
OVC Professional Success: Former OVC baseball players have found professional success at the Major League level. To begin the 2025 MLB season, three former OVC players were on Opening Day rosters (
Hayden Birdsong, Trey Sweeney and
Tyler Rogers) while three others were on 40-man rosters. Former UT Martin pitcher
Alec Mills tossed the 16th no-hitter in Chicago Cubs history (and 305th in MLB history) against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 13, 2020. Former Belmont standout
Matt Beaty was a member of the 28-man playoff roster for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who defeated the Tampa Bay Rays four games to two to win the 2020 World Series. Since the OVC was formed in 1948, he became the first former OVC player to be on the active roster of a World Series Champion. In 2021 Eastern Illinois SS
Trey Sweeney was selected in the First Round by the New York Yankees (No. 20 overall), becoming just the third First Round pick in OVC history; Sweeney is now with the Detroit Tigers and made his MLB debut in 2024. Also in 2021, former SEMO pitcher
Dylan Dodd was selected in the Third Round by the Atlanta Braves, marking the first time in OVC history two players were selected in the Top 3 rounds of the same draft.
All Teams Eligible for OVC Tournament: Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, are eligible to compete and win the OVC Tournament Championship this season. Should a transitioning school win an OVC Tournament Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up. Should the tournament runner-up also be a transitioning school, the AQ representative shall be the third-place team (where the third-place team cannot be determined, the AQ shall be the semifinal team that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament).
Division I Council Adopts New Reclassification Criteria: On January 15 the NCAA Division I Council adopted a proposal that requires schools moving into Division I to meet objective measures that focus on the student-athlete experience and support a school’s successful transition to Division I. The change reduces the reclassification period from four to three years for Division II schools and four years for Division III schools. Members currently in the reclassification process (Lindenwood and Southern Indiana) can use the new timeline IF they meet all other criteria. Progression through the process is dependent upon meeting each year’s benchmarks. If the benchmarks are met, teams would be eligible for NCAA postseason events in the 2025-26 school year.
The 2025 Season: The 2025 season marks the 77th year of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 76 years, 14 different teams have claimed an OVC baseball regular season championship.
ESPN+: The OVC has a media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International segment. This season over 200 men’s and women’s basketball regular season Conference games and non-conference games will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($16.99/month). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices). More information can be found at
www.OVCSports.com/ESPN.