SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The 2026 West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament runs from May 20-23 at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz. Eight of the nine possible tournament games can be seen on ESPN+. The championship game on Saturday, May 23, will be seen on ESPNU at 1 p.m.
This is the fifth year of the current format for the West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament with six teams competing. The conference tournament will be played this year at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz., after the previous three tournaments were held at Las Vegas Ballpark.
Regular Season champion Gonzaga is the No. 1 seed in the tournament after clinching the regular season title for the first time since 2022. The Bulldogs are riding a seven-game winning streak into the conference tournament. Gonzaga is one of seven teams in the nation to record at least 20 road wins this season. Karsten Sweum clinched the regular season title after no-hitting San Francisco on the road. As of May 16, GU is ranked No. 4 nationally in doubles per game (2.52), No. 17 in batting average (.313) and No. 42 in slugging percentage (.493). Solid defensively, the Bulldogs also rank No. 42 in fielding percentage (.978).
Gonzaga earned multiple NCBWA National Player of the Week honors this season with Maddox Haley winning Co-Hitter of the Week on March 31 and Karsten Sweum winning Co-Pitcher of the Week on May 12.
Pacifc will compete in its first conference baseball tournament as the No. 2 seed. Garret Plata finished third in the conference in ERA in conference games (2.73) and at one point was ranked second in the nation in ERA. At the plate, Jake Tandy is currently enjoying a 15-game hitting streak and his 45 RBIs rank seventh in the league.
No. 3 seed San Francisco was battling for first place throughout most of the season. The Dons won two out of three at Saint Mary’s to conclude the regular season and clinched the 3 seed. Nick Bacura notched eight saves out of the bullpen. The Dons swept Santa Clara when they met during the regular seaosn.
No. 4 seed Pepperdine took two out of three during the regular season over Saint Mary’s. Pepperdine returns to the conference tournament as the No. 5 seed for the second time in three years. Lucien Wechsberg registered 10 saves for the Waves. Kai Laxa batted .307 on the year while Daniel Patterson paced the Waves in slugging at .507. The Waves are the only West Coast Conference team to win two straight WCC Baseball Tournaments, having won it in 2014 and 2015.
No. 5 seed and defending tournament champion Saint Mary’s heads into the conference tournament boasting a potent offense that leads the league in multiple categories. Ian Armstrong led the conference in slugging (.640) and home runs (13), Diego Castellanos led the way in runs (54) and Makoa Sniffen tied for the league lead in hits (84) and RBI (53). The last time Pepperdine played Saint Mary's in the conference tournament two years ago, Saint Mary's won a 14-10 slugfest that featured a conference record eight combined home runs.
Punching its ticket to the West Coast Conference Tournament on the final weekend of the regular season, Santa Clara swept Pepperdine last weekend to sneak past Portland for the final spot. The Broncos head to Scottsdale riding an eight-game winning streak. Max Bayles, the final Rawlings West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week this season, amassed 12 strikeouts last Thursday in a win over Pepperdine. The all-conference first team honoree secured 102 strikeouts this season, second only to the 108 by Gonzaga’s Karsten Sweum.
Following the Conference tournament, the NCAA Selection Show will air on Monday, May 25, at 9 a.m. PT.