Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball has earned the fifth-seed in next week's 2025 Southern Conference Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., as the league announced the seeding Saturday following the final games of the regular season.
 
WCU enters the 2025 tournament as a seed back from last year's fourth-place finish, after capturing fifth place in the league standings with Saturday's 13-6 road win over UNC Greensboro.
 
The Catamounts raise the curtain on Wednesday, May 21, in the first of two single-elimination games between the fifth through eighth seeds. WCU drew eighth-seeded VMI, the nation's leader in stolen bases with 209 through its 52-game season. The Keydets won the series over the Purple & Gold back in the first weekend of league play in late March.
 
Western Carolina and VMI meet for the 14th time in the SoCon tournament all-time – and the first since the sixth-seeded Catamounts downed the seventh-seeded Keydets 4-1 in the first game of the 2022 tournament in Greenville. WCU holds an 11-2 record against VMI in the SoCon tournament and has won three straight over the Keydets at the event – 2022 (4-1), 1999 (8-4), and 1997 (4-3).
 
The Catamounts finished the regular season winners of four straight SoCon series, claiming a pair of home series over No. 7 Wofford and No. 3 The Citadel, while also taking 2-of-3 at No. 2 Samford and No. 6 UNCG. Under third-year head coach Alan Beck, the Catamounts have locked in a second consecutive winning season for the first time since three consecutive in 2012 (32-24), 2013 (39-20), and 2014 (37-17).
 
WCU enters this year's champion-crowning event as the No. 5 seed for just the second time in the tournament's history. It was previously seeded fifth back in 2012, dropping its two games played, including a one-run loss to eighth-seeded Furman.
 
All time, the Catamounts have entered the postseason classic as one of the top three seeds 19 times in the 36 tournaments since 1989, when the league stopped playing divisions. WCU has only missed one tournament, as it did not qualify in 2000, and the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
All eight Southern Conference teams will participate in the tournament beginning on Wednesday with fifth-seeded Western Carolina (28-26, 10-11 SoCon) taking on No. 8 VMI (27-25, 6-15) in a single-elimination game for the chance to advance to face No. 4 seed Mercer (33-23, 12-9) on Thursday at 3 p.m. The second single-elimination matchup has sixth-seeded UNCG (21-32, 9-12) facing off against No. 7 seed Wofford (31-25, 8-13) for the chance to advance to face No. 3 seed The Citadel (30-24, 12-9) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
 
Thursday's games begin the double-elimination portion of the event. The championship game will take place Sunday, May 25, at Noon, with a second game, if necessary, to begin 40 minutes after the completion of the first contest.

No. 1 seed ETSU (38-15, 14-7) will see its first action at the tournament on Friday at 9 a.m. when it takes on the winner of game three. The Bucs won seven of their last 10 regular-season contests enroute to their third SoCon title, the first since rejoining the league. ETSU, which was picked fourth in the preseason poll by the league's coaches, is seeking its first tournament title.

No. 2 seed Samford (28-25, 13-8) enters the SoCon tournament having won four games in the last two weekend series, claiming their finale at Mercer to salvage one in the series. The Bulldogs take the field at the tournament for the first time on Friday at 12:30 p.m. against the winner of game four. Samford was also the second seed in 2024.

Two more Friday games take place at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The remaining teams will compete in a trio of games on Saturday, which are scheduled for 12 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 7 p.m., setting the stage for Sunday's title game(s).

All games of the 2025 tournament will be broadcast live on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available through SoConSports.com and CatamountSports.com. Every game the Catamounts play will feature live streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network linked online at CatamountSports.com. Each broadcast will air 15 minutes before the announced first pitch.
 
General admission tickets for each day of the 2025 SoCon Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases, are $15 and available online through the Greenville Drive (CLICK HERE). FREE parking (MAP) is available in lots at 515 Pendleton St. and 706 Pendleton St., approximately a 10-minute walk from the stadium. For the convenience of the fans, a complimentary shuttle service runs from the parking lots to the Field Street Gate.
 
Western Carolina's Catamount Club will host a pregame social 90 minutes before each game the Catamounts play in the tournament at Catamount Central, again this year at Mac's Speed Shop (930 S. Main St., Greenville, SC 29601) located near Fluor Field.
 
The tournament winner earns the league's automatic bid to an NCAA Baseball Regional.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
 
May 21 (Wednesday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: #5 Western Carolina  vs. #8 VMI, 3 p.m.
Game 2: #6 UNCG vs. #7 Wofford, 7 p.m.

May 22 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. #4 Mercer, 3 p.m.
Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. #3 The Citadel, 7 p.m.

May 23 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. #1 ETSU, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. #2 Samford, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 6, 7:30 p.m.

May 24 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 12 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3:30 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9, 7 p.m.
 
May 25 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11, 12 p.m.
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^, 40 minutes after Game 12
^ if necessary