AUBURN, Ala. – After finishing in the top six in the league for the fourth time in the last five seasons, No. 6 Auburn (36-18, 17-13 SEC) starts postseason play at the Southeastern Conference Tournament Wednesday night.
The Tigers will take on the winner of Tuesday night’s contest between Oklahoma (32-20, 14-16 SEC) and LSU (29-27, 9-21 SEC).
“I’m excited. This week is the first week of us trying to get an opportunity to win a championship, so we’ll put our best foot forward to try to do everything we can to win game one, and we’d love to stick around for four games to make a run at this,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “Our program has not won this tournament since 1998, so we made a commitment today that we would be all hands on deck and play this like you’re pursuing a championship. This is great training. We’re looking forward to it and excited to see our guys go compete.”
First pitch at the Hoover Met will take place approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game seven, which is tentatively scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT.
The game will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on Wings 94.3 FM. It will also be aired nationally on SEC Network.
QUICK HITTERS
This week’s trip to Hoover marks Auburn’s 32nd appearance in the SEC Tournament, including its eighth under head coach Butch Thompson.
The Tigers are one of three programs to finish four of the last five seasons in the top six in the league, joined by Arkansas and Georgia on the short list.
Auburn is the only team in the SEC that finished in the top half of the league and played the rest of the teams that finished in the top half this season.
The team is also one of four in the league that has won 17 or more SEC games in the last two seasons, joined by Arkansas, Georgia and Texas on the list.
It marks the first time the Tigers have won 17 SEC games in back-to-back seasons since 1999-2000.
The four teams above are the only in the league to win at least seven series this season.
Of Auburn’s seven series wins, five were against top-15 teams, including three against top-10 teams on the road.
The Tigers 15 wins away from home (10-8 away, 5-0 neutral) are tied for the most in the league.
The team’s 15 top-25 RPI wins are the most in the league and second most in the country.
SCOUTING THE SOONERS
Oklahoma wrapped up the regular season with a 32-20 overall record and finished 11th in the league with a 14-16 mark in SEC play.
The Sooners hit .282 as a team, including .273 in league play, and were led by Deiten LaChance’s .337 average, 12 homers and 51 RBI.
Oklahoma turned in a 5.36 staff ERA with 522 strikeouts and 227 walks in 441.2 innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Coming off the 2025 national championship, LSU finished the regular season 29-27 overall and are 14th in the SEC with a 9-21 record in league play.
The Tigers hit .284 as a team, including a .263 average in SEC play, with Derek Curiel’s .345 average leading the way. Cade Arrambide leads the team with 18 homers and 51 RBI.
The pitching staff turned in a 5.86 ERA with a league-high 644 strikeouts but also a league-high 285 walks in 480.1 innings pitched.
