Big 12 Baseball Tournament Format & Rules: How does elimination work?

As we head into the summer months that means one thing in college sports, the College World Series for baseball and softball. Kansas State does not have a softball program, so the only College World Series Wildcats fans will be watching is baseball.

After appearing in D1 Baseball's Preseason Rankings, K-State baseball has had an up-and-down season with big wins and tough losses, but as of the writing of this article, they currently stand 8th in the conference with a 30-21 overall record and an even 14-14 in Big 12 play.

The Wildcats are currently in the middle of their final series of the regular season before they begin their short preparations for the Big 12 Tournament.

The tournament will take place May 21-25 in Arlington Texas at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers. The multi-day event is a modified double-elimination tournament after the increase to 10 teams this season.

The way the format of this tournament works is that the top 10 teams that qualify for the tournament will make the trip with the top two teams receiving byes in two five-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of both brackets will play in the Big 12 Championship in a single elimination game. The winner of the championship will also receive and automatic bid to the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

Here is how the brackets for the Big 12 Tournament will look:

Tuesday, May 21
- Game 1: No.6 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed, 9 a.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN +
- Game 2: No. 4 Seed vs. No. 9 Seed, 12:30 p.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN +
- Game 3: No. 5 Seed vs. No. 8 Seed, 4 p.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN +
- Game 4: No. 3 Seed vs. No. 10 Seed, 7:20 p.m. CT, big 12 Now on ESPN+

Wednesday, May 22
- Game 5: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 9 a.m. CT, ESPNU
- Game 6: No. 1 Seed vs. Lower-seeded winner of Games 1&2, 12:30 p.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Game 7: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 4 p.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN +
- Game 8: No. 2 Seed vs Lower-seed winner of Games 3&4, 7:30 p.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Thursday, May 23
- Game 9 Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 9 a.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Game 10: Game 6 Winner vs. Higher-seeded winner of Games 1&2, 12:30 p.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Game 11: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser, 4 p.m. CT, ESPNU
- Game 12: Game 8 Winner vs. Higher-seeded winner of Games 3&4, 7:20 p.m., ESPNU

Friday, May 24
- Game 13: Game 10 Loser vs. Game 9 Winner, 9 a.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Game 14: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 13 Winner (semifinal), 12:30 p.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Game 15: Game 12 Loser vs. Game 11 Winner, 4 p.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Game 16: Game 12 Winner vs. Game 15 Winner (semifinal), 7:30 p.m. CT, Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Saturday, May 25
- Game 17 Championship Game: 6 p.m. CT, ESPNU