BIG EAST Baseball Championship Central
 
NEW YORK  – The seeds have been set for the 2021 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by JEEP, which will take place Thursday, May 27 through Sunday, May 30 in Mason, Ohio at Prasco Park. UConn retains the No. 1 seed in the championship, finishing at 13-4 after sweeping Seton Hall in the final weekend in Storrs, Conn.
 
It is the second time that the Huskies have won the BIG EAST regular season. UConn won it in 2011. The Huskies played as part of the American Athletic Conference from 2014 through 2020. Head Coach Jim Penders earned his 600th career win at the helm of the Huskies on Friday afternoon.
 
UConn will play Xavier, the tournament’s co-hosts and No. 4 seed in the championship. The Musketeers wrapped up the season at 15-11. Xavier split its final series at Creighton, 2-2. XU won the first two, 10-5 and 6-2, but lost the second two games, 3-2 in 10 innings on Friday night and 3-2 on Saturday afternoon. Creighton received the No. 2 seed in the tournament with a 15-6 record. The Bluejays will face No. 3 seed Seton Hall, which has not missed a championship since 2011. The Pirates finished 16-11 after an 0-4 weekend in Storrs, Conn.
 
The format of the tournament is double elimination. The first five games of the championship will be carried on the BIG EAST Digital Network Presented by SoFi. Championship Sunday will air on FS2, including a Game 7 if necessary. Game 1 on Thursday between No. 2 Creighton and No. 3 Seton Hall and will start at 2:30 p.m. ET. Game 2 between No. 1 UConn and No. 4 Xavier will start at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET.
 
The BEDN talent grid for games 1-5 includes John Fanta, Matt Schumacker, Mike Schmaltz and Bob Brainerd. Championship Sunday on FS2 will have play-by-play by Brainerd and Baseball Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven as the analyst. Fanta and Schmaltz will provide dugout reports.

The winner of the tournament receives the league’s automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Championship.
Xavier won the tournament in 2014, 2016 and 2017. Creighton won the tournament in 2019.
 
There are limited public tickets available to the championship. They will become available on Monday, May 24 at 5:30 p.m. Click here for more information.
 
Villanova finished in fifth in the league standings at 9-12. The Wildcats finished the season with a 2-1 series victory at St. John’s. The Red Storm finished league play at 10-16. With a 19-21 overall record, it was SJU’s first season under .500 since World War II. Butler finished up 8-13, taking the final series from Georgetown 3-1. The Hoyas finished 6-19 under first year head coach Edwin Thompson.

2021 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by JEEP 
Thursday, May 27 – BIG EAST Digital Network Presented by SoFi
Game 1: #2 Creighton vs. #3 Seton Hall, 2:30 p.m. ET
Game 2: #1 UConn vs. #4 Xavier, 6:30 p.m. ET (approx.)
 
Friday, May 28 – BEDN
Losers’ bracket/Elimination Game at 2:30 p.m. ET (Game 3)
Winners’ bracket at 6:30 p.m. ET (Game 4) (approx.)
 
Saturday, May 29 – BEDN
Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser (Elimination Game) at 2:30 p.m. ET
 
Sunday, May 30 – Championship (FS2)
Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner at 1 p.m. ET
**an If-necessary game will be played at 4:30 p.m. ET should the Game 4 winner lose **