Sunflower Showdown to kickoff Big 12 Tournament
ARLINGTON, TX (KSNT) - The 2024 Big 12 Baseball Tournament is set - and the first game features two familiar foes.
No. 6 K-State and No. 7 Kansas will square off in the opening round of the double-elimination event on Tuesday, May 21. That game starts at 9 a.m. in Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.
Here's how the final standings played out with the Big 12 regular season now over:
| Ranking | Team | Big 12 Record |
| No. 1 | Oklahoma | 23-7 |
| No. 2 | Oklahoma State | 19-9 |
| No. 3 | Texas | 20-10 |
| No. 4 | West Virginia | 19-11 |
| No. 5 | Cincinnati | 17-13 |
| No. 6 | Kansas State | 15-15 |
| No. 7 | Kansas | 15-15 |
| No. 8 | UCF | 14-15 |
| No. 9 | TCU | 14-16 |
| No. 10 | Texas Tech | 12-17 |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| No. 11 | Baylor | 10-20 |
| No. 12 | Houston | 7-21 |
| No. 13 | BYU | 7-23 |
Notably, only the top ten finishers advance to the Big 12 tournament. Iowa State is the lone conference team without a baseball program.
No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Oklahoma State earned first round byes. The other opening round games will feature No. 4 West Virginia vs No. 9 TCU, No. 5 Cincinnati vs No. 8 UCF and No. 3 Texas vs No. 10 Texas Tech.
Photo courtesy Big 12 Conference
The loser of K-State/KU will face the loser of West Virginia/TCU. If West Virginia beats TCU, the winner of K-State/KU will face No. 1 Oklahoma. If TCU beats West Virginia, the winner of K-State/KU will face the winner of Oklahoma/TCU.
K-State finished the regular season with a 2-1 home series win over BYU, dropping the finale 12-8 in extra innings.
Kansas finished the regular season falling victim of a road sweep at Texas. The Jayhawks lost the three games by a combined four runs.