NEWS RELEASE
Monday, April 27, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AAC Men’s Baseball Tournament Returns to Kingsport; Milligan Earns No. 1 Seed
Kingsport, TN. – The bracket is set for the 2026 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Baseball Tournament, and Milligan is the No. 1 seed. The tournament is back in Kingsport for five days of games. 10 teams from Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky and South Carolina will play at Hunter Wright Stadium from Tuesday, April 28 through Saturday, May 2.
Milligan won the regular-season championship and earned the No. 1 seed with a 22-5 conference record. This year, 10 teams advance to the tournament, and it will be double-elimination. The tournament is using a similar bracket to what the Big XII used during their 2024 Tournament. The top two seeds will not play on the first day.
Here are the seeds for the tournament:
- Milligan (TN) (38-11, 22-5 AAC)
- Johnson (TN) (36-10, 20-6 AAC)
- Tennessee Wesleyan (TN) (36-14, 20-7 AAC)
- Spartanburg Methodist (SC) (25-22, 16-11 AAC)
- Pikeville (KY) (28-17, 15-12 AAC)
- Bryan (TN) (23-23, 15-12 AAC)
- Reinhardt (GA) (22-26, 14-13 AAC)
- Montreat (NC) (31-19, 14-13 AAC)
- Columbia International (SC) (17-29, 12-14 AAC)
- Truett McConnell (GA) (17-27, 8-19 AAC)
“We’re excited to host a week of college baseball in Kingsport,” said Bradley Hoover, Visit Kingsport’s Sports Director. “We encourage people to come out and watch some really competitive games this week at Hunter Wright Stadium.”
Tickets are available and can be purchased by clicking here. Single-day tickets are $10 per adult and $5 for students. Tournament passes are also available for $35 per adult.
If unable to attend in person, all games will be streamed live online. To watch, click here.
Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, April 28
Game 1 – No. 6 Bryan (23-23) vs. No. 7 Reinhardt (22-26), 9 am
Game 2 – No. 4 Spartanburg Methodist (25-22) vs. No. 9 Columbia International (17-29), 12 pm
Game 3 – No. 5 Pikeville (28-17) vs. No. 8 Montreat (31-19), 3 pm
Game 4 – No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan (36-14) vs. No. 10 Truett McConnell (17-27), 6 pm
Wednesday, April 29
Game 5 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 9 am
Game 6 – No. 1 Milligan (38-11) vs. Lowest-seeded winner from Games 1 & 2, 12 pm
Game 7 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 3 pm
Game 8 – No. 2 Johnson (36-10) vs. Lowest-seeded winner from Games 3 & 4, 6 pm
Thursday, April 30
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 9 am
Game 10 – Game 6 Winner vs. Highest-seeded winner from Games 1 & 2, 12 pm
Game 11 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser, 3 pm
Game 12 – Game 8 Winner vs. Highest-seeded winner from Games 3 & 4, 6 pm
Friday, May 1
Game 13 – Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Loser, 9 am
Game 14 – Game 11 Winner vs. Game 12 Loser, 12 pm
Game 15 – Game 10 Winner vs. Game 13 Winner, 3 pm
Game 16 – Game 12 Winner vs. Game 14 Winner, 6 pm
Saturday, May 2
Schedule will be finalized following the results of Games 13 and 14. If only one game, it will be played at 2 pm. If only one ‘if necessary’ game is needed, it will be played at 11 am with the championship game at 3 pm. If both ‘if necessary games are needed, the games will be played at 11 am, 2 pm, and 6 pm.
