RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Championship season has arrived for the Great American Conference as the league’s baseball and softball postseason tournaments take center stage across Arkansas this weekend.
The GAC Baseball Championship Series begins Thursday at Baswell Field in Russellville, where the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys will host the East Central Tigers in a best two-out-of-three showdown for the conference title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Meanwhile, the GAC Softball Championships begin Thursday in Bentonville with quarterfinal action before shifting to the Tiger Athletic Complex for the semifinals and championship game.
Great American Conference Commissioner Will Prewitt said the baseball championship matchup has all the ingredients for an exciting weekend.
“We have a Cinderella story in East Central,” Prewitt said during an appearance on the River Country Breakfast Show with Grant Merrill. “The number eight seed who hasn’t won a conference championship of any sort since 1972.”
Prewitt noted that East Central battled through the upper bracket by defeating regular season champion and top-seeded Arkansas-Monticello before advancing to the finals.
On the other side, Arkansas Tech rolled through its bracket to earn a spot in the championship series.
“Arkansas Tech swept their way through bracket two,” Prewitt said. “And believe it or not, Arkansas Tech hasn’t won a postseason tournament championship of any sort since the 1984 NAIA District 17.”
Because of those long title droughts, Prewitt said one team will make history this weekend.
“So someone’s going to break a really long streak this weekend,” he said. “Again, it’s fun to have this on campus.”
Prewitt said the atmosphere at Baswell Field is expected to be electric.
“Great crowd last night,” he said. “Expect another close-to-packed house night over at Tech, and the winner goes on to NCAA regional play next week.”
GAC Baseball Championship Series Schedule
Baswell Field – Russellville
- Game 1 — Thursday
- Game 2 — Friday
- Game 3 — Saturday (if necessary)
The series will feature No. 2 seed Arkansas Tech against No. 8 seed East Central.
Softball Championship Begins Thursday in Bentonville
The GAC Softball Championships open Thursday with four quarterfinal contests at the Wolverine Athletic Complex in Bentonville before moving to the Tiger Athletic Complex for Friday’s semifinals and Saturday’s championship game.
Prewitt said the regular season race created plenty of drama heading into postseason play.
“An incredible three-way battle for the conference regular season championship,” he said. “Tech finished a half game ahead of Southern Arkansas.”
Prewitt noted that Southern Arkansas played one fewer game than the other title contenders after severe weather disrupted part of a conference series at Southeastern Oklahoma State.
“We had a game last month down in Durant where storms came through and blew over the backstop at Southeastern,” Prewitt said. “So we couldn’t complete the series, and it ended up having championship implications.”
Despite the unusual circumstances, Prewitt praised Arkansas Tech for earning the regular season crown.
“You have to give Tech all the credit in the world,” he said. “Coach Jones and her team, they’re really balanced, strong pitching staff.”
Arkansas Tech enters the tournament as the top seed after clinching its first regular season conference title since 2022. Southern Arkansas earned the No. 2 seed, followed by Oklahoma Baptist and Harding.
2026 GAC Softball Championships Schedule
Thursday, May 7 – Wolverine Athletic Complex
- 10:30 a.m. — No. 4 Harding vs. No. 5 Southern Nazarene
- 1:00 p.m. — No. 1 Arkansas Tech vs. No. 8 Ouachita Baptist
- 3:30 p.m. — No. 2 Southern Arkansas vs. No. 7 Henderson State
- 6:00 p.m. — No. 3 Oklahoma Baptist vs. No. 6 Southeastern Oklahoma State
Friday, May 8 – Tiger Athletic Complex
- Noon — Semifinal No. 1
- 2:30 p.m. — Semifinal No. 2
Saturday, May 9 – Tiger Athletic Complex
- 12:30 p.m. — Championship Game
All seven softball tournament games will stream on GACSportsNetwork.com.
