OKLAHOMA CITY - Texas Wesleyan will open the 2025 Sooner Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament on the road against top-seeded Wayland Baptist in a best-of-three opening-round series beginning Friday.

The Rams and Pioneers will face off at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Friday at Wilder Field in Plainview, Texas. If necessary, Game 3 is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.

Texas Wesleyan enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed after finishing the regular season 26-22 overall and 10-16 in SAC play, earning a postseason berth via tiebreaker. Wayland Baptist, which swept the Rams in their regular-season series in March, claimed its first SAC regular-season title with a 34-14 overall record and league-best 22-5 mark. The Pioneers are receiving votes in the latest NAIA coaches poll.

This year's tournament features a new format, with the top four seeds hosting best-of-three series to open postseason play. Winners will advance to a four-team, double-elimination championship tournament hosted by Science & Arts beginning Friday, May 2.

Also hosting opening-round series are No. 2 seed Mid-America Christian, No. 3 Science & Arts and No. 4 Southwestern Christian.

Mid-America Christian, ranked No. 19 nationally, will host No. 7 seed Nelson at 4 p.m. Friday at MACU Baseball Field. The Evangels finished the regular season 35-13 overall and 20-7 in conference play. Nelson ended the season 23-24 overall and 11-16 in SAC play, claiming the No. 7 seed via tiebreaker.

Science & Arts, also receiving votes in the coaches poll, will host No. 6 College of the Ozarks at 4 p.m. Friday at Bill Smith Ballpark. The Drovers finished 29-16 overall and 18-9 in league play. The Bobcats, in their first SAC season, went 20-26 overall and 11-15 in conference play, winning the regular-season series 2-1.

In the final first-round matchup, Southwestern Christian (32-14, 17-10) will face No. 5 seed Oklahoma City (17-23, 12-15) at noon Friday at Eagle Field in Bethany, Oklahoma. The Eagles won the regular-season series 2-1.