ATLANTA — Georgia State has earned the No. 9 seed in the 2026 Sun Belt Baseball Championship and will open tournament play against No. 8 seed Old Dominion on Tuesday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala.

Tuesday's first-round matchup will be single elimination. The winner will advance into the double-elimination portion of the bracket, which begins Wednesday, May 20. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.

Georgia State enters the tournament after closing the regular season with a spot in the 10-team field. The Panthers will face an Old Dominion team they saw earlier this season in Atlanta, taking two of three games from the Monarchs at the GSU Baseball Complex.

After dropping the series opener, Georgia State responded with back-to-back wins to claim the series. The Panthers defeated Old Dominion 10-4 in game two behind a strong start from Michael Caruso, who allowed one run on three hits over seven innings. Georgia State scored four runs in the second inning and finished with 11 hits, led by John Beverley's three-hit game.

The Panthers then secured the series with an 8-7, 10-inning comeback win in the finale. Georgia State trailed 7-2 entering the bottom of the ninth before Cole Griffith tied the game with a grand slam. Wills Maginnis followed with a walk-off solo home run in the 10th inning to complete the comeback. Will Bartkoski earned the win after throwing six innings in relief and allowing one run with five strikeouts.

Maginnis, Griffith, and Adam Haber each homered in the series finale, while Georgia State's pitching staff held Old Dominion scoreless over the final four innings to give the Panthers the series victory.

The Sun Belt Championship will feature first-round single-elimination games on Tuesday before moving into double-elimination play on Wednesday through Saturday. Sunday's championship game will be winner-take-all.