Big South baseball championship lands in Asheville for first time

HomeTrust Park opened Wednesday to the Big South Conference baseball championship, turning the Asheville Tourists’ home field into a four-day stage for six teams, nearly 275 players and traveling fans, and an estimated $750,000-plus in direct spending for the Asheville area.

The tournament ran May 20 through May 23 as a six-team, double-elimination bracket, with the winner earning the Big South’s automatic bid to the NCAA Baseball Championship. The league seeded High Point No. 1 after a 17-7 Big South record and its first outright regular-season title, followed by Winthrop, USC Upstate, Charleston Southern, Radford and Longwood. USC Upstate entered as the defending tournament champion.

The schedule gave Asheville a full stretch of baseball, not just one showcase game. Three games were set for Wednesday, May 20, Thursday, May 21 and Friday, May 22, with Saturday’s championship round scheduled for noon and a second title game 45 minutes later if needed. Every game was streamed on ESPN+, but the bracket also created an in-person draw that could send fans, families and visiting programs into restaurants, hotels and shops around the ballpark and across West Asheville.

Tickets went on sale May 13. Full tournament books cost $65 for adults, $50 for seniors and $45 for students. Single-day admission was priced at $20 for Wednesday through Friday and $25 for Championship Day for adults, with reduced senior and student pricing. Children 5 and under were admitted free, making the event a little more accessible for families following the tournament across the week.

The championship also underscored how aggressively Asheville has used baseball as part of its tourism pitch. Explore Asheville and the Big South announced in September 2025 that Asheville would host the championship in 2026 and 2027, and the 2026 event marked the city’s second time hosting after 2009. The ballpark renovation tied to the event is part of a $55.6 million overall project, backed by a $23 million Tourism Product Development Fund investment from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. Tourism officials have said the upgraded venue is expected to more than double annual visitation, from 179,500 to 376,200 by 2029, giving the city a stronger hand in competing for regional sports tourism dollars well beyond championship week.