# 1996 Southern Conference baseball tournament

The 1996 Southern Conference baseball tournament was held at College Park in Charleston, South Carolina, from April 30 through May 3. Top seeded Georgia Southern won the tournament and earned the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. It was the Eagles first tournament win, having joined the league for the 1991 season. This was the final tournament held at College Park, as Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park opened and hosted the tournament beginning in 1997.
The tournament used a double-elimination format. Only the top eight teams participated, so Marshall was not in the field.

## Seeding

| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Seed |
| Georgia Southern | 17 | 3 | .850 | – | 1 |
| Western Carolina | 17 | 7 | .708 | 2 | 2 |
| Furman | 15 | 9 | .625 | 4 | 3 |
| The Citadel | 13 | 10 | .565 | 5.5 | 4 |
| Appalachian State | 12 | 10 | .545 | 6 | 5 |
| East Tennessee State | 11 | 12 | .478 | 7.5 | 6 |
| VMI | 7 | 16 | .304 | 11.5 | 7 |
| Davidson | 6 | 18 | .250 | 13 | 8 |
| Marshall | 4 | 17 | .190 | 12.5 | – |

## Bracket

| Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 2 | Upper round 2 | Upper final | Upper final | Upper final | | | | Final | Final | Final |
| 3 | Furman | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | East Tennessee State | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | East Tennessee State | 10 | 6 | East Tennessee State | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | VMI | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Western Carolina | 3 | 7 | VMI | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | VMI | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | VMI | 7 | | | | 7 | VMI | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | Georgia Southern | 11 | | | | | | |
| 1 | Georgia Southern | 8 | | | | 1 | Georgia Southern | 11 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Davidson | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Davidson | 2 | 1 | Georgia Southern | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | The Citadel | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | The Citadel | 6 | 4 | The Citadel | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Appalachian State | 2 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Georgia Southern | 7 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | The Citadel | 1 |
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 2 | Lower round 3 | Lower round 3 | Lower round 3 | Lower final | Lower final | Lower final | |
| | | | 4 | The Citadel | 17 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Furman | 7 | 3 | Furman | 3 | | | | 7 | VMI | 5 | |
| 2 | Western Carolina | 4 | | | | 4 | The Citadel | 1 | 4 | The Citadel | 8 | |
| | | | | | | 6 | East Tennessee State | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | East Tennessee State | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Davidson | 2 | 5 | Appalachian State | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Appalachian State | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* - Indicates extra innings.

## All-Tournament Team

| Position | Player | School |
| P | Clint Sauls | Georgia Southern |
| C | Steve Wilson | Georgia Southern |
| 1B | Nate Shepperson | VMI |
| 2B | Donnie Coe | Georgia Southern |
| 3B | Bo Betchman | The Citadel |
| SS | Terrance Smalls | The Citadel |
| OF | Jon Placko | Furman |
| OF | Mark Hamlin | Georgia Southern |
| OF | Antoine Moran | Georgia Southern |
| DH | Britt Phelps | East Tennessee State |
* Walt Nadzak Award, Tournament Most Outstanding Player
* Mark Hamlin
* Georgia Southern