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SEC set to experiment with ABS in conference tournament

by: Evan Vieth05/05/26

Automated strike zones in college baseball are closer than you might think.

Announced Monday, the SEC is set to experiment with the ABS challenge system in the upcoming conference tournament, D1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers first reports.

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ABS, or automatic ball-strike, is a system recently implemented into the MLB that allows a batter, catcher or pitcher to challenge the call of an individual pitch. If a batter believes a called strike was outside, all it takes is two taps on the head to challenge the call. The same goes for the defense if they believe a called ball was inside of the zone.

The system then electronically determines the spot of the pitch, and corrects the call. In the MLB, the Hawk-Eye system is able to immediately verify if the ball passed through the defined 3D strike zone.

Now, the SEC will be trying out this technology, introducing it for the upcoming conference tournament set to begin in Hoover, Alabama, set to begin in two weeks on May 19.

Each team will have 3 ABS challenges, with the ability to retain a challenge if won and overturned. Extra innings will allow for a bonus challenge for each team per inning

These challenges must take place within 2-3 seconds of the pitch crossing the zone, and untimely challenges will not be granted, according to Rogers.

“The introduction of this challenge system at the SEC Tournament reflects our continued commitment to innovation,” commissioner Greg Sankey said. “This addition represents a continued step forward for our game, aligns more closely with the professional level and supports the development of our student-athletes as they prepare for success at the next level.”

As of now, the ACC, the second most notable conference in college baseball, has not requested to use ABS in their conference tournament in Charlotte. The system is allowed for use by other conferences.

This is a potentially ground-breaking moment in college baseball, and the first instance of any sort of robotic or automatic ball-strike calls coming to the amateur levels of the sport.

It comes with some ironic timing for Texas fans, who just saw opposing coach Brian O’Connor ejected, arguing a called strike three that his batter would’ve been able to challenge, and likely win, with the new technology.

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