Top-Seeded St. John’s Takes on Fourth-Seeded Creighton on Championship Sunday

Sunday, May 24

Mason, Ohio (Prasco Park)

9:00 a.m.

St. John's University

Creighton

Photo by: D'Andra Seymore / BIG EAST

Top-Seeded St. John’s Takes on Fourth-Seeded Creighton on Championship Sunday

5/23/2026 11:00:00 PM | Baseball

Watch on ESPN+Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)Championship Central

The Red Storm delivered a historic 17-6 victory over Xavier on Saturday afternoon

MASON, Ohio – The top-seeded St. John's baseball team will take on fourth-seeded Creighton in the 2026 BIG EAST Baseball Championship, presented by JEEP, at Prasco Park on Friday at 9:00 a.m.

Sunday's conference championship contest will be streamed on ESPN+ with Billy Hatcher and Anthony Mazzini on the call from Mason, Ohio. The winner of tomorrow's matchup will take home the BIG EAST title and the NCAA Tournament automatic bid.

The top-seeded Red Storm delivered a historic offensive performance in a 17-6 win over third-seeded Xavier on Saturday at Prasco Park to advance to the program's conference-record 15th BIG EAST Tournament Championship game. The Red Storm's 17 runs marked the most ever scored by St. John's in a BIG EAST Tournament contest, while the 11-run margin of victory set a new program tournament record. St. John's erupted for 11 runs across the third and fourth innings behind a career day from Will Cowan, who went 3-for-5 with two home runs and a career-high seven RBIs, the most by a Johnnie in a BIG EAST Tournament game in the last two decades. All nine starters recorded a hit as Lewis Rodriguez finished a home run shy of the cycle, Jayder Raifstanger drove in five runs and Shaun McMillan launched a 453-foot homer to open the scoring. On the mound, Evan Chaffee struck out six over 5.0 innings before Jack Nestler tossed 4.0 innings of one-run relief to secure the victory and move the Red Storm within one win of the NCAA Tournament automatic bid.

The Red Storm and Xavier will meet for the eighth time in the BIG EAST Tournament with the Musketeers holding a 5-2 advantage in postseason play. Last time the two teams met in the conference tournament, the Red Storm took down the Musketeers, 9-7, on their way to the program's 10th league title. This season, St. John's won two out of three meetings on the road in Cincinnati late last month. The Red Storm holds a slight 24-19 advantage over the Musketeers in the all-time series.

The Red Storm and Bluejays will square off for the eighth time in BIG EAST Tournament history and for the second time in this year's championship bracket. St. John's claimed a 4-2 victory over Creighton in the opening round on Thursday to take a 4-3 edge in all-time BIG EAST Tournament meetings between the programs. One year earlier to the day, on May 21, 2025, Creighton earned a 10-8 win over the Red Storm in the tournament opener. During the regular season, St. John's captured two of the three meetings at Jack Kaiser Stadium, with both victories coming by seven or more runs. Creighton holds a 26-17 advantage in the all-time series.

On Saturday night, a four-run sixth inning powered fourth-seeded Creighton past the third-seeded Xavier, 7-4, to punch its ticket to Sundayís Championship game against unbeaten St. John's. The Bluejays, the 2025 BIG EAST Champions, improved to 31-25 on the season.

Prasco Park is hosting the BIG EAST Baseball Championship for the seventh time. Admission and concessions are free for all fans at the ballpark. For more information about the 2026 BIG EAST Baseball Championship, visit the Tournament Central.