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Eagleville will be attempting to win its fifth consecutive TSSAA baseball Class 1A state championship this season, but the Eagles won't have an opportunity to do it at home.
The reason is probably not what some would think.
Despite some in the Class 1A baseball community voicing their displeasure over the Eagles playing at home throughout their four-year state title run, the decision for Eagleville not being a host site this year was not made by the TSSAA, but the school itself.
MORE: Eagleville to get artificial turf on football, baseball, softball fields
Eagleville coach Brandon Bassham said Eagleville pulled out of being a host after uncertainty on whether they would be a confirmed site again this year. The TSSAA had recent changeover in baseball leadership this year as E.J. Wood took over in January for longtime assistant executive director Gene Menees, who retired last August.
"We didn't have an answer (into the early months of 2026)," said Bassham, who recently earned his 500th career victory, the game that got Eagleville into state for the fifth straight year. "We decided we were going to move on."
Rockvale was picked up as the other Class 1A site to replace Eagleville. However, the Eagles won't play at Rockvale, a mere 10 minutes away from the school. Bassham's team will play at Wilson Central thanks to the TSSAA's blind draw, which put Bassham's squad in the lower half of the 1A bracket.
"They were given the opportunity to host ... (confirmation) was later than they had been accustomed to, getting it finalized," TSSAA Executive Director Mark Reeves told The Daily News Journal. "They just said, 'Hey, pull us out.' Which was fine, we would figure it out. We reached out to Rockvale as soon as Eagleville said they would rather not. Fortunately they were able to oblige."
Reeves said that for Eagleville, or any other school getting to play on their own home field is not considered a factor in being a host site. Siegel and Oakland have both played on its home field at state and Middle Tennessee Christian hosts the Division II-A state tournament.
SOFTBALL: TSSAA softball state tournament 2026 championship brackets, scores
"(Home field advantage) is not an uncommon issue when you bring teams to a central site, when you're using high schools for those central sites," Reeves said. "There's always going to be a possibility that you have that conflict.
"When you ask someone to host an event, it's difficult to get the necessary support (volunteers) they need without their team playing. It's hard to ask them not to watch their own kids. We've had it in girls soccer (in Chattanooga) and volleyball. If we could find more neutral sites, it would be great, but when you're using high schools, you're not going to find 10 neutral sites (for baseball)."
Eagleville will play Gordonsville (26-6) in the first round at 4 p.m. on May 19. The other two teams in that side of the bracket are defending state runner-up Coalfield (30-7) and Greenfield (25-6).
"It can be (less stressful)," said Bassham, on the advantage of not hosting vs. the perceived advantage of hosting. "Last year, I know there was one night at 9 or 10 p.m. we were pulling tarp and 7 a.m. we were taking it off. It takes a little pressure off the kids. Getting concession workers, gate workers ... a lot goes into hosting besides going out and playing."
Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Eagleville not hosting TSSAA baseball state tournament games
Continue reading...
The reason is probably not what some would think.
Despite some in the Class 1A baseball community voicing their displeasure over the Eagles playing at home throughout their four-year state title run, the decision for Eagleville not being a host site this year was not made by the TSSAA, but the school itself.
MORE: Eagleville to get artificial turf on football, baseball, softball fields
Eagleville coach Brandon Bassham said Eagleville pulled out of being a host after uncertainty on whether they would be a confirmed site again this year. The TSSAA had recent changeover in baseball leadership this year as E.J. Wood took over in January for longtime assistant executive director Gene Menees, who retired last August.
"We didn't have an answer (into the early months of 2026)," said Bassham, who recently earned his 500th career victory, the game that got Eagleville into state for the fifth straight year. "We decided we were going to move on."
Rockvale was picked up as the other Class 1A site to replace Eagleville. However, the Eagles won't play at Rockvale, a mere 10 minutes away from the school. Bassham's team will play at Wilson Central thanks to the TSSAA's blind draw, which put Bassham's squad in the lower half of the 1A bracket.
"They were given the opportunity to host ... (confirmation) was later than they had been accustomed to, getting it finalized," TSSAA Executive Director Mark Reeves told The Daily News Journal. "They just said, 'Hey, pull us out.' Which was fine, we would figure it out. We reached out to Rockvale as soon as Eagleville said they would rather not. Fortunately they were able to oblige."
Reeves said that for Eagleville, or any other school getting to play on their own home field is not considered a factor in being a host site. Siegel and Oakland have both played on its home field at state and Middle Tennessee Christian hosts the Division II-A state tournament.
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SOFTBALL: TSSAA softball state tournament 2026 championship brackets, scores
"(Home field advantage) is not an uncommon issue when you bring teams to a central site, when you're using high schools for those central sites," Reeves said. "There's always going to be a possibility that you have that conflict.
"When you ask someone to host an event, it's difficult to get the necessary support (volunteers) they need without their team playing. It's hard to ask them not to watch their own kids. We've had it in girls soccer (in Chattanooga) and volleyball. If we could find more neutral sites, it would be great, but when you're using high schools, you're not going to find 10 neutral sites (for baseball)."
Eagleville will play Gordonsville (26-6) in the first round at 4 p.m. on May 19. The other two teams in that side of the bracket are defending state runner-up Coalfield (30-7) and Greenfield (25-6).
"It can be (less stressful)," said Bassham, on the advantage of not hosting vs. the perceived advantage of hosting. "Last year, I know there was one night at 9 or 10 p.m. we were pulling tarp and 7 a.m. we were taking it off. It takes a little pressure off the kids. Getting concession workers, gate workers ... a lot goes into hosting besides going out and playing."
Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Eagleville not hosting TSSAA baseball state tournament games
Continue reading...
