A major change is coming to college baseball. The NCAA Rules Subcommittee has reportedly approved the automated balls and strikes (ABS) system, Baseball America’s Jacob Rudner reported on Wednesday afternoon.
The approval comes after the SEC tested out the ABS system in its conference tournament this past season. According to Rudner, 56.2% of player challenges were successful during the SEC Tournament.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said before the SEC Tournament. “Just to be honest like SEC umpires, our guys have been great. I mean, they do a good job of, again, there’s so many systems and how you can look at. I mean, some of those guys are wildly talented and making sure they don’t call strikes out the strike zone. So it’ll be a good test. Will add another little bit of a coil into the conference tournament.”
It’s uncertain exactly how a NCAA wide ABS system would work. For one, it’s uncertain that every school obtains the equipment needed for the ABS system. According to On3’s Thomas Goldkamp, having access to Trackman — which the vast majority of power four programs do— is all that’s needed to use the ABS system.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball Transfer Commit Won’t Sign Professionally, Will Pitch For Vols Next Season
Each team could use three ABS challenges during the SEC Tournament with the team retaining its challenge if it was successful. The strike zone was also widened during the SEC Tournament. It’s unclear what the exact ABS rules across college baseball will be during the 2027 season.
The ABS is a new rule in Major League Baseball this season. When a pitcher, hitter or catcher tap their head, it indicates a challenge of a called ball or strike. The system then uses an automated strike zone to quickly determine whether the pitch was a ball or a strike.
The rule has been an early success in the MLB due to its quick nature, the drama it adds to games and the strategy around using them.
College baseball is looking to take the success in professional baseball to the amateur game. The inconsistency of umpires and the comparative immaturity of players could make the system all the more chaotic in the college game.
