HOUSTON — Tickets for the 18th annual Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, which will be held from March 2-4, 2018, are now on sale at Astros.com.

Louisiana-Lafayette is one of six teams in the three-day, nine-game tournament, which is held at Minute Maid Park every spring. The Ragin’ Cajuns will be joined by Houston, Sam Houston State and three Southeastern Conference teams — Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

All nine games over the weekend will pit a local university against an SEC opponent.

The 2018 field features five teams that finished ranked in the top 25 in the USA Today Coaches final 2017 poll, including Kentucky (No. 10), Mississippi State (No. 12), Vanderbilt (No. 16), Sam Houston State (No. 19) and Houston (No. 24). All five of those ranked teams played in the 2017 NCAA Regionals, with four teams advancing to Super Regionals in Kentucky, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Sam Houston State.

Historically, the College Classic has hosted the No. 1 team in preseason polls seven times in tournament history and has hosted two eventual College World Series Champions. Several current Major League players have played in the Classic, including Alex Bregman, David Price, Gerrit Cole, Mike Leake and Anthony Rendon.

Adult and youth daily tickets and three-day tournament passes are now available for purchase online at www.Astros.com/CollegeClassic. Fans can purchase premium tickets or group tickets, for groups of 20 or more, by calling 713-259-8030. Daily tickets purchased in advance are available for $19 for adults and $10 for youth (ages 14 and under). 

Three-day tournament passes can be purchased for $42 for adults and $24 for youth. Select parking in the Astros controlled lots will be sold for $10 (Lot A).

This year marks the third year that the tournament will carry the name the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, which was set forth by a multi-year naming rights agreement between the Astros Foundation and Shriners Hospitals for Children®. 

The Astros Foundation will continue to operate the tournament and will donate $1 from the sale of each ticket directly to Shriners Hospitals as well as provide other fundraising and awareness opportunities. 

The tournament’s television schedule will be announced at a later date.