It is a single-elimination (since 2006) tournament and seeding is based on regular season records.

The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I softball tournament.

The tournament has been held since 1997, when the SEC began sponsoring softball.

In 1997 it was an eight-team, double-elimination tournament with byes for the top two seeds.

In 2013, with the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M into the SEC, the tournament moved to a ten-team, single-elimination tournament with the top 6 teams earning first round byes.