The 2026 DII baseball championship throws its first pitch on Thursday, May 14. Fifty-six teams have their sights set on one common goal: survive and advance, culminating in a trip to Cary, North Carolina, for the DII baseball finals.
I made some predictions to try and guess which eight teams will make it to Cary. Before we take a look at each region, you may want to take a look back to the preseason, and see how different my “8 for Cary” was.
Atlantic Region: The pick here is West Chester, but it won’t be easy with four teams ranked in the top 20 of DII in KPI. Julian Costa leads the PSAC’s top pitching staff, but Seton Hill has a pair of aces and scores the most runs, while Millersville just beat East Stroudsburg, Seton Hill and West Chester in three consecutive days to win yet another PSAC title.
Central Region: Central Missouri has reached the DII baseball finals two years in a row, but it may be Pittsburg State’s year in 2026. The Gorillas have a pair of star hitters in Dagen Brewer and Eric Bacon, and the second-best pitching staff in a loaded MIAA. You also want to watch Augustana (SD), and of course, you always need to watch the Mules in May.
East Region: Molloy has come close, making the tournament in four of the past five seasons, but still haven’t advanced to Cary. The Lions are one of three teams that have a real chance to advance, but I am going with ol’ reliable. Southern New Hampshire made Cary its home for four-straight seasons until missing the tournament altogether last year. Now that the Penmen are back, they are my pick. Bentley and Molloy are not going to make it easy though.
Midwest Region: Welcome to the land where anything can happen here. We had two teams (UMSL and Kentucky Wesleyan) steal two bids, knocking Findlay and Ashland from the tournament, and that is par for the course here. Over the last 10 tournaments, eight different teams have won the Midwest Region. Way back in January, I predicted that Grand Valley State would win the Midwest Region, and five months later nothing has changed.
South Region: The two-time defending champion Tampa Spartans aren’t even the No. 1 seed. That belongs to West Florida, which is a threat here. But let’s face reality. This is Tampa’s region to lose until it doesn’t. I don’t know if there is a “sleeper” in a region that has seven of the best teams in DII baseball, but what Lee did to close the season—with wins over North Georgia, West Florida, Young Harris, West Alabama, and Trevecca Nazarene—is quite an impressive feat.
Southeast Region. Everyone is a contender here. These are eight of the best teams in the country, and North Greenville, Catawba, and Wingate have all been very successful in Cary over the past five seasons. I am going with the Trailblazers. They were my preseason pick, have two solid arms at the front of their rotation and two of the best hitters in DII in the heart of their lineup.
South Central Region: Four of the six teams here are very familiar with each other, all hailing from the Lone Star Conference, but it is an RMAC team I have winning. Colorado Mesa and Angelo State have a nice little South Central rivalry; over the last 10 tournaments, either Angelo State or Colorado Mesa has advanced to Cary eight of those times. The Mavericks had a 41-game DII winning streak earlier this season. It seems like it’s their turn.
West Region: Ah, the Wild West. We had Cal State San Bernardino steal a bid with an impressive run to the CCAA championship, but this has looked like a two-horse (or sea animal) race since opening day. Cal State Monterey Bay was my preseason pick, and the Otters and Point Loma have been two of the best in DII all season. The two opened the season against each other, and Cal State Monterey Bay won, so you can be sure Point Loma is itching for a rematch.
