The 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season was the 2026 college baseball season in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level. It began on February 13, 2026, with play progressed through the regular season, various conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball tournament and 2026 Men's College World Series (MCWS). The MCWS consisted of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA tournament and is held annually in Omaha, Nebraska at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. The LSU Tigers were the defending champions, but failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Conference realignment
One school transitioned from NCAA Division II to Division I after the 2025 season.
New Haven from the Division II Northeast-10 Conference. The school started a transition to Division I in July 2025 as a new member of the Northeast Conference.
A total of five baseball-sponsoring schools changed conferences after the 2025 season. Delaware and Missouri State joined Conference USA. Grand Canyon joined the Mountain West Conference. Seattle joined the West Coast Conference. UMass joined the Mid-American Conference.
One school dropped its program. Horizon League member Purdue Fort Wayne dropped baseball after the 2025 season.
One school reinstated its program.
Atlantic 10 Conference member La Salle reinstated its baseball program for the 2026 season.
The 2026 season is the last for 22 Division I schools in their current baseball conferences, as well as the last before West Florida starts its transition from Division II to Division I. It is also Oregon State's last as a Division I independent. This does not include the three baseball-sponsoring schools of the Western Athletic Conference that will remain members when that conference rebrands as the United Athletic Conference in July 2026.
School 2026 conference Future conference Austin Peay Atlantic Sun United Athletic California Baptist Western Athletic Big West Central Arkansas Atlantic Sun United Athletic Dallas Baptist CUSA Pac-12 Eastern Kentucky Atlantic Sun United Athletic Fresno State Mountain West Pac-12 Gonzaga West Coast Pac-12 Hawaii Big West Mountain West Little Rock Ohio Valley United Athletic Louisiana Tech CUSA Sun Belt North Alabama Atlantic Sun United Athletic Northern Illinois MAC Horizon Oregon State Independent Pac-12 Sacramento State Western Athletic Big West San Diego State Mountain West Pac-12 Tennessee Tech Ohio Valley Southern Texas State Sun Belt Pac-12 UC Davis Big West Mountain West Utah Tech Western Athletic Mountain West Utah Valley Western Athletic Big West Washington State Mountain West Pac-12 West Florida Gulf South (D-II) Atlantic Sun West Georgia Atlantic Sun United Athletic
Other news April 14 – Lehigh set a new Division I record for first-inning runs, scoring 20 against Coppin State on its way to a 38–6 win. The Mountain Hawks surpassed the previous record of 18 first-inning runs first set by Princeton in March 1974 and tied by Air Force the next month. Lehigh fell short of the record for runs in any inning, set the previous season by George Mason with 23 in the second inning against Holy Cross. Lehigh's 38 runs set a new single-game Patriot League record, and Mountain Hawks third baseman Aidan Quinn set a new Division I record by drawing 7 walks. May 27 – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced that it would adopt the new name of Metro Conference starting that July 1.
Season outlook
Perfect GameRankingTeam1LSU2Georgia Tech3Tennessee4Arkansas5UCLA6Mississippi State7Oregon State8Texas9Florida State10Auburn11TCU12Florida13Oregon14Virginia15Georgia16Louisville17Coastal Carolina18North Carolina19Vanderbilt20Clemson21UC Santa Barbara22NC State23Southern Miss24Miami (FL)25East CarolinaD1BaseballRankingTeam1UCLA2LSU3Texas4Mississippi State5Georgia Tech6Coastal Carolina7Arkansas8Louisville9Auburn10TCU11North Carolina12Oregon State13Florida14Tennessee15Georgia16Florida State17NC State18Kentucky19Clemson20Southern Miss21Wake Forest22Miami (FL)23Vanderbilt24Arizona25Texas A&M USA Today CoachesRankingTeam1LSU2UCLA3Texas4Georgia Tech5Arkansas6Mississippi State7Coastal Carolina8North Carolina9Auburn10TCU11Louisville12Oregon State13Georgia14Florida State15Tennessee16Florida17Clemson18Vanderbilt19NC State20Southern Miss21Miami (FL)22Virginia23Oregon24Arizona25Wake ForestBaseball AmericaRankingTeam1UCLA2LSU3Mississippi State4Georgia Tech5Auburn6Georgia7North Carolina8Texas9TCU10Arkansas11Coastal Carolina12Florida State13Tennessee14Virginia15Oregon State16Ole Miss17Vanderbilt18Louisville19Oklahoma20Clemson21West Virginia22Florida 23Southern Miss24East Carolina25Miami (FL)NCBWARankingTeam1LSU2UCLA3Texas4Georgia Tech5Arkansas6Mississippi State7Coastal Carolina8Auburn9TCU10Louisville11Oregon State12North Carolina13Georgia14Florida State15Tennessee16Florida17Clemson18Vanderbilt19NC State20Southern Miss21Kentucky22Miami (FL)23Arizona24Virginia25Wake Forest
Conference standings
Conference winners and tournaments Twenty–nine athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament or a double-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. ConferenceRegular Season WinnerConference Player of the YearConference Pitcher of the Year Conference Coach of the YearConference TournamentTournament Venue (City)Tournament WinnerAmerica East Conference Binghamton Ehi Okokie, UMBC Dylan Banner, Albany Tim Sinicki, Binghamton &Liam Bowen, UMBC 2026 America East Conference baseball tournament Baseball Complex • Vestal, NY BinghamtonAmerican Conference East Carolina & UTSA Drew Detlefsen, UTSA Conor Myles, UTSA Casey Dunn, UAB 2026 American Conference baseball tournament BayCare Ballpark • Clearwater, FL East CarolinaAtlantic 10 Conference Saint Joseph's Blake Primrose, Saint Joseph's Joey Giordano, Richmond Fritz Hamburg, Saint Joseph's 2026 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament Capital One Park • Tysons, VA VCUAtlantic Coast Conference Georgia Tech Tague Davis, Louisville Wes Mendes, Florida State James Ramsey, Georgia Tech 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament Truist Field • Charlotte, NC Georgia TechAtlantic Sun Conference Gold - & North AlabamaGraphite - North Florida Jon Embury, Florida Gulf Coast Evan Dempsey, Florida Gulf Coast Joe Mercadante, North Florida 2026 ASUN Conference baseball tournament Melching Field at Conrad Park • DeLand, FL LipscombBig 12 Conference Kansas Landon Hairston, Arizona State Maxx Yehl, West Virginia Dan Fitzgerald, Kansas 2026 Big 12 Conference baseball tournament Surprise Stadium • Surprise, AZ KansasBig East Conference St. John's, UConn, & Xavier Jackson Marshall, UConn Cayden Suchy, UConn St. John's 2026 Big East Conference baseball tournament Prasco Park • Mason, OH St. John'sBig South Conference High Point Seojun Oh, High Point Ty Brachbill, High Point Joey Hammond, High Point 2026 Big South Conference baseball tournament HomeTrust Park • Asheville, NC USC UpstateBig Ten Conference UCLA Roch Cholowsky, UCLA Mason Edwards, USC John Savage, UCLA 2026 Big Ten baseball tournament Charles Schwab Field Omaha • Omaha, NE UCLABig West Conference Cal Poly & UC Santa Barbara Paul Contreras, Cal State Fullerton &Ryan Tayman, Cal Poly Jackson Flora, UC Santa Barbara Andrew Checketts, UC Santa Barbara &Larry Lee, Cal Poly 2026 Big West Conference baseball tournament Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark • Irvine, CA Cal PolyCoastal Athletic Association Campbell Jamie Laskofski, William & Mary David Rossow, Campbell Chris Marx, Campbell 2026 Coastal Athletic Association baseball tournament Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC NortheasternConference USA Jacksonville State Tanner Marsh, Liberty Ben Blair, Liberty Steve Bieser, Jacksonville State 2026 Conference USA baseball tournament Mickey Dunn Stadium • Kennesaw, GA Jacksonville StateHorizon League Wright State Jake Paulick, Northern Kentucky Braden Gebhardt, Youngstown State Alex Sogard, Wright State 2026 Horizon League baseball tournament Regular season champion home stadium MilwaukeeIvy League Yale Mika Petersen, Brown Tate Evans, Yale Brown 2026 Ivy League baseball tournament Campus Sites YaleMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rider Matt Bucciero, Fairfield Ben Alekson, Fairfield Brian Murphy, Merrimack 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament Heritage Financial Park • Wappingers Falls, NY RiderMid-American Conference Miami (OH) Tommy Harrison, Miami (OH) Nathan Leininger, Toledo Brian Smiley, Miami (OH) 2026 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament ForeFront Field • Avon, OH Northern IllinoisMissouri Valley Conference UIC Carter Beck, Indiana State Andrew Evans, Southern Illinois Sean McDermott, UIC 2026 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament Johnny Reagan Field • Murray, KY UICMountain West Conference San Diego State Jake Jackson, San Diego State Nick Lewis, Washington State Kevin Vance, San Diego State 2026 Mountain West Conference baseball tournament Sloan Park • Mesa, AZ Washington StateNortheast Conference LIU Hunter Ray, Fairleigh Dickinson Nicholas Finarelli, LIU Manny Roman, Fairleigh Dickinson 2026 Northeast Conference baseball tournament Skylands Stadium • Augusta, NJ LIUOhio Valley Conference SIU Edwardsville Ryan Niedzwiedz, SIU Edwardsville &TJ Grines, UT Martin Bryce Riggs, Eastern Illinois Sean Lyons, SIU Edwardsville 2026 Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament Marion Stadium • Marion, IL Little RockPatriot League & CJ Egrie, Holy Cross Brady Bendik, Navy Bucknell 2026 Patriot League baseball tournament Campus Sites Holy Cross Southeastern Conference Georgia Daniel Jackson, Georgia Aidan King, Florida Wes Johnson, Georgia 2026 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL GeorgiaSouthern Conference Mercer Chris Katz, Mercer Alec Bouchard, Wofford Craig Gibson, Mercer 2026 Southern Conference baseball tournament Fluor Field at the West End • Greenville, SC The CitadelSouthland Conference Armani Raygoza, UT Rio Grande Valley Chris Olivier, Lamar Bobby Barbier, Southeastern Louisiana 2026 Southland Conference baseball tournament Campus Sites LamarSouthwestern Athletic Conference Bethune-Cookman Jose Fernandez, Bethune-Cookman Edwin Sanchez, Bethune-Cookman Jonathan Hernandez, Bethune-Cookman 2026 Southwestern Athletic Conference baseball tournament Rickwood Field • Birmingham, AL Alabama StateSummit League Makani Tanaka, Oral Roberts Jack Hill, Oral Roberts Ryan Folmar, Oral Roberts 2026 Summit League baseball tournament Siebert Field • Minneapolis, MN South Dakota StateSun Belt Conference Southern Miss Jimmy Janicki, Troy Grayden Harris, Southern Miss Christian Ostrander, Southern Miss 2026 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament Dabos Park • Montgomery, AL Southern MissWest Coast Conference Gonzaga Mikey Bell, Gonzaga Karsten Sweum, Gonzaga Mark Machtolf, Gonzaga 2026 West Coast Conference baseball tournament Scottsdale Stadium • Scottsdale, AZ Saint Mary'sWestern Athletic Conference Tarleton Chris Ramirez, California Baptist Michael Malki, California Baptist Fuller Smith, Tarleton State 2026 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament Hohokam Stadium • Mesa, AZ Tarleton
Award winners