The playoff field consists of 60 teams. Thirty-nine Pool A bids were awarded to conference automatic qualifiers (see 2024 Playoff Central). On May 13, the national selection committee released the two Pool B bids and 19 at-large bids and here are the 60 teams in the sixteen regionals. Each regional winner will play another in the super-regional round to determine the eight teams in the D-III World Series to be played over the first weekend in June.
Our preview of the 16 Regional Tournament:
Whitewater Regional
- Regional at UW-Whitewater: No. 5 UW-Whitewater vs. Crown; RV Centre vs. RV Cal Lutheran*
- Regional at UW-La Crosse: No. 15 UW-La Crosse vs. Bethel; No. 19 Benedictine vs. RV Coe
There are great things happening on the campus of UW-Whitewater as the Warhawks swept all the major WIAC awards. It looks like the Warhawks have a clear path to the super-regional round but Crown is peaking at the right time. While this is a truly regional matchup, it is the second game that has us intrigued. Centre is having a magical season and has shown that powerhouse teams do not scare them. Ben Prather has had a monster season at the plate and on the mound so expect the Colonels to lean on his talents if they can make it out of the regional. Cal Lutheran is the Cinderella here, even though their playoff resume is long and successful, as they were picked late in the round where at-large playoff bids were awarded.
We can be looking at a repeat last year where two WIAC teams squared off in the super-regional but the path for the UW-La Crosse Eagles will be tougher than for their southern WIAC rival. Bethel is a tough draw but it does not get any easier with the bottom of the regional. Playing at home should give UW-La Crosse the edge but it is Benedictine that we expect to emerge from a tough regional. You cannot count out Coe. The ARC is quietly proving to be a powerhouse conference and getting out Iowa with a title proves, your ready for the best teams in the nation.
Transylvania Regional
- Regional at Denison: No. 2 Denison vs. RV Hanover; No. 23 Rowan vs. RV Millikin
- Regional at Transylvania: RV Spalding vs. Beloit; RV Transylvania vs. RV Birmingham-Southern
It was a surprise to see the regional for this set of four team regionals to be set at Transylvania, especially as the host is a second seed, but Transylvania is placed in an advantageous spot geographically. They will first have to contend with Birmingham Southern's swan song of a season. The Panthers are playing their last games as the school is closing this summer. At the top of the fight card is Spalding and Beloit. The Golden Eagles made it two SLIAC titles in a row in what was once the domain of the Webster Gorloks. Spalding has a good top 1-2 on the mound but it gets shaky for a game three. The strategy has to be to win the first two games with finding enough pitching to get one more win to advance.
Denison is the favorite not just for the regional but for the super-regional if the Big Red plays both weekends. Hanover proved it was tough as they prevailed in three straight elimination games in the HCAC tournament. Rowan had all the promise of a super season in February but getting through a tough NJAC did not go as planned. That is all history, however, and the Profs will need a reset if they want to play in the super-regional. They draw a hungry Millikin team that plays well in all phases of the the game.
Case Western Reserve Regional
- Regional at Trinity (Texas): No. 13 Trinity (Texas) vs. No. 16 La Verne*
- Regional at Case Western Reserve: No. 7 Case Western Reserve vs. Alvernia; RV Ithaca vs. RV Lynchburg
Trinity (Texas) will host La Verne in a best of five series. La Verne is well seasoned as they were the regular season champs in a conference that provided four teams to the NCAA playoff field. Jackson Teel has been a stud pitcher for the Trinity Tigers and their No. 2, Joseph Chavana, has also had a lot of success. Look for Trinity to come out of the Regional for a trip to the Cleveland suburbs the following weekend.
Case Western Reserve is our pick to click this weekend but will have to get past a well coached Alvenia team. Their head coach, Yogi Lutz, has been leading the program since 1987 and is approaching 1000 wins for his career. Ithaca is a team that never quits and made it through a weekend where they won all three games by a single run, one in extra innings. They get the defending national champions. Lynchburg lost a lot of talent and their head coach last summer but won when they needed. While the Hornets don't boast the same pitching staff they had in 2023, they are a more well rounded team this year and knows the feeling of winning it all.
East Texas Baptist Regional
- Regional at Pomona-Pitzer: No. 12 Pomona-Pitzer vs. Willamette*
- Regional at East Texas Baptist: No. 4 East Texas Baptist vs. Centenary (La.), No. 25 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps* vs. Concordia-Texas
Willamette will take a flight to Southern California to take on the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. The Bearcats will being their bats as the team hit 45 home runs with Jeff Hoffman providing 12 off his own bat. We expect Pomona-Pitzer to get out of the best of five-game regional and board a plane for Marshall, Texas.
Quiet leadership is what you get at East Texas Baptist. Their head coach might not be the loudest voice in a crowd but his team is expected to be back into the DIII World Series at the beginning of June. Centenary (La.) is playing with house money and has nothing to lose so expect them to play loose and hungry for wins. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps will be looking to put a lot of balls out of the playing field as they bring in a team slugging percentage of .552. Concordia-Texas earned their right to be here with four straight wins on the same field they will play on this weekend and would like to make it five more in a row to earn both a regional and super-regional title.
Cortland Regional
- Regional at Babson: No. 9 Salisbury vs. Mass-Dartmouth; RV Babson vs. Mitchell
- Regional at Cortland: No, 8 Salve Regina vs. RV Colby; No. 21 Cortland vs. Washington & Jefferson
Salisbury plays a lot of their games at home but to make it back to yet another World Series, they will have to do it on the road. They are the top seed but will be playing on Babson's home turf. While all four teams have the team to go far in the post season it is Salisbury who we expect to take their bus to Cortland the following weekend.
In the regional being played on Wallace field, all four teams are evenly matched and will give the fans that show up a series of close contests. Salve Regina will be happy to only be driving a few hundred miles instead of last year where they made the nearly 500 mile trip to Lynchburg. Their opponent is a great story out of the NESCAC and the Mules will be looking for win No. 30 on the season here in Cortland, N.Y. If Cortland can shake off its surprising loss to SUNY New Paltz in the SUNYAC tournament, it should be playing both weekends at home.
Christopher Newport Regional
- Regional at Christopher Newport: No. 10 Christopher Newport vs. Immaculata; Scranton vs. No. 17 N.C. Wesleyan
- Regional at Misericodia(regional web site): No. 11 Misericordia vs. St. John Fisher; RV Middlebury vs. RV Keystone
Christopher Newport is having a fine season and it is in part due to the top of its rotation in Dylan Weber. This regional is in favor of the hosts but the three team they have to play will need to be at the top of their game to send the Captains faithful home disappointed.
Misericordia should be thinking of a date in Newport News, Virginia but first things first - get through their home regional. The Cougars have the same modus operandi as last year - play the speed game, pitch and field well. With five players with double-digit steals and 119 as a team, you have to keep Misericordia off the bases or you will come to misery. The rest of the field are all tournament champs and most are perennial winners of their conference tournament and enter this regional with as much experience as the hosts.
Johns Hopkins Regional
- Regional at Johns Hopkins: No. 6 Johns Hopkins vs. RV St. Joseph's (L.I.); No. 20 Arcadia vs. Ramapo
- Regional at Eastern Connecticut State (regional website): No 1. Endicott vs. Husson; No. 22 Eastern Connecticut State vs. RV SUNY New Paltz
Last year, Johns Hopkins head coach Bob Babb was high on his team returning to the D-III World Series and they have done everything they needed to do to set up the path to do just that. The balls will be flying out of Stromberg Stadium and with a 17-5 record at home, the path is clear to the Blue Jays. They will first have to get past St. Joseph's (L.I.) who knows how to string together wins as they did for a season high 19-game win streak. Arcadia is a solid team and will want to prove that their performance in the MAC Freedom conference finals was a fluke. Ramapo will bring plenty of experience in the team and coaching staff so they should not be taken lightly.
If Endicott does not pass muster here in the regional at Eastern Connecticut State, it will surprise most of us watching D-III baseball all year long. They have been the most consistent team all year and has earned its No. 1 ranking in the national polls. Husson will want nothing more than to knock the Gulls of their perch and ECSU can win any day of the week. The host Warriors draw a surprising SUNY New Palyz team that shocked Cortland on the final day of the SUNYAC tournament to earn their spot.
Penn State Harrisburg Regional
- Regional at Penn State-Harrisburg: No. 14 Penn State-Harrisburg vs. Bridgewater State; No. 24 Randolph-Macon vs. Elizabethtown
- Regional at Baldwin Wallace: No. 3 Baldwin Wallace vs. Penn State-Behrend; RV Catholic vs. Adrian
Penn State Harrisburg is coming in to their regional with a loss in the conference tourney but so does second seeded Randolph-Macon. Both should look to righting the ship and either could be spending another week in Pennsylvania's capital city.
Baldwin Wallace was a surprise entry in the 2022 DIII World Series but when they repeated in 2023, you could smell dynasty. Head coach Brian Harrison would like nothing more than to provide his hometown fans a short trip to Eastlake, Ohio in three weeks time. Catholic fans would like nothing more than to see Ross Natoli get another shot at a national title or the Adrian fans for Craig Rainey. Both coaches celebrated their 800th win in their careers earlier this season and a national title will cap a long successful career guiding young men through their college years.