The NCAA announced the 56 teams who will participate in the 2026 Baseball National Championship tournament on Sunday evening. The Rollins Tars were selected as the #3 seed in the South Regional, and will play this weekend at #2 Tampa. West Alabama (#6) and Trevecca Nazarene (#7) from the Gulf South Conference round out the bracket.
Participant Quick Facts
| School |
Location |
Conference |
Record |
vs. NCAA Tourney Teams |
SOS |
| #2 Tampa |
Tampa, Fla. |
Sunshine State |
41-8 |
6-1 |
33rd |
| #3 Rollins |
Winter Park, Fla. |
Sunshine State |
34-14 |
5-8 |
14th |
| #6 West Alabama |
Livingston, Ala. |
Gulf South |
34-15 |
7-7 |
38th |
| #7 Trevecca Nazarene |
Nashville, Tenn. |
Gulf South |
32-21 |
10-10 |
23rd |
Tampa is the two-time reigning National Champion, and are no strangers to hosting postseason play. They have won seven national titles in the Joe Urso era, with all of them coming in the last 20 years. Rollins last appeared in the NCAA playoffs in 2023 when they finished as the national runner-up. West Alabama was the #7 seed in last year's South Regional, losing each of their two contests. Trevecca Nazarene is making their first NCAA appearance in the South Region; they last made the NCAA tournament in the Midwest Region back in 2024.
Head Coach
| Name |
School |
Year at School |
School Record |
Career Record |
NCAA Appearances |
| Joe Urso |
Tampa |
26th |
1103-305-1 |
1103-305-1 |
25x; 2001-2019, 2021-25 |
| Jon Sjogren |
Rollins |
21st |
563-462-4 |
922-767-6 |
1998, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2022, 2023 |
| Eric DuBose |
West Alabama |
3rd |
86-66 |
86-66 |
2025 |
| Chase Sain |
Trevecca Nazaene |
6th |
192-120 |
192-120 |
2021, 2024 |
Joe Urso is arguably the most successful coach in Division II baseball history.
Jon Sjogren has 36 total years in D-II baseball between Bryant University and Rollins. Eric DuBose is a former first-round pick (1997) of the Oakland A's, and also played for Team USA at the 1996 Olympics. Chase Sain captured the Great Midwest Conference title and made an appearance in the College World Series in his first year at the helm of the Trojans in 2021.
Offense
| School |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
SB |
| Tampa |
.308 |
.429 |
.480 |
.909 |
1668 |
408 |
513 |
96 |
16 |
53 |
368 |
293 |
332 |
62 |
| Rollins |
.295 |
.408 |
.449 |
.857 |
1622 |
370 |
478 |
90 |
11 |
46 |
319 |
249 |
294 |
87 |
| West Alabama |
.292 |
.400 |
.430 |
.830 |
1578 |
326 |
461 |
68 |
10 |
43 |
286 |
227 |
284 |
70 |
| Trevecca Nazarene |
.300 |
.399 |
.484 |
.883 |
1739 |
366 |
522 |
96 |
13 |
66 |
334 |
227 |
375 |
51 |
The four teams match up pretty well across the board at the plate. Tampa has a number of big bats in their lineup, led by catcher Jhoander Irigoyen (.384/.462/.616, 10 HR) and second baseman Brayden Woodburn (.368 avg, 60 R).
Collin Hughes is the first Tar to hit over .400 in a season since Grant Ashline in 2016. He ranks 5th in the SSC in OPS with a 1.083 mark. Leadoff man
Joey Rubin has climbed the record books all year, now ranking Top 5 in games, runs, and hits. Rashad Robinson is the bopper for the Tigers, posting a .318/.445/.613 slash line with 106 total bases and 54 runs scored. Trevecca's Cade Martin has a whopping 1.311 OPS this year, helped by 29 XBH, 15 of which are home runs.
Pitching
| School |
G |
ERA |
WHIP |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
OppAVG |
HBP |
| Tampa |
49 |
2.89 |
1.17 |
430 |
368 |
160 |
138 |
135 |
427 |
.230 |
36 |
| Rollins |
48 |
3.82 |
1.32 |
419 |
388 |
215 |
178 |
167 |
352 |
.246 |
59 |
| West Alabama |
48 |
3.83 |
1.35 |
407 |
379 |
211 |
173 |
171 |
326 |
.251 |
46 |
| Trevecca Nazarene |
53 |
5.21 |
1.48 |
445.1 |
458 |
307 |
258 |
199 |
452 |
.264 |
55 |
Tampa boasts arguably the best trio of starting pitchers in D-II: BJ Bailey (12-0, 1.93 ERA), Robert Satin (10-2, 1.98 ERA), and John Luke Glanton (11-2, 2.89 ERA). Earlier this year against Rollins, the three arms combined to throw 26 of 27 innings in the series. The Tars won't blow you away with the strikeout, but they have three consistent arms in
Noah Greenseid,
Brett Dennis, and
Brody Meyers who have started 42 games combined. Greenseid has the best K:BB ratio (2.4:1), Dennis limits hitters to a .225 avg, and Meyers went a season-high eight innings vs. Tampa earlier this year. West Alabama is eerily similar to Rollins across the board. They are anchored by Blake Westry (8-1, 2.24 ERA), Colin Woodham (5-3, 3.03 ERA), and Baker Green (team high 69 IP). The Trojans rely on Logan Harrell (8-4, 3.17 ERA, 92 K) to set the tone. Their other starters, Spencer Wilkins and Jonah Smithson, both have season ERAs over 5.57. However, they rank 7th in the country in team strikeouts.
Defense
| Team |
Field % |
Chances |
Errors |
Opp. SB/Att |
CS% |
| Tampa |
.981 |
1795 |
34 |
36/43 |
16.3% |
| Rollins |
.970 |
1759 |
52 |
48/59 |
18.7% |
| West Alabama |
.971 |
1719 |
49 |
43/55 |
21.9% |
| Trevecca Nazarene |
.969 |
1885 |
58 |
69/86 |
19.8% |
The Spartans have the edge on team defense, averaging less than one error per game. However, teams have had success running on them when they are able to get on base. The Tars fielding percentage is solid, but they really turn up the glovework when runners are on base; Rollins has turned 39 double plays and one triple play this season. Again, West Alabama is pretty consistent with the Tars in each category. Teams love to run on Trevecca, successfully thieving 69 bags this season.
Schedule
1) THU May 14 1pm #7 Trevecca Nazarene vs. #2 Tampa
2) THU May 14 5pm #6 West Alabama vs. #3 Rollins
3) FRI May 15 1pm Loser #1 vs. Loser #2
4) FRI May 15 5pm Winner #1 vs. Winner #2
5) SAT May 16 1pm Winner #3 vs. Loser #4
6) SAT May 16 5pm Winner #5 vs. Winner #4
7) SUN May 17 1pm Rematch of Game #6 only if Winner #5 is victorious
Rollins Outlook
- The Tars fell flat when they hosted Tampa earlier this season, dropping all three games of the series (6-1, 6-1, 4-2). A handful of defensive miscues in each game cost Rollins dearly. However! Since managing only four runs in the three games, the Tar offense has been lights out. In the nine games that followed, Rollins went 7-2 while scoring 125 runs (13.9 per game).
- Rollins has lost eight in a row to the Spartans. However! When Rollins made it to the National Championship in Cary, NC in both 2022 and 2023, they defeated Tampa twice at their own place in each Regional. Will magic strike for the third time?
- Rollins has faced West Alabama six times in program history, going 5-1. The two teams have not met since 2013 when the Tars took two of three games and outscored the Tigers 19-7.
- Trevecca Nazarene has never had the privilege of facing Rollins baseball.
