2026 NCAA Baseball Committee Modifies Seeding Strategy: Top 32 Teams to Receive Designated Spots in Tournament Bracket
Expanded NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Introduces New Seeding Format
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has announced a revamped seeding format for the 2026 Division I Baseball season. Under this new system, the tournament will feature 64 teams competing in 16 different four-team regions, with the winners progressing to the Supers.
This expansion builds upon the previous 16-national seeds format, offering added clarity for schools on the cusp of garnering a top-16 seed and host bid during regional play. For instance, had the new system been in place last season, the Alabama Crimson Tide, with a strong national RPI ranking of No. 13 and an overall record of 33-22, would have been seeded as a No. 17 or No. 18 team. However, despite their strong performance, Alabama missed out on hosting a regional during the spring.
The selection committee will seed teams Nos. 1 through 32 for the 2026 season. Teams with the strongest records and overall RPI are often chosen as national seeds. Those outside of the top-16 national seeds will be grouped based on geographic significance and other factors. This process of grouping is already common in Division I soccer and volleyball postseason formats.
The new format also introduces a double-elimination format until the eight-team College World Series bracket is set. The best-of-three format for Super Regionals, which began at the CWS in 2003, will remain in place. Venue hosts for Supers are determined by overall seeding or the selection committee, considering factors like facilities, revenue, and hotel accommodations.
Last season saw a record-setting eight SEC teams securing national seeds. The winners of regional play move on to Supers, with the winners of the Super Regionals then meeting in the championship series. The tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1999, and with this change, schools who were on the cusp of garnering a top-18 seed and host bid during regional play will have added clarity.
However, as of now, there is no publicly available information about which university played the most baseball games in the 2025 season to qualify as a top-18 seeded team under the hypothetical new NCAA Division-I Baseball Selection Committee rules.
Despite missing out on hosting a regional last season, the Crimson Tide went 0-2 in the Hattiesburg Regional hosted by Southern Miss. With the new format, Alabama, like many other teams, will have a clearer understanding of their seeding and the path to the College World Series.
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