2026 CAC Baseball Championship Starts Wednesday
Five teams will begin postseason action by competing in the 2026 Continental Athletic Conference Baseball Championship starting Wednesday, April 29, at Georgia Gwinnett College's Grizzly Baseball Complex in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
The double-elimination tournament is scheduled to continue through Saturday, May 2. The champion receives the league's automatic bid to the Opening Round of the NAIA tournament.
The CAC tournament schedule is:
Wednesday, April 29
Game 1: No. 4 seed Simpson University (California) vs. No. 5 seed Carolina University (North Carolina), 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 2 seed Westcliff University (California) vs. No. 3 seed Florida National University, 3 p.m.
Game 3: No. 1 seed Georgia Gwinnett College vs. Winner of Game 1, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 30
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 11 a.m.
Game 5: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3, 3 p.m.
Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 1
Game 7: Loser of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 11 a.m.
Game 8: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 7, 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 2
Game 9: If necessary game between same two teams as Game 8, 11 a.m.
Georgia Gwinnett College (43-6) has won its last six conference tournament championships. The Grizzlies are coming off a three-game series sweep against CAC member Fisher College (Massachusetts) last weekend and had a 23-3 record at the Grizzly Baseball Complex during the regular season. Peyton Watts leads the team with a .442 batting average and Payton Fort has hit seven homers and collected 58 runs batted in. Trey Smith is tops on the team with nine home runs and 60 RBI. Pitcher Peyton Castellow stands 6-0 with a 2.64 earned run average and 80 strikeouts.
Westcliff (25-20) went 4-3 against fellow CAC competition during its first season in the conference. The Warriors are coming off a 5-2 loss to nationally ranked Hope International University (California) on April 14 and a 10-9 setback to University of La Sierra (California) last Wednesday. Ryan Duron paces the offensive attack with a .426 batting average, nine home runs and 57 RBI. Patrick Morgan has 17 doubles and hit eight homers. Jack Varney is hitting at a .354 clip with seven home runs and 10 doubles. Pitcher Cameron Witte has a 4-5 record, 4.19 ERA and 84 strikeouts. Daniel Vendl has two saves across 18 relief appearances.
Florida National (22-23) enters the postseason on a seven-game losing streak. Alejandro De Armas leads the Conquistadors with eight home runs and a .359 batting average. Christopher Rivera has driven in 34 runs and had 15 doubles. Abel Gutierrez is batting .314 and started 41 games this spring. Pitcher Antonio Guzman stands 4-2 with 41 strikeouts in eight starting mound assignments. Evan Dalmau has four saves in 14 relief appearances.
Simpson (24-24) swept a doubleheader against Nelson University (Arizona) on April 18. The Red Hawks went 3-4 against league members in their first season in the CAC. JJ Torrente anchors the offensive attack with a .382 batting average and scored 36 runs. Owen Hayes has 11 homers and 15 doubles. Cayden Lee is tops on the team with 43 RBI and has connected on nine home runs. Bo Valladao is 3-3 with 48 strikeouts across 10 pitching starts. He also hits at a .336 clip and had 14 doubles. Chandler Jones has five saves and 18 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.
Carolina (22-25) closed out the regular season with a 7-4 mark. The team went 6-4 against CAC opposition this spring. Chandler Smithart leads the Bruins with a .430 batting average, 48 RBI and 54 runs scored. Danny Gonzalez has hit 14 home runs and driven in 40 runs. Nathan Wesley has collected 42 RBI and is batting at a .396 clip. Pitcher Cameron Gribble is 5-2 with 50 strikeouts in 51.2 innings across seven starts. Jesean Brown has recorded 56 strikeouts and stands 4-4 in 11 appearances.