SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University baseball team is the first edition of the 2026 NCAA Atlantic Region rankings released Wednesday. The NCAA regional rankings are annually used to determine the teams that qualify for the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships.
 
This is the first of three editions of the regional rankings before the announcement of the tournament field, which is set for Sunday, May 10. Each set of rankings includes all games played through the previous Sunday.
 
The Atlantic Region is comprised of 16 teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), 11 teams in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) and of independent schools Bluefield State, Salem and Virginia State (30 total teams).
 
Five of the eight regionally ranked teams are from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division: Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg, Millersville, Shippensburg and West Chester.
 
Following the completion of the regular season and conference tournaments, six teams from the Atlantic Region will advance to the 2026 NCAA Division II Baseball Championships. The Atlantic Region Championships will feature two automatic qualifiers – the tournament champions from the PSAC and the MEC – and four at-large selections.
 
Per the NCAA, teams will participate at each regional site in a double-elimination tournament. The Atlantic Region will feature two host sites of three teams each. The 16 teams advancing from regional competition will participate in a two-team, best-of-three super regional at eight sites.
 
Of note: the number of qualifiers per region varies. The Atlantic, East, South Central and West regions have six qualifiers, while the Central, Midwest, South and Southeast have eight (56 total qualifiers).
 
Overall, SU has made 23 NCAA Division II Baseball Championships appearances, including five under head coach Matt Jones (2023, 2017, 2013, 2008, 2007).
 
• More information about the NCAA regional championships, including selection criteria and more, can be found in the NCAA's Pre-Championship manual at https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/baseball/d2/2025-26D2MBA_PreChampsManual.pdf.