The Road to Cary is officially complete. Two teams remained in contention at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina to play for the DII baseball national championship, with Colorado Mesa and Tampa facing off in Saturday's championship series starting at 2:30 p.m. ET. Tampa ultimately won the DII title. Here's your look at the 2019 NCAA Division II baseball championship finals bracket. You can print your bracket by clicking here.
FOLLOW LIVE FROM FIRST PITCH TO THE FINAL OUT: Schedule, scores, and live updates from Cary
Here's a look at how each of the teams earned their spot in Cary:
Here's everything you need to know about the 2019 DII baseball championship.
2019 Baseball Championship: Schedule, streaming info
2019 Baseball Championship: Important dates
| Event | Date | Time (ET) | How to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| First regional rankings | April 24 | TBD | View on krikya18.com |
| Selection show | May 12 | 10 p.m. | WATCH IT AGAIN |
| Regional play | May 16-18 | TBD | RECAP |
| Super Regional play | May 24-25 | TBD | RECAP |
| Finals | June 1-8 | TBD | RECAP |
How the selection process works
The 2019 DII baseball tournament will follow a new format this year, but we'll get to that in just a bit. First, we need to know how the teams get selected into the tournament.
TOURNAMENT WATCH: Five storylines, predictions from Super Regionals
The DII baseball selection committee will release its first of three weekly regional rankings beginning Wednesday, April 24. These will reveal the top teams in each of the eight regions. This gives us an idea of who may be heading to the tournament come May, but nothing is final until the last at bat of the conference tournaments.
Of the 56 teams, the 23 conference tournament champions will receive an automatic bid to the tournament. That leaves the selection committee the unenviable task of picking the remaining 33 teams to fill out the bracket. How do they make these selections? First off, to earn a bid, the team must have a .500 record or better and have played at least 24 games. If the program meets that criteria, the committee takes a look at a wide array of aspects, including, but not limited to:
- In-Region winning percentage
- DII winning percentage
- DII strength of schedule
- DII head-to-head competition
- Results versus common DII opponents
- Results against teams with a .500 record or better
- Results against ranked DII opponents
- Road record
Come the selection show, the field is set. And that's when the fun begins.
DII Baseball Championship: How the tournament works
The 2019 DII baseball championship will look a lot more like the Division I tournament and College World Series than in years past. There is now the added Super Regional round to add more excitement on the Road to Cary. Once the 56 teams are selected, teams will participate in double-elimination regional tournaments at 16 different sites played at one host institution. These regional tournaments will be broken down into two mini-brackets of three or four teams, depending on the region. Here's a look at how each of the regional tournaments will be broken down:
| REGION | REGIONAL BIDS |
|---|---|
| Atlantic | 6 (two, 3-team regional sites) |
| South Central | 6 (two, 3-team regional sites) |
| Southeast | 6 (two, 3-team regional sites) |
| West | 6 (two, 3-team regional sites) |
| Central | 8 (two, 4-team regional sites) |
| East | 8 (two, 4-team regional sites) |
| Midwest | 8 (two, 4-team regional sites) |
| South | 8 (two, 4-team regional sites) |
If you're curious about how the three and four-team brackets will look, you can click below, and even print it up.
New to the 2019 DII baseball championship is the Super Regional round. Once the 16 teams advance, they will move on to eight Super Regionals, where two teams will battle in a best-of-three series at one host site.
The eight winners will head to the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina for the DII baseball championship finals. There, the eight remaining teams will earn a seed and be split into two, four-team brackets. A double elimination tournament begins, in which the final two teams standing will play on June 8 for the national championship. If both teams enter undefeated, we get extra baseball and play until one team has two losses. You can take a look at and print that finals bracket by clicking here.
DII Baseball Championship: History
Augustana (SD) was the 2018 national champion while Tampa won the 2019 title. This was the 10th national championship decided in Cary.
ALL-TIME WINNERS: Here's a list of the DII programs with the most titles
Here's a look at the complete championship history of the DII baseball tournament:
| YEAR | CHAMPION (RECORD) | COACH | SCORE | RUNNER-UP | SITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Tampa | Joe Urso | 3-1 | Colorado Mesa | Cary, N.C. |
| 2018 | *Augustana (SD) (52-9) | Tim Huber | 3-2 | Columbus State | Cary, N.C. |
| 2017 | *West Chester (44-11) | Jad Prachniak | 5-2 | UC San Diego | Grand Prairie, Texas |
| 2016 | *Nova Southeastern (44-16) | Greg Brown | 8-6 | Millersville | Cary, N.C. |
| 2015 | Tampa (43-13) | Joe Urso | 3-1 | Catawba | Cary, N.C. |
| 2014 | Southern Indiana (49-13) | Tracy Archuleta | 3-2 (12) | Colorado Mesa | Cary, N.C. |
| 2013 | Tampa (47-12) | Joe Urso | 8-2 | Minn. St.-Mankato | Cary, N.C. |
| 2012 | West Chester (46-10) | Jad Prachniak | 9-0 | Delta State | Cary, N.C. |
| 2011 | West Florida (52-9) | Mike Jeffcoat | 12-2 | Winona State | Cary, N.C. |
| 2010 | Southern Indiana (52-14) | Tracy Archuleta | 6-4 | UC San Diego | Cary, N.C. |
| 2009 | Lynn (46-16) | Rudy Garbalosa | 2-1 | Emporia State | Cary, N.C. |
| 2008 | *Mount Olive (58-6) | Carl Lancaster | 6-2 | Ouachita Baptist | Sauget, Ill. |
| 2007 | *Tampa (53-10) | Joe Urso | 7-2 | Columbus State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 2006 | *Tampa (54-6) | Joe Urso | 3-2 (12) | Chico State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 2005 | Florida Southern (51-11) | Pete Meyer | 12-9 | North Florida | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 2004 | Delta State (54-11) | Mike Kinnison | 12-8 | Grand Valley State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 2003 | Central Missouri (51-7 | Brad Hill | 11-4 | Tampa | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 2002 | Columbus State (48-15) | Greg Appleton | 5-3 | Chico State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 2001 | St. Mary's (Texas) (50-13) | Charlie Migl | 11-3 | Central Missouri | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 2000 | *Southeastern Oklahoma (43-12) | Mike Metheny | 7-2 | Fort Hays State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1999 | Chico State (50-17) | Lindsay Meggs | 11-5 | Kennesaw State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1998 | *Tampa (46-14) | Terry Rupp | 6-1 | Kennesaw State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1997 | *Chico State (52-11) | Lindsay Meggs | 13-12 | Central Oklahoma | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1996 | *Kennesaw State (48-17) | Mike Sansing | 4-0 | St. Joseph's (Ind.) | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1995 | *Florida Southern (51-10) | Chuck Anderson | 15-0 | Georiga College | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1994 | Central Missouri (51-11) | Dave Van Horn | 14-9 | Florida Southern | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1993 | *Tampa (43-21) | Lelo Prado | 7-5 | #Cal Poly | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1992 | Tampa (42-19) | Lelo Prado | 11-8 | Mansfield | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1991 | Jacksonville State (41-12) | Rudy Abbott | 20-4 | Missouri Southern State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1990 | Jacksonville State (43-9) | Rudy Abbott | 12-8 | Cal State Northridge | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1989 | #Cal Poly (38-25) | Steve McFarland | 9-5 | New Haven | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1988 | *Florida Southern (48-10) | Chuck Anderson | 5-4 (10) | Cal State Sacramento | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1987 | *Troy (38-10-1) | Chase Riddle | 7-5 | Tampa | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1986 | Troy (46-8) | Chase Riddle | 5-0 | Columbus State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1985 | *Florida Southern (48-10) | Chuck Anderson | 15-5 | Cal Poly Pomona | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1984 | Cal State Northridge (46-21-1) | Bib Hiegert | 10-5 | Florida Southern | Riverside, Calif. |
| 1983 | *Cal Poly Pomona (41-22) | John Scolinos | 9-7 | Jacksonville State | Riverside, Calif. |
| 1982 | *UC Riverside (36-23) | Jack Smitheran | 10-1 | Florida Southern | Riverside, Calif. |
| 1981 | *Florida Southern (55-8) | Joe Arnold | 9-0 | Eastern Illinois | Riverside, Calif. |
| 1980 | *Cal Poly Pomona (42-25-1) | John Scolinos | 13-6 | New Haven | Riverside, Calif. |
| 1979 | Valdosta State (47-14) | Tommy Thomas | 3-2 | Florida Southern | Springfield, Ill. |
| 1978 | Florida Southern (41-8) | Joe Arnold | 7-2 | Delta State | Springfield, Ill. |
| 1977 | UC Riverside (43-19) | Jack Smitheran | 4-1 | Eckerd | Springfield, Ill. |
| 1976 | Cal Poly Pomona (40-27-1) | John Scolinos | 17-3 | SIU-Edwardsville | Springfield, Ill. |
| 1975 | Florida Southern (35-10) | Hal Smeltzly | 10-7 | Marietta | Springfield, Ill. |
| 1974 | UC Irvine (48-8) | Gary Adams | 14-1 | New Orleans | Springfield, Ill. |
| 1973 | *UC Irvine (44-12) | Gary Adams | 9-6 | Ithaca | Springfield, Ill. |
| 1972 | Florida Southern (31-6) | Hal Smeltzly | 5-1 | Cal State Northridge | Springfield, Ill. |
| 1971 | Florida Southern (34-4) | Hal Smeltzly | 4-0 | Central Michigan | Springfield, Mo. |
| 1970 | Cal State Northridge (41-21) | Bob Hiegert | 2-1 | Nicholls State | Springfield, Mo. |
| 1969 | *Illinois State (33-5) | Duffy Bass | 12-0 | Missouri State | Springfield, Mo. |
| 1968 | *Chapman (35-18) | Paul Deese | 11-0 | Delta State | Springfield, Mo. |
*Indicates undefeated teams in final series
#Participation vacated by the krikya18.committee on Infractions
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