PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University baseball team has earned the No. 1 seed in the Central Regional and the Gorillas will host a four-team regional pod at Al Ortolani Field May 14-17.

Pitt State (43-9) will face No. 8 seed Arkansas Tech University (35-20) in its opening action Thursday (May 14) at 3 p.m. (CDT). ATU claimed the 2026 Great American Conference tournament crown. Fourth-seeded Northwest Missouri also will battle No. 6 seed Augustana College, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season and tournament champion, later in the day at 6 p.m.

Friday's action will start with a loser's bracket elimination game at 3 p.m., followed by the winner's bracket match-up at 6 p.m. On Saturday, loser's bracket action begins at 1 p.m. with the Sub-Regional Final to follow at 4 p.m. If necessary, a second Final will take place Sunday at 3 p.m.
 
The Gorillas are making the program's seventh trip to the NCAA-II National Tournament – their second straight appearance in the NCAA postseason after the 2025 squad claimed a Central Region crown and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals. Pitt State made three straight trips to the Central Regional from 1997-99 as well as berths in 2002 and 2018.
 
The Gorillas claimed the program's first ever MIAA Regular Season Championship earlier this season. Pitt State outscored its opposition 45-14 while sweeping through its MIAA competition in the 2026 MIAA Baseball Championship at Edmond, Okla., this past week. The Gorillas posted run-rule wins over the University of Central Oklahoma (13-2) Thursday, NWMSU (21-11) Friday and Emporia State University (11-1) Saturday in the tournament Final.
 
No. 2 seed Rogers State University, the MIAA regular season runner-up and a quarterfinal round exit from the postseason tournament, will serve as the host of a Claremore, Okla., regional pod. The Hillcats will match up against No. 7 seed Missouri Southern State University in opening-round action. No. 3 seed University of Central Missouri will face off against No. 6 seed Minnesota State University, the NSIC regular season and postseason tournament runner-up, in the other half of the bracket.
 
The winner of the Pittsburg and Claremore regional pods will advance to face one another in a best-of-three Super Regional Series, May 22-23, at the site of the highest advancing seed. The winner of the Super Regional will qualify for the eight-team 2026 Division II World Series to be played in Cary, N.C., at the USA Baseball Complex, May 30-June 6.

2026 NCAA Division II National Tournament
 
Central Regional, Pittsburg, Kan. Pod, May 14-17
No. 1 Pittsburg State (43-9) vs. No. 8 Arkansas Tech (35-20)
No. 4 Northwest Missouri (36-16) vs. No. 5 Augustana (41-13)

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Central Regional, Claremore, Okla. Pod, May 14-17
No. 2 Rogers State (38-13) vs. No. 7 Missouri Southern (33-17)
No. 3 Central Missouri (35-15) vs. No. 6 Minnesota State (40-14)

For Full Schedule, Click Here
 
Tickets
Day passes are $10 for adults and $5 for children (17 & under) and students from any of the participating schools with a valid college I.D.
 
The Record
Pitt State enters the NCAA Central Regional with a 43-9 overall record. The Gorillas captured the program's first ever MIAA Regular Season Championship and brought home the program's second all-time MIAA Postseason Tournament Championship last week after sweeping the MIAA competition at Edmond, Okla. Pitt State has won a program record 43 games after surpassing last season's benchmark 42-win campaign by defeating ESU in the MIAA Tournament Championship Game Sunday (May 10).
 
Pitt State is ranked No. 4 in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) NCAA Division II Top 25 poll (May 6) and No. 3 in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division II Top 30 poll released earlier today. The Gorillas have won 15 of their last 16 games. The Gorillas rose as high as No. 1 nationally in the baseball writer's poll for three weeks between Mar. 11 and Apr. 1.
 
Head Coach Brock Buckingham
Brock Buckingham has compiled a 43-9 record in his first season as head coach for the Gorillas. Buckingham became just the sixth head coach in the 47-year history of the Pitt State program on May 27, 2025. He replaced Bob Fornelli, who posted a 215-116 record in seven seasons (2019-2025) leading the Gorillas and an 1,120-495 overall mark in 29 years as a collegiate coach.
 
Buckingham came to Pitt State from Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kan., where he served as an assistant coach for 17 seasons (2005-06, 2011-25), including the previous six years as associate head coach for head coach Darren Burroughs. During his tenure, Buckingham helped the perennial powerhouse Tigers amass 720 victories, capture nine Jayhawk Conference East Division titles and qualify for the JUCO World Series five times. Cowley placed third overall in 2017 and finished as the national runner-up in 2022. The Tigers wrapped up the 2025 season with a 45-12 record.
 
Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas lead the MIAA in batting average (.358), scoring (11.5 rpg), runs (607), hits (638), home runs (79), RBI (560), slugging percentage (.576), bases on balls (352) and on-base percentage (.480). Pitt State leads NCAA Division II in on-base percentage, ranks second nationally in scoring, third in batting average, fourth in runs, sixth in slugging percentage, 11th in hits, 14^th in stolen bases (138) and 13^th in D2 in fielding percentage (.975).
 
Senior outfielder Dagen Brewer leads the MIAA in all three triple crown categories, batting .436 with 24 home runs and 101 RBI. He also leads the conference in slugging percentage (.976), on-base percentage (.575) and bases on balls (57).
 
Brewer has collected 78 hits, 21 doubles and 24 home runs, scored 80 runs and compiled a school and MIAA record 101 RBI. He leads D2 in RBI (1.94 pg) and slugging, ranks second nationally in home runs, third in on-base percentage, sixth in runs scored and ninth in batting average. Brewer needs four RBI to pass the all-time D2 record of 104 RBI set by Jarrod McAlvain of Central Oklahoma in 1997.
 
The Topeka native has twice been named NCAA Division II National Hitter of the Week this season. Brewer tied MIAA records with four HRs and 10 RBI in the Gorillas' 21-7 win over FHSU on Apr. 3. He set an MIAA record for consecutive games hitting streak at 37 games earlier this season. An NCAA Division II All-America selection at first base as a junior last year, Brewer was voted the 2026 MIAA Player of the Year and he was selected to the All-MIAA Tournament Team.
 
Junior outfielder Eric Bacon is hitting .403 with 82 runs scored, 15 doubles, four triples, seven home runs and 68 RBI. He leads the MIAA and ranks third in D2 in runs scored. Bacon also ranks second in the MIAA in hits (92) and ranks fifth in the conference in batting average. The Emory, Texas native was a first-team All-MIAA selection, an MIAA Gold Glove recipient and an MIAA All-Tournament selection.
 
Junior infielder Jadyn McNealy (.317, 62 runs, 47 SB) leads the MIAA and ranks third in D2 in stolen bases despite missing seven games due to injury. He set the PSU single season record with his 40^th stolen base vs. Rogers State on Apr. 26. The Tulsa native garnered first-team All-MIAA accolades and was tabbed to the MIAA All-Tournament Team.
 
Senior catcher Grant Nottlemann is batting .376 with 53 runs scored, 10 doubles, five home runs, 51 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Nottlemann (Lincoln, Neb.) ranks 12^th in the MIAA in batting average. Behind the plate, he has a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 217 total chances and he's thrown out eight of 17 would be base stealers on the year. Nottlemann was a first-team All-MIAA pick, an MIAA Gold Glove honoree and an MIAA All-Tournament selection.
 
Senior outfielder Isaac Webb is slashing .383/.454/.710 on the season. He has 60 runs scored, 17 doubles, five triples, 12 home runs, 79 RBI and 37 stolen bases to date. Webb (Collinsville, Okla.) became just the second Pitt State player in program history to hit for the cycle on Apr. 3. A second-team All-MIAA selection, Webb ranks second in the MIAA and sixth in D2 in RBI (1.61 pg), second in the league in stolen bases, fourth in the conference in slugging percentage and ninth in batting average. Webb was an All-Tournament Team pick.
 
Senior infielder Cooper Wesslund has a .391 batting average with 54 runs scored, 11 doubles, five home runs and 55 RBI in 45 games played. Wesslund (Lincoln, Neb.) ranks eights in the MIAA in batting average. He hit .727 (8-11) with four doubles and two home runs amongst his eight hits, with 11 runs scored and 14 RBI in three games to claim Most Valuable Player honors of the MIAA Postseason Tournament.
 
On the mound, graduate righthander Zach Voss is 11-2 on the season. Voss has a 3.99 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitched. The Iberia, Mo., native shares the MIAA lead and is tied with four others for No. 2 in D2 in victories. MIAA coaches named him to the second-team All-MIAA squad.
 
Junior righthander Bradyn McClure has a 5-0 record with a 3.72 ERA and four saves in 58.0 innings over 14 appearances (five starts). The Wichita native has posted a 2-0 record with a 3.99 ERA with four saves in nine relief outings this season; and McClure has registered a 3-0 record with a 3.45 ERA in his five starts. McClure was tabbed a third-team All-MIAA honoree and he garnered MIAA All-Tournament Team recognition.
 
Redshirt junior LHP Ty Blecha is 4-2 with a 4.68 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 50 innings of work over 15 appearances, including 10 starts. Blecha was named the D2 Central Region Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 25 after rolling a three-hit shutout in the Gorillas series clinching shutout win vs. UCO on Mar. 22.
 
Redshirt sophomore RHP Elijah Seitz is 4-1 with a 5.32 ERA in 13 appearances (six starts) on the season, while senior righthander Preston Giltner is 5-2 with a 5.51 ERA in 15 appearances (10 starts). Redshirt junior RHP Cason Long is 3-0 with a 2.94 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 33.2 innings of work.
 
Senior RHP Cooper Crouch (0-2, 4.15) has four saves in 16 appearances on the season, while junior RHP Ethan Froud is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA and one save in 13 relief outings and redshirt junior RHP Bradley Neill is 1-0 with a 5.18 ERA in 18 appearances. Senior righthander Ryan Leiker sports a 1-0 record with a 3.37 ERA in 12 relief outings.