The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team climbed one spot to No. 4 in this week's NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings.

The Bearcats are 35-15 overall and went 25-11 in MIAA play for second-year head coach Tony Jandron. Northwest tied a school record with 25 MIAA wins. Northwest will be in action this week at the 2026 MIAA Baseball Tournament. The Bearcats will take on Central Missouri in the first MIAA quarterfinal set for Thursday at 10 a.m.

The NCAA championship provides for a field of 64 teams. Four teams will participate at each of 16 regional sites in a double elimination tournament. The 16 teams advancing from regional competition will participate in a two-team, best-of-three super regional at eight sites. The finals will include the eight super regional winners. The national champion will be determined in a best-of-three final series. 

The top eight teams in the Central Region will be selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament. Automatic bids will be given to the champions of the MIAA, GAC and NSIC. The other five spots will be filled by at-large selections. The 2026 NCAA Regionals will be played May 14-17.

The 2026 NCAA Div. II Baseball Selection Show is set for Sunday at 9 p.m. (CT) and will be broadcast on NCAA.com.

NCAA DIVISION II BASEBALL CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS (MAY 6, 2026)

Rank	School	D-II Record	In-Region Record
1	Pittsburg State	40-9	40-9
2	Rogers State	38-12	38-12
3	Central Missouri	34-14	33-13
4	Northwest Missouri State	35-15	32-14
5	Missouri Southern	33-16	33-16
6	Minnesota State	37-12	33-9
7	Univ. of Mary	34-16	33-13
8	Augustana, S.D.	37-13	37-12
9	Emporia State	35-15	31-15
10	Arkansas Tech	33-20	32-18