Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball finished the regular season 18th in the latest Mid-Major Power Rankings, as released by 11point7 (@11point7) and No. 25 in the Diamond Sports Rankings from D1Baseball and 6-4-3 Charts, heading into this week's Southern Conference Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases.
 
WCU was down from No. 11 in the May 10 Mid-Major Power Rankings and slipped to from No. 20 a week ago in the DSR poll despite posting a 3-1 weekly record and closing the regular season as the SoCon runner-up behind Mercer.
 
WCU is one of two SoCon teams ranked in the Mid-Major Power Rankings, with Mercer (43-13) leaping to No. 6 amidst its eight-game seasonal win streak to close the regular season. The Catamounts are just ahead of seasonal opponent East Carolina (33-21-1) at No. 19.
 
In the Diamond Sports Rankings, WCU opponents ranked included ECU (No. 5) and Mercer (No. 6), and Troy (No. 18). The Catamounts went 5-0 against teams they played currently in the mid-major tabulation.
 
Five Southern Conference teams remain among the national Top 100 in RPI, including No. 26 Mercer (3-0), No. 56 WCU, No. 61 The Citadel (1-2), No. 89 Samford (2-1), and No. 93 ETSU (2-1). Wofford, who WCU took 2-of-3 from, is just outside at 108. Other opponents on WCU's 2026 schedule among the RPI leaders include No. 14 Georgia (1-0), No. 18 Wake Forest (0-3), No. 45 East Carolina (1-0), No. 46 Troy (1-0), No. 90 Charlotte (0-2), No. 91 USC Upstate (0-2), No. 102 Winthrop (2-1), No. 104 Appalachian State (2-0), and No. 105 Morehead State (3-1).
 
Western Carolina (35-21, 14-7 SoCon)  makes its tournament debut on Thursday, May 21, in game six of the postseason classic, scheduled for the 12:30 p.m. game. The Catamounts have two byes, avoiding the first two single-elimination games scheduled for Wednesday, followed by the first two games in the double-elimination portion of the tournament on Wednesday evening.
 
WCU must wait until Wednesday night to learn its first-round opponent, as No. 6 ETSU and No. 7 UNCG meet in Game 2 at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday for the right to advance out of the single-elimination portion. That winner faces third-seeded Samford later that evening at 7:30 p.m., with the winner of that matchup advancing to face WCU.
 
Western Carolina's Catamount Club will host a special pregame Catamount Central event (click the event to register) just outside the stadium at Mac's Speed Shop (930 S. Main Street, Greenville, S.C. 29601). Each pregame event is scheduled 90 minutes before every game the Catamounts play in the tournament (excluding any games at 9 a.m.), with the first social scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 21.

Each game of the 2026 SoCon Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases, will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with free, live streaming audio available and live stats available through links online at CatamountSports.com. Every game will also be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with Saturday night's championship game slated to air on ESPNU (check local listings).
 
Tickets for the championship are available online here | SoCon Tournament Central
2026 SoCon Baseball Championship Schedule | Bracket (PDF)
Presented by Holston Gases
 
Wednesday | May 20 (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. – #5 The Citadel vs #8 VMI
12:30 p.m. – #6 ETSU vs. #7 UNC Greensboro   
4:00 p.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. #4 Wofford         
7:30 p.m. – Winner Game 2 vs. #3 Samford
 
Thursday | May 21 (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. – Winner G3 vs. #1 Mercer
12:30 p.m. – Winner G4 vs. #2 Western Carolina
4:00 p.m. – Loser G5 vs. Loser G3
7:30 p.m. – Loser G6 vs. Loser G4
 
Friday | May 22 (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. – Winner G5 vs. Winner G7
12:30 p.m. – Winner G6 vs. Winner G8
4:00 p.m. – If Necessary (Game 11)
7:30 p.m. – If Necessary (Game 12)
 
Saturday | May 23 (ESPNU)
7:30 p.m. – Championship Game
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).