DII Report: The first Field of 56 for 2023 DII baseball
What will the DII baseball bracket look like come May? Let's start projecting that now.
Welcome to the first Field of 56 of 2023. For those newer to DII baseball, you’re probably asking: What the hell is he talking about?
The DII baseball championship tournament is, like DII basketball, a battle of eight regions, with each regional champion battling for a spot in Cary, NC. However, since baseball is a different beast, there are only 56 teams in the bracket, unlike basketball’s 64 (or 68 if you like those lame-os in DI).
Hence, the Field of 56. Now, each year certain regions can differ in number, rotating from an eight-team field to a seven-team field. Those changes are based on membership numbers, so if new teams join DII or a conference disbands baseball (as the CIAA did a few years back), a region has to accommodate. That makes things confusing, but if you followed my Field of 56 projections last year, there were NO changes in 2023.
Lastly, this is not necessarily bracketology. What do I mean by that? The DII baseball bracket, like all DII sports, is built on pre-determined metrics and filled by the selection committee based on those. This certainly takes those metrics (in-region play, strength of schedule, wins against ranked opponents for example) into consideration but it doesn’t base it solely on that. This is more of a projection of how the field will look come May, not necessarily complying with how it looks metrically right now.
Before you jump in, you may want to check out my latest Power 10 rankings. These are the first since the preseason and came out today. You can catch them every Wednesday morning on NCAA.com moving forward. READ THE LATEST HERE.
Enjoy (and PLEASE consider supporting the DII Report financially HERE)!
The first Field of 56 for 2023 (Number = Number of teams in the bracket from each region)
Atlantic (7)
Millersville
East Stroudsburg
West Chester
Seton Hill
Cal (PA)
Slippery Rock
Mercyhurst
First out: Charleston (WV)
East (7)
SNHU
Franklin Pierce
Molloy
Southern Connecticut
Wilmington (DE)
Le Moyne
New Haven
First out: St. Thomas Aquinas
Central (8)
Southern Arkansas
Central Oklahoma
Arkansas Tech
Minnesota State
Missouri Southern State
Central Missouri
Augustana (SD)
Henderson State
First out: St. Cloud State
Midwest (7)
Illinois-Springfield
Quincy
Drury
UIndy
Ashland
Wayne State (MI)
Northwood
First out: Missouri S&T
South (8)
Tampa
Montevallo
Valdosta State
West Georgia
Florida Southern
Rollins
Albany State
West Florida
First out: Lee, Embry-Riddle (right now this is VERY close for me)
South Central (6)
Angelo State
MSU Denver
St. Edward’s
UT Tyler
Colorado Mesa
West Texas A&M
First out: Lubbock Christian (this region is so unfair with only six entries making it and soooo many good teams. Texas A&M-Kingsville is very strong early, so don’t sleep on the Javs).
Southeast (7)
North Greenville
Columbus State
Lenoir-Rhyne
Mount Olive
Wingate
UNC Pembroke
Newberry
First out: Belmont Abbey
West (6)
Point Loma
Cal State San Bernardino
Hawaii Hilo
Cal Poly Pomona
Azusa Pacific
Northwest Nazarene
First out: Cal State Monterey Bay (another very tough region, especially when you add in there are THREE conference champions getting in with an automatic bid, thus knocking a very deserving team. Watch out for Chico State and possible surprises from Stanislaus State and Sonoma State.)
Should be an even eight teams in each region, for a grand total of 64 teams for baseball, just like in men's and women's basketball and a few other sports.