Betts: 38 Canadians competing in NCAA baseball tournament
Grand River Flying Squirrels grad Jackson Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) will pitch out of the bullpen for the Kentucky Wildcats at the 2026 NCAA Baseball tournament. Photo: Instagram
May 28, 2026
By Matt Betts
Canadian Baseball Network
The field for the NCAA Baseball Tournament is set.
How many Canadians are competing, you ask? There’s 36 players and two coaches across 19 teams.
That’s up from 35 in 2025 but down from 51 in 2024.
Let’s break down, by regional, which Canucks will play where.
Morgantown Regional
West Virginia Mountaineers (39-14)
Infielder Tyrus Hall (Victoria, BC) and right-handed pitcher Ben Goodacre (Ancaster, Ont.) have the luxury of hosting after the Mountaineers neared 40 wins.
Hall was an instrumental piece of head coach Steve Sabins offence, hitting .269 with five home runs, an .801 OPS and 16 stolen bases.
Goodacre didn’t see action this season.
West Virginia is joined by Wake Forest, Kentucky and Binghamton in Morgantown.
Game 1: vs. Binghamton on Friday
Kentucky Wildcats (31-21)
The selection committee believed the Wildcats did enough to get in despite finishing 10 games over .500 and bowing out of the Southeastern Conference tournament after one game.
Like West Virginia, Kentucky has two Canadians.
Left-handed pitcher Jackson Soucie (Cambridge, Ont.) made 21 appearances out of the bullpen and posted a 3.24 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings.
Infielder Maxime Boies (Levis, Que.) didn’t see action this season.
Game 1: vs. Wake Forest on Friday
Hattiesburg Regional
Jacksonville State Gamecocks (46-13)
The Gamecocks swept their way through the Conference USA tournament to earn an automatic bid.
Infielder and outfielder Greg LaChance (Whitby, Ont.), a transfer from Illinois, played in 35 games, starting 23. He hit .241 with a .649 OPS.
Right-handed pitcher James Wilson (Toronto, Ont.) made six appearances, five of which were starts, with a 10.05 ERA over 14 1/3 innings.
Jacksonville State goes up against host Southern Miss, Virginia and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Game 1: vs. Virginia on Friday
Arkansas Little Rock Trojans (36-26)
Three Canadians helped the Trojans win the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.
Infielder Blake Simpson (Toronto, Ont.) hit .327 with an .860 OPS in 36 games.
Outfielder Austin Coyle (Kamloops, BC) played in 28 games and put up a .167 average and 1.000 fielding percentage.
Outfielder David Stanley (Toronto, Ont.) also hit .167 but in just eight games.
Game 1: vs. Southern Miss on Friday
Gainesville Regional
Florida Gators (39-19)
Top 2027 Major League Baseball draft prospect Brendan Lawson (Toronto, Ont.) leads the Gators on their home field.
Lawson started all 52 games with a .308 average, 16 home runs, a 1.196 OPS and 16 stolen bases.
The Gators welcome Miami, Troy and Rider to The Swamp.
Game 1: vs. Rider on Friday
Troy (32-29)
Troy cracks the field with an at-large bid.
Right-hander Matteo Pare (LaSalle, Ont.) appeared in three games and posted a 27.00 ERA.
Game 1: vs. Miami on Friday
Chapel Hill Regional
Virginia Commonwealth Rams (37-23)
The Rams captured their fourth Atlantic 10 title since 2021.
Infielder Nate Kirkpatrick (Surrey, BC) powered the offence with a .308 average, nine home runs and a .890 OPS in 60 games.
Right-hander Nick Frers (North Vancouver, BC) made 16 appearances, five starts, with a 1-3 record and 6.27 ERA. He fanned 31 in 33 innings.
Former Rams southpaw Campbell Ellis (Georgetown, Ont.) is the program’s director of pitching development.
VCU will see host North Carolina, Tennessee and East Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Game 1: vs. North Carolina on Friday
College Station Regional
Texas State Bobcats (36-24)
Kyle Froehlich (Nipawin, Sask.) has appeared in 21 games, nine being starts. He’s 4-2 with a 4.73 ERA and 63 punch outs in 59 innings.
The Bobcats, host Texas A&M, Southern California and Lamar make up the regional.
Game 1: vs. Southern California on Friday
Lincoln Regional
Nebraska Cornhuskers (42-15)
A 42-win season so far earned Nebraska the right to host, despite not winning the Big 10 Conference tournament.
Southpaw Caleb Clarke (Orillia, Ont.) is 2-2 with a 6.86 ERA in 22 relief appearances. He’s struck out 23 in 19 2/3 innings.
Ole Miss, Arizona State and South Dakota State round out the regional.
Game 1: vs. South Dakota State on Friday
Atlanta Regional
Oklahoma Sooners (32-21)
The Sooners head to Georgia as the No. 2 seed in the regional.
Catcher Deiten Lachance (Sherbrooke, Que.) has had one of the best seasons of any Canadian in Division I baseball. Through 52 games, he’s hitting .335 with 12 home runs, 51 RBIs and a 1.029 OPS. His slugging percentage is .612.
Host Georgia Tech, The Citadel and the University of Illinois Chicago are the other three teams in the regional.
Game 1: The Citadel on Friday
Lawrence Regional
Kansas Jayhawks (42-16)
Kansas has been one of the top teams in college baseball and is fresh off winning the Big 12 tournament.
Outfielder and catcher Jordan Bach (Ladner, BC) has been a big part of it, hitting .295 with seven home runs, 43 RBIs and an .893 OPS.
Kansas welcomes Arkansas, Missouri State and Northeastern.
Game 1: vs. Northeastern on Friday
Missouri State (34-19)
Head coach Joey Hawkins (Whitby, Ont.) leads the Bears back to a regional.
Infielder and outfielder Taeg Gollert (Toronto, Ont.) is hitting .254 with 16 home runs and 64 RBIs through 53 games. He’s fielded 1.000.
Right-hander Owen Slater (Brooklin, Ont.) has made 15 appearances, 12 starts, and is 4-3 with a 6.95 ERA in 55 2/3 innings.
Left-hander Sam Maclaughlin (Toronto, Ont.) has a 5.66 ERA in 10 appearances.
Right-handed pitcher and infielder Adyn Schell (Toronto, Ont.) has made 15 appearances on the mound. Over 15 1/3 innings, he’s put together an 8.22 ERA with 14 strike outs. He’s also played in four games as a position player.
Right-hander Michael Yusypchuk (Edmonton, Alta.) is 2-1 with a 7.30 ERA in seven appearances, five starts.
Game 1: vs. Arkansas on Friday
Tallahassee Regional
St. John’s Red Storm (33-24)
The Red Storm stormed away with the Big East tournament championship.
Left-hander Carter Wall (Oakville, Ont.) has made 10 appearances this season with a 10.38 ERA.
Catcher Declan Spooner (Vancouver, BC) is hitting .200 over five games.
Host Florida State, Coastal Carolina and Northern Illinois complete the regional.
Game 1: vs. Florida State
Tuscaloosa Regional
Oklahoma State Cowboys (37-20)
The Cowboys have a pair of Canadian right-handers.
Kai Fyke (Langley, BC) owns a 7.15 ERA in 39 innings.
Matthew Brown (Carlisle, Ont.) hasn’t seen action.
Host Alabama, USC Upstate and Alabama State take to the field in Tsucaloosa.
Game 1: vs. USC Upstate on Friday
USC Upstate (33-28)
The Spartans have momentum heading into the regional after winning the Big South Conference.
Infielder and outfielder Wylie Waters (Vancouver, BC) has played in 55 games and put up a .320 average, 12 home runs, 50 RBIs and a .906 OPS.
Right-hander Reece Hemmerling (Beaumont, Alta.) carries 16 appearances, including four starts, into the tournament. He’s 1-3 with a 4.75 ERA in 36 innings.
Game 1: vs. Oklahoma State on Friday
Eugene Regional
Washington State Cougars (30-26)
The Cougars have received plenty of production out of their Canucks.
Infielder Gavin Roy (Sudbury, Ont.) leads the team with a .372 average to go along with a .954 OPS and 100 total bases.
Outfielder Max Hartman (St. Albert, Alta.) is hitting .338 in 56 games. He also has a .992 OPS and is 18-for-21 in stolen base attempts.
Catcher Alexandre Giguère (Levis, Que.) has a .261 average and .989 OPS in 29 games, while fellow catcher Cam Macleod (Vancouver, BC) owns a .198 average and .665 OPS over 35 games.
Right-handed pitcher Scott Rienguette (Sudbury, Ont.) has thrown 29 innings across 19 appearances with a 5.28 ERA and 31 strikeouts.
Washington State will go up against host Oregon, Oregon State and Yale.
Game 1: vs. Oregon State on Friday
Starkville Regional
Mississippi State Bulldogs (40-17)
Left-hander Dane Burns (Regina, Sask.) has 26 appearances, a 3.32 ERA, 31 strikeouts and one saves in 21.1 innings for the host Bulldogs.
Cincinnati, Louisiana and Lipscomb make up the rest of the regional.
Game 1: vs. Lipscomb on Friday
Cincinnati Bearcats (37-20)
Right-hander Logan Knight (London, Ont.) is a transfer from North Dakota State, where he pitched in a regional in 2025.
This season, he’s 4-4 with a 4.99 ERA in 15 appearances, 13 being starts.
Game 1: vs. Louisiana on Friday
Athens Regional
Long Island Sharks (30-20)
The Sharks earned a berth by winning the Northeast Conference tournament.
Right-hander Owen Luchies (Victoria, BC) has made 13 appearances and one start. He’s 1-0 with a 8.36 ERA.
The Sharks will swim with host Georgia, Boston College and Liberty.
Game 1: vs. Georgia on Friday