NCAA D2 Baseball Bracket

Indianapolis, Ind.----The NCAA released the Division II baseball tournament field Sunday night, with the Wingate University Bulldogs earning the number three seed in the Southeast Region. Wingate will face sixth-seeded Young Harris in the opening round Thursday, May 14 at 6 p.m. in Salisbury, N.C. The SAC Tourney champion Bulldogs enter postseason play at 39-17 overall.

North Greenville is the number one seed in the region, with Catawba earning the two seed. The top two seeds will serve as the host schools this week. Wingate is third, followed by North Georgia, Francis Marion, Young Harris, Belmont Abbey and Lander.

The Bulldogs are making their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and third in the last six years. Wingate won the national title in 2021 after sweeping through the NCAA Southeast Regional, going 4-0 to advance to its first-ever D2 World Series. After dropping the opener in Cary, the 'Dogs won five straight elimination games to capture the first baseball national title in Wingate or SAC history. Wingate earned region hosting duties for the first time in program history in 2022, winning a pair of games over Young Harris. The 'Dogs also appeared in the 2024 regionals, picking up a victory over North Greenville. Wingate is 15-17 in NCAA Tournament play.

The 'Dogs enter the NCAA Tournament after going 5-1 in the SAC Tournament, taking down #6 Catawba twice on Saturday to capture the ninth SAC Tourney title in program history. The Bulldogs also won the SAC Tournament in 2021 and 2024.

Wingate has one of the most potent offenses in the country. The 'Dogs rank third in the nation in hits, fourth in homers, fifth in walks, sixth in runs, seventh in slugging percentage, 11th in doubles and 16th in on-base percentage.

The 'Dogs had six All-SAC honorees. Tanner McCammon ranks sixth in the nation in doubles and RBI, while ranking 10th in runs scored and 11th in homers. Ben Karpowicz is fifth in the nation with his 22 homers, ranking second in homers per game and third in RBI per game. Jalen Evans is hitting a team-best .423 while leading the SAC with 37 stolen bases, ranking third in the conference in average. Jake Courville has posted a .366 average with 18 doubles and 52 RBI. Gavin Groppuso leads the nation with 61 walks, stealing 34 bases and scoring 71 runs while posting a .468 on-base percentage.

Bowen Powell has made an impact in his freshman season, hitting .372 with 17 doubles, 12 homers and 69 RBI. Reed Benamati has added 10 doubles, two homers, 42 RBI and 44 runs scored, stealing 24 bases in 25 attempts. Will Farrell earned SAC Tourney MVP honors, collecting three homers and a pair of doubles in his five starts, driving in seven runs and scoring nine times.

Chad Harvey is a first team All-SAC pitcher, going 9-0 with a 3.61 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 87 1/3 innings. He leads the SAC in strikeouts, ranking second in wins and fourth in ERA. JD Little has made 15 starts, picking up four wins. He allowed two earned runs or less in three of his last four starts, including his SAC Tourney start against Lenoir-Rhyne, giving up just one earned run in 6 2/3 innings with six strikeouts.

Jett Thomas was huge out of the bullpen in the SAC Tournament, allowing one run in 10 innings of work, striking out seven without a walk while going five innings against LR and five against Catawba. Carson Starnes has made 25 appearances, picking up three wins and two saves with 23 strikeouts in 26 innings. Carson Morton has struck out 19 in 13 1/3 innings of work, notching two saves in eight appearances. Parker Jensen has three saves and two wins on the year, making 19 appearances. Braxton Walker has added three wins and a pair of saves in 17 appearances.

The winner of the Wingate-Young Harris game will take on the winner of the Catawba vs. Belmont Abbey contest Friday at 6 p.m. The losing team of the WU-Young Harris contest will face the losing team from the Catawba vs. Belmont Abbey game Friday at 2 p.m. in an elimination game. The double-elimination tourney will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Catawba. The winner of this regional pod will face the winner of the North Greenville regional pod in the NCAA Super Regionals next week.

NCAA Southeast Region (Catawba Regional)

Thursday, May 14
2 p.m. (Game 1) | Catawba vs. Belmont Abbey
6 p.m. (Game 2) | Wingate vs. Young Harris

Friday, May 15
2 p.m. (Game 3) | CAT-BAC Loser vs. WU-YHC Loser
6 p.m. (Game 4) | CAT-BAC Winner vs. WU-YHC Winner

Saturday, May 16
2 p.m. (Game 5) | Game 3 Winners vs. Game 4 loser
6 p.m. (Game 6) | Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner

Sunday, May 17
2 p.m. (Game 7) | If Necessary