Baseball

PLAY BALL! 2026 MAC Baseball Championship Begins Today at ForeFront Field

Previews Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

AVON, Ohio – The 2026 Mid-American Conference Baseball Championship begins today, May 20, with a pair of matchups inside ForeFront Field. 

Wednesday, May 20th -- MAC Baseball Championship Game 1
No. 3 Toledo (29-27, 21-12 MAC) vs. No. 6 Ball State (25-28, 18-15 MAC) 
Dave Bacon (PxP), Scoop Miller (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | 12:30 PM ET

No. 3 Toledo Rockets

The No. 3 seed Toledo baseball team will compete in the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the third consecutive season, when the Rockets begin the tournament against No. 6 seed Ball State on Wednesday, May 20 at 12:30 p.m. at ForeFront Field in Avon, Ohio.

Toledo enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed, having moved into a top-three position after a 9-6 win over Kent State in the regular season finale. The Rockets finished the regular season with a 29-27 overall record and a 21-12 league mark.

With a win on Wednesday, the Rockets will advance to play No. 2 seed Kent State at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. A loss would create an elimination game matchup against No. 4 seed Northern Illinois or No. 5 seed Western Michigan at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.

UT will look to return to the MAC Tournament Championship game for a second-straight year. The Rockets reached the tournament title game for the third time in program history in 2025, winning a program-record four games to get there, including three elimination games. The Rockets fell to No. 1 seed Miami in the title game.

The Rockets will be one of four teams in the field which have appeared in the tournament the last three seasons, joining No. 1 seed Miami, Kent State and Ball State.

Leading Off
  • Toledo will make its fourth appearance in the tournament under Head Coach Rob Reinstetle, having also appeared in the 2022, 2024 and 2025 tournaments. The Rockets have a 7-6 record under Reinstetle across three previous appearances.
  • The seven wins include six triumphs in elimination games, including three elimination-contest victories in 2025.
  • Toledo's No. 3 seeding is tied for Toledo's highest under Reinstetle. The Rockets were also the No. 3 seed in 2022, No. 6 seed in 2024 and No. 5 seed in 2025.
  • Ball State is a familiar foe in Toledo's recent trips to the MAC Tournament. The Cardinals defeated Toledo twice in 2024 to eliminate the Rockets. Then, Toledo knocked out the Cardinals in 2025 in a 13-10 slugfest.
  • The Rockets swept Ball State in the regular season, with victories of 8-3, 5-4 and 20-3 (7 inn.) at Scott Park. The sweep clinched the Rockets' spot in the tournament.
  • Toledo enters the tournament having won 11 of its last 14 games, a stretch which included a season-high seven-game winning streak.
  • The Rockets' .636 winning percentage in the MAC was their highest conference winning percentage under Reinstetle. Toledo won 7-of-11 MAC series in the regular season and was not swept by a MAC opponent.
  • Toledo had an 8-7 regular season record against the MAC Tournament field.

No. 6 Ball State Cardinals 

No. 6 seed Ball State (25-28, 18-15 Mid-American Conference) swept Bowling Green over the weekend to enter postseason play on a four-game winning streak. The Cardinals needed one win to clinch a spot in the six-team field and got it with a 6-3 decision in Thursday's series opener.

COMING IN HOT: Ball State enters the MAC Tournament riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping Bowling Green over the weekend.

The last time a Ball State team went into the conference tourney on that long of a streak was in 2022 when the Cardinals swept a four-game series from Miami on its way to a MAC regular season title.

REMATCH WITH THE ROCKETS: Ball State and Toledo are set to square off in the MAC Tournament for the third straight season.

The Cardinals knocked the Rockets out of the tournament in 2024 with a 5-1 win in the opener and a 4-3 decision two days later. Toledo got revenge in 2025 with a 13-10 win to erase Ball State from the double elimination bracket.

DOING DAMAGE AS THE DESIGNATED HITTER: Sophomore Brayden Huebner stands among the league leaders in multiple offensive categories entering this weekend.

The right-handed batter, who has slotted in as the DH and leadoff hitter for the balance of the season, ranks third in the MAC in slugging percentage (.661), fourth in OPS (1.099) and runs scored (61), eighth in doubles (15) and tenth in homers (12).
 
Wednesday, May 20th -- MAC Baseball Championship Game 2
No. 4 Northern Illinois Huskies (31-17, 21-12 MAC) vs. No. 5 Western Michigan Broncos (26-23, 20-13 MAC) 
Dave Bacon (PxP), Scoop Miller (Analyst) | LIVE on ESPN+ | Live Stats | 6:00 PM ET

No. 4 Northern Illinois Huskies

Preview coming soon. 

No. 5 Western Michigan Broncos

LEADING OFF
  • Western Michigan opens up MAC Tournament play on Wednesday against No. 4 seed Northern Illinois
  • The winner will face either No. 1 seed Miami or No. 2 seed Kent State in the winner's bracket on Thursday
  • The loser will play in an elimination game against the loser of the 3/6 game on Thursday morning at 10 am
  • The Broncos come into Wednesday with a 58-45-1 advantage in the all-time series against Northern Illinois
  • Wednesday marks the first time WMU and NIU have ever met in the MAC Tournament
  • The Broncos swept the Huskies in Kalamazoo last weekend to wrap up the regular season
  • Western Michigan capped the sweep with a walk-off single by Drew Howard on Saturday
  • Howard went 8-for-16 in the series and drove in a team-high six
  • Ricky Kidd fired 6.0 scoreless innings to earn his team-leading seventh win on Friday
  • Kidd's performance earned him MAC Pitcher of the Week
  • The righty was 7-0 in MAC play, tying for the league lead in wins and ranked second in ERA (2.96)
  • Tanner Mally enters the tournament atop NCAA DI in batting average (.448) and second in OBP (.559)
  • The junior has been leading the nation in batting average since March 8
  • Western Michigan leads the MAC and ranks 25th in the nation with a .979 fielding percentage
TOURNAMENT TIME
Western Michigan enters the 2026 MAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed and begins its tournament run on Wednesday night as it faces No. 4 seed NIU. The Broncos went 20-13 in league play, earning their most conference wins since going 23-17 in 2021. 

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
After missing out on a tiebreaker in 2025, the Broncos are back in the MAC Tournament for the first time since winning it in 2024 with a dominant three-day run which saw WMU go 3-0 while outscoring its opponents 29-3. Western Michigan is 17-31 all-time in the MAC Tournament, with tournament championships in 2016 and 2024. Both tournament titles in program history have come under head coach Billy Gernon, who surpassed 500 wins as a collegiate head coach earlier this season. Gernon owns a 13-13 record in the MAC Tournament, and has beaten a higher seed 11 times at the helm of the Brown and Gold. 

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan comes into Wednesday night's matchup against NIU with a 58-45-1 record in the all-time series. The Broncos swept the Huskies this past weekend to win the series for the third consecutive year. Wednesday's contest marks the first ever meeting between WMU and Northern Illinois in MAC Tournament play. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos wrapped up the 2026 regular season by sweeping a three-game set from NIU at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. Western Michigan used a three-run eighth to rally and win the opener, got 6.0 shutout frames from Ricky Kidd to take game two and then Drew Howard hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday to complete the series sweep.