No. 2 Tampa Set for National Semifinal Matchup with No. 3 Catawba
CARY, N.C. — The No. 2 University of Tampa baseball team will continue play at the 2026 NCAA Division II National Championship Series on Wednesday at 6 p.m. when the Spartans face No. 3 seed Catawba College at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
Tampa enters the national semifinal matchup with a 48–8 overall record after opening championship play with victories over No. 7 Bentley and No. 6 Point Loma Nazarene. The Spartans remain unbeaten in Cary and are now one win away from advancing to the best-of-three national championship finals.
Catawba advanced to Wednesday's matchup after surviving elimination play earlier in the tournament. The Indians opened championship play with a loss to Point Loma Nazarene before defeating Bentley in an elimination game and edging Point Loma 10–9 on Tuesday night to remain alive in the bracket. Point Loma was eliminated following the loss.
On the opposite side of the bracket, No. 5 seed UT Tyler eliminated No. 4 seed Central Missouri with an 11–7 victory Tuesday afternoon and advanced to face unbeaten No. 1 seed West Chester in Wednesday's 1:30 p.m. semifinal matchup.
Both Tampa and West Chester enter Wednesday undefeated in Cary.
Should both unbeaten teams win Wednesday, the best-of-three NCAA Division II National Championship Series would begin Thursday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
If either Tampa or West Chester is defeated on Wednesday, the surviving team in the elimination bracket would force an additional semifinal game on Thursday. In that scenario, the national championship finals would begin Friday.
The Spartans are seeking an NCAA Division II-record 11th national championship and are attempting to become the first program in division history to win three consecutive national titles.
Wednesday's matchup marks another milestone in Tampa's historic postseason tradition. The Spartans are making their 40th NCAA Tournament appearance and entered championship play with an NCAA Tournament record of 164-69.
For full information on 2026 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship Series, please visit NCAA.com or the official tournament host page.