INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – University of Central Missouri Mules Baseball earned an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament, the NCAA announced late Sunday evening, May 10.

The Mules will be the number three seed and will take on the number six seed Minnesota State Mavericks out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) in the opening round of the double-elimination regional tournament on Thursday, May 14, at a to-be-announced time in Claremore, Okla., at the RCB Bank Sports Complex, the home field of No. 2 seed and tournament co-host Rogers State.

This will be the 36th time in program history and the 28th time in the last 31 years that Mules Baseball has advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament.

The other two teams in the Claremore portion of the Central Regional are the No. 2 seed, host Rogers State, and the No. 7 seed, Missouri Southern.

No. 1-seeded Pittsburg State is hosting the other four-team double-elimination bracket of the Central Regional in Pittsburg, Kan. The Gorillas will face No. 8 seed Arkansas Tech out of the Great American Conference (GAC) in their first-round game, while No. 4 seed Northwest Missouri State and No. 5 seed Augustana (S.D.) out of the NSIC will face off in the other round-one contest in Pittsburg.

The opening round, double-elimination Central Regional is scheduled for May 14-17 (if necessary game on May 17).

UCM and Minnesota State have met 28 times on the baseball diamond dating back to 2016. The Mule lead the all-time series, 21-7. Central Missouri and MSU last met in the NCAA tournament during the 2024 season in the Central Regional opening round in Warrensburg, with UCM posting a 12-10 win.

The winners of each regional will then meet in a best-of-three Super Regional series at the site of the highest remaining seed, May 21-23.

The team advancing out of the Super Regional will earn a spot in the NCAA-II College World Series, May 29-June 6 in Cary, N.C.

More information will be announced later in the week.