In this episode of the D3P Division III Baseball Podcast we preview Region 9 for the 2026 season. During this episode we start by covering past season results—reviewing under-achievers, over-achievers and teams who made runs in 2025. Then we move on to 2026, breaking down each conference in terms of potential favorites, bubble teams, wild cards, auto bids, at large bids and CWS participants. We finish our discussion by making our predictions for the 2026 season at the national level.

The DIII baseaball teams in NCAA Region 9 include UW Whitewater, Gustavus, UW La Crosse, Buena Vista, UW Oshkosh, U. Chicago, Coe, Bethel, Beloit, Bethany Lutheran, Saint John's, St. Olaf, Saint Mary's, UW Platteville, Nebraska Wesleyan, Wartburg, Grinnell, Luther, Dubuque, Lawrence, Illinois College, St. Scholastica, Loras, Crown, Concordia, Central, Monmouth, Stevens Point, Ripon, Simpson, UW Stout, UW River Falls, Augsburg, Cornell College, UW Superior, UW Eau Claire, Northwestern, Morris, Macalester, Knox, Carleton, Hamline, Northland, Martin Luther and North Central.

00:00:00-Introduction

00:03:08-What is Region 9?

00:07:46-Region 9 CWS Trivia

00:09:56-National Contenders in 2025

00:18:01-Under Performers in 2025

00:25:10-UMAC Contenders for 2026

00:28:50-MIAC Contenders for 2026

00:35:26-MWC Contenders for 2026

00:36:18-WIAC Contenders for 2026

00:39:46-Conference Champ Predictions

00:46:43-Potential At Large Bids

00:47:49-Why So Few At Large Bids?

00:52:35-Region 9 Wildcard Picks

00:55:26-National Picks and Predictions