- Nine high school baseball teams from the Mainstreet coverage area will compete in the 2026 FHSAA regional playoffs this spring.
- The 2026 FHSAA baseball quarterfinals start April 24-25 with single games, while semifinals and finals use a best-of-three format.
- Buchholz won its fourth consecutive district title and will host Mandarin in the 6A-Region 1 quarterfinals on April 24.
- The 2026 FHSAA state championships will take place May 13-16 and May 18-20 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
Last week, a total of six high school baseball teams in the Mainstreet coverage area punched their ticket to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) regional playoffs.
On Monday, during the bracket release show on the FHSAA’s YouTube channel, three more teams were added to the mix.
Union County (Lake Butler), Trenton, Saint Francis Catholic Academy, Suwannee (Live Oak), Columbia (Lake City), and Buchholz clinched a bid by winning their respective district tournaments.
Meanwhile, Williston, Dixie County (Cross City) and Oak Hall School heard their names called Monday during the show as an at-large, giving the area a total of nine baseball teams who will be participating in this year’s 2026 FHSAA baseball state tournament.
The format is a little different as the quarterfinals are single-game only, but the region semifinals and finals will once again be a best-of-three format.
The regional quarterfinals for Classes 4A-7A are on Friday, April 24, followed by the quarterfinals for Classes 1A-3A on Saturday, April 25.
Columbia, which defeated Fleming Island (Orange Park), 6-2, to win the 5A-District 3 title, is the No. 6 seed in Class 5A-Region 1.
The Tigers (16-10) will host No. 3 seed Mosley (Lynn Haven) in Friday’s quarterfinals. They swept the Dolphins (19-7) at home, 2-1 and 10-0, in last year’s regional quarterfinals.
This past Friday night, Buchholz won its fourth straight district title with a 4-2 win against Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) in the 6A-District 2 championship game.
The Bobcats (19-7), who shut out Forest (Ocala), 5-0, in the district semifinals, are the No. 2 seed in 6A-Region 1 and will host No. 7 seed Mandarin (Jacksonville) (15-12) in Friday’s quarterfinals.
The game will be broadcast on Mainstreet Daily News (audio only) beginning at 6:45 p.m. The first pitch is at 7 p.m.
The ‘Cats are one of four teams from 6A-District 2 to make the regional playoffs along with No. 3 seed Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (16-10), which will host No. 6 seed Oakleaf (Orange Park) (12-14), and No. 5 seed Tocoi Creek (14-13), which will travel to No. 4 seed Tate (Cantonment) (20-7).
The winner of the Buchholz-Mandarin game will play the winner of the Bartram Trail-Oakleaf game on Friday, May 1.
This Saturday, No. 3 seed Saint Francis Catholic Academy will host No. 6 seed Lake Mary Prep (14-8) in the Class 1A-Region 2 Quarterfinals.
The Wolves (21-4) defeated Oak Hall, 10-1, for the 1A-District 5 title last Thursday. The district runner-up Eagles, who defeated Countryside Christian, 15-5, in the district semifinals, received an at-large bid.
Oak Hall (7-11) is the No. 8 seed and will travel to top seed Orangewood Christian (Maitland) (21-3) in the 1A-Region 2 Quarterfinals.
Suwannee (16-11), which won the 3A-District 3 title with a 4-2 win against Baldwin, is the No. 3 seed in 3A-Region 1 and will host No. 6 West Nassau (Callahan) (13-14).
Newberry just missed the playoffs as the No. 9 seed in an ultra-competitive Class 2A-Region 1.
The Panthers (18-7), who were led by University of Florida commit and FACA District 7 Class 2A Player of the Year Tavis Honeycutt, had their season come to an end with a 9-7 loss at Trinity Catholic (Ocala) last Friday in the 2A-District 4 championship game.
The semifinals for all classes are on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2.
Union County, which defeated Lafayette (Mayo), 5-2, in last Thursday’s Rural District 6 championship game, is the No. 1 seed in Rural-Region 3.
The Tigers (18-7) will host Rural District 5 runner-up Madison County (15-7), the No. 4 seed, at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 1, in a best-of-3 format.
Trenton, which defeated Chiefland, 5-0, in the Rural District 7 semifinals, followed by a 12-3 win against Williston in the title game, is the No. 1 seed in Rural-Region 4.
The Tigers (18-4) will host No. 4 seed Dixie County (13-11), which lost at Williston, 5-1, in the Rural District 7 Semifinals.
The Red Devils (16-10) are the No. 3 seed in Rural-Region 4 and will travel to No. 2 seed Marathon (18-8-1).
The Region Finals for all classes are on May 8-9.
For the best of three series, the “if necessary” third game are to follow as part of a double-header after the second game concludes. The higher seed would host all three games this season.
The 2026 state championships will be held at the Lee Health Sports Complex – Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers (May 13-16 and May 18-20).
FHSAA Baseball state playoffs
(teams in the Mainstreet coverage area in bold)
Friday, April 24 (Classes 4A-7A)
Class 5A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
3 Mosley (Lynn Haven) at 6 Columbia (Lake City)
Class 6A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
7 Mandarin (Jacksonville) at 2 Buchholz
Saturday, April 24 (Classes 1A-3A)
Class 1A-Region 2 Quarterfinals
8 Oak Hall School at 1 Orangewood Christian (Maitland)
6 Lake Mary Prep at 3 Saint Francis Catholic Academy
Class 3A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
6 West Nassau (Callahan) at 3 Suwannee (Live Oak)
Friday, May 1 – Saturday, May 2 (All classes)
Best-of-3 series
Rural-Region 3 Semifinals
4 Madison County at 1 Union County (Lake Butler)
3 Lafayette (Mayo) at 2 Aucilla Christian (Monticello)
Rural-Region 4 Semifinals
4 Dixie County (Cross City) at 1 Trenton
3 Williston at 2 Marathon