NCAA Communications
Corbin McGuire
INDIANAPOLIS – The Management Council approved changes to the format and the dates of selection and regional competition for the Division II 2021 baseball and softball championships.
Championships for both sports in 2021 will consist of one round of regional competition to advance to the finals, eliminating the super-regional round. The regional competitions will be completed over a single weekend in a double-elimination format to determine which team advances to the finals site.
The format changes came in part because of recommendations from the COVID-19 Advisory Panel to consolidate preliminary-round sites, along with one-year bracket reductions for the 2020-21 championships approved in December by the Division II Administrative Committee. Division II baseball’s bracket size was reduced from 56 to 42 for its 2021 championship; softball was reduced from 64 to 48.
Additionally, as a result of the consolidation, baseball and softball’s selections and regional-round dates will be moved back to provide schools more opportunities for regular-season games. The competition dates for the finals sites did not change.
Baseball’s championship dates will now be as follows:
- Selections: May 23.
- Regionals: May 27-30.
- Finals: June 5-12 in Cary, N.C.
Softball’s championship dates will now be as follows:
- Selections: May 16.
- Regionals: May 19-21.
- Finals: May 27-31 in Denver.