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Last season, Idaho's baseball coaches adopted a new format for their state tournaments.
Rather than follow the traditional formula of district tournaments determining most of the state tournament berths (with a state play-in game or two sprinkled in), the coaches decided to adopt a State Regional Tournament.
The idea was to take 12 teams (in classes 6A, 5A and 3A) and eight teams (in classes 4A and 2A), and through a series of State Regional Tournaments, whittle the field down to a final four. The following week featured a true double-elimination State Tournament between the final four teams standing in each classification.
Early indications are that this format is here to stay, and the 2026 postseason will feature the same set of Regional Tournaments.
Anytime there's a new State Tournament format to learn, fan questions will naturally arise.
So consider this your primer on everything State Regional Baseball in 2026.
I've made projections based upon how the standings/rankings looked on Friday, April 24, just as an example as to how the State Regionals are filled. My official bracketology updates will start on Monday, April 27.
CLASS 6A
Number of Teams: 12
Format: 4 State Regional Tournaments with 3 teams each (double elimination)
Representation: District I (1), District III (5), District IV-V-VI (2), At-Large (4)
Tournament Hosts: North (District I champion), West (District III champion), West (District III runner-up), East (District IV-V-VI champion)
Addional Notes: 3 Tier System by MaxPreps ranking (Tier 1 is 1-4 seeds; Tier 2 is 5-8 seeds; Tier 3 is 9-12 seeds)
Projections:
NORTH REGIONAL (Coeur d'Alene HS)
#1. Mountain View (Auto Bid; 18-4)
#9. Coeur d'Alene (District Champion; 7-6-1)
#12. Highland (At-Large; 12-11)
According to the 3-Tier System, the #1 seed and #12 seed will most likely be together. And then typically the #8 or #9 seed joins them. This one is a little different, as the #1 team on MaxPreps (Mountain View) is in third place in their conference. Normally, a #1 seed would host, but for our projections, the Mavs hit the road. However, they will enjoy a first-round bye as the #1 seed. That's right; the district champion doesn't automatically receive the first-round bye. If an at-large team has a higher MaxPreps ranking, that team garners the bye.
WEST REGIONAL #1 (Owyhee HS)
#2. Owyhee (District Champion; 19-5)
#7. Centennial (At-Large; 13-10)
#11. Capital (Auto Bid; 12-10)
Again, using the 3-Tier System, the idea is to reward the top-ranked teams by slotting in the lowest-ranked teams in their Regional, when they can. Thus, #11 Capital joins #2 Owyhee. Here's where things start to get tricky. Because the East Region had to borrow two teams from Tier 2 (more on that below), we've given Owyhee the lowest remaining Tier 2 team (#7 Centennial).
WEST REGIONAL #2 (Eagle HS)
#3. Eagle (District Runner-Up; 16-5)
#5. Rocky Mountain (At-Large; 13-10)
#10. Timberline (At-Large; 12-12)
Eagle is the top seed and the host, which makes for a nice, easy start. And we can give them an appropriately placed Tier 3 team (#10 Timberline). As for Tier 2, normally the 3 seed would be paired with the 6, but since #6 Rigby is a host, we've given the Mustangs the next best thing: #5 Rocky Mountain.
EAST REGIONAL (Rigby HS)
#4. Middleton (Auto Bid; 15-8)
#6. Rigby (District Champion; 15-9)
#8. Ridgevue (At-Large; 10-9)
This is what I'm calling the leftovers regional. Because we can't follow the Tier system exactly as it was intended, we had to make some concessions here. Middleton is the #4 seed, and gets top billing here. Normally, they'd be paired with the #5 seed, but they get #6 Rigby instead since the Trojans are hosting. There aren't enough Tier 3 teams to distribute evenly, since #9 Coeur d'Alene and #12 Highland are competing at the same regional, so the Vikings get the lowest-seeded team from Tier 2 (#8 Ridgevue).
CLASS 5A
Number of Teams: 12
Format: 4 State Regional Tournaments with 3 teams each (double elimination)
Representation: District I-II (1), District III (2), District IV (2), District V (1), District VI (2), At-Large (4)
Tournament Hosts: North (District I-II champion), West (District III champion), South (District IV champion), East (Highest ranked champion from District V or District VI)
Addional Notes: 3 Tier System by MaxPreps ranking (Tier 1 is 1-4 seeds; Tier 2 is 5-8 seeds; Tier 3 is 9-12 seeds)
Projections:
NORTH REGIONAL (Sandpoint HS)
#2. Sandpoint (District Champion; 16-2)
#7. Hillcrest (Auto Bid; 16-4-2)
#11. Skyline (At-Large; 11-12)
This is exactly what a straightforward Regional for the #2 seed looks like. They get the second-lowest member of Tier 2 (#7 Hillcrest) and the second-lowest member of Tier 3 (#11 Skyline).
WEST REGIONAL (Skyview HS)
#4. Skyview (District Champion; 16-3)
#5. Lewiston (At-Large; 16-7)
#9. Blackfoot (At-Large; 8-8-1)
This is exactly what a straightforward Regional for the #4 seed looks like. They get the highest ranked member of Tier 2 (#5 Lewiston) and the highest ranked member of Tier 3 (#9 Blackfoot).
SOUTH REGIONAL (Twin Falls HS)
#3. Twin Falls (District Champion; 21-3)
#6. Bishop Kelly (Auto Bid; 16-4)
#10. Lakeland (At-Large; 8-10)
This is exactly what a straightforward Regional for the #3 seed looks like. They get the second-highest ranked member of Tier 2 (#6 Bishop Kelly) and the second-highest ranked member of Tier 3 (#10 Lakeland).
EAST REGIONAL (Bonneville HS)
#1. Bonneville (District Champion; 16-4)
#8. Burley (Auto Bid; 14-6)
#12. Preston (District Champion; 11-8-1)
This is exactly what a straightforward Regional for the #1 seed looks like. They get the lowest ranked member of Tier 2 (#8 Burley) and the lowest ranked member of Tier 3 (#12 Preston).
CLASS 4A
Number of Teams: 8
Format: 4 State Regional Series (best-of-three)
Representation: District I (1), District III (2), District IV (1), District V (1), District VI (1), At-Large (2)
Series Hosts: MaxPreps top four ranked district champions
Additional Notes: Teams 5-8 will be seeded according to MaxPreps ranking
Projections:
WEST REGIONAL (Fruitland HS)
#1. Fruitland (District Champion; 15-2-1)
#8. Bonners Ferry (District Champion; 5-13)
SOUTH REGIONAL (Kimberly HS)
#2. Homedale (Auto Bid; 16-4)
#6. Kimberly (District Champion; 13-5-1)
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL (Marsh Valley HS)
#3. Marsh Valley (District Champion; 16-4)
#7. Cole Valley Christian (At-Large; 10-8)
EAST REGIONAL (South Fremont HS)
#4. Filer (At-Large; 17-4-1)
#5. South Fremont (District Champion; 17-6)
These matchups are all best-of-three. The top four district champions get to host, although that doesn't necessarily mean they will be the highest seeded team at their Regional, as you can see. The remaining four teams are slotted in according to their MaxPreps ranking. That's why Bonners Ferry, our projected District I champion, only gets the eight seed.
CLASS 3A
Number of Teams: 12
Format: 4 State Regional Tournaments with 3 teams each (double elimination)
Representation: District I-II (2), District III (2), District IV-V (2), District VI (2), At-Large (4)
Tournament Hosts: North (District I-II champion), West (District III champion), South (District IV-V champion), East (District VI champion)
Addional Notes: 3 Tier System by MaxPreps ranking (Tier 1 is 1-4 seeds; Tier 2 is 5-8 seeds; Tier 3 is 9-12 seeds)
Projections:
NORTH REGIONAL (Orofino HS)
#1. Orofino (District Champion; 16-2)
#8. Nampa Christian (Auto Bid; 10-8)
#12. Lighthouse Christian (At-Large; 10-5)
This is exactly what a straightforward Regional for the #1 seed looks like. They get the lowest ranked member of Tier 2 (#8 Nampa Christian) and the lowest ranked member of Tier 3 (#12 Lighthouse Christian).
WEST REGIONAL (Melba HS)
#4. Melba (District Champion; 18-2)
#5. Priest River (Auto Bid; 11-3)
#9. Wendell (At-Large; 12-8)
This is exactly what a straightforward Regional for the #4 seed looks like. They get the highest ranked member of Tier 2 (#5 Priest River) and the highest ranked member of Tier 3 (#9 Wendell).
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL (Malad HS)
#2. Malad (District Champion; 14-4)
#7. Declo (Auto Bid; 11-5)
#11. New Plymouth (At-Large; 8-12)
This is exactly what a straightforward Regional for the #2 seed looks like. They get the second-lowest ranked member of Tier 2 (#7 Declo) and the second-lowest ranked member of Tier 3 (#11 New Plymouth).
EAST REGIONAL (Salmon HS)
#3. Salmon (District Champion; 16-4)
#6. Firth (Auto Bid; 12-7)
#10. North Fremont (At-Large; 8-8)
This is exactly what a straightforward Regional for the #3 seed looks like. They get the second-highest ranked member of Tier 2 (#6 Firth) and the second-highest ranked member of Tier 3 (#10 North Fremont).
CLASS 2A
Number of Teams: 8
Format: 4 State Regional Series (best-of-three)
Representation: District II (2), District III-IV (2), At-Large (4)
Series Hosts: North (District II champion), South (District III-IV champion), MaxPreps top-ranked non-district champion, MaxPreps second ranked non-district champion
Additional Notes: Teams 5-8 will be seeded by MaxPreps ranking
PROJECTIONS:
NORTH REGIONAL #1 (Potlatch HS)
#1. Potlatch (District Champion; 12-2)
#8. Garden Valley (Auto Bid; 6-6)
NORTH REGIONAL #2 (Juliaetta)
#2. Kendrick (Auto Bid; 13-2)
#6. Genesee (At-Large; 4-7)
NORTH REGIONAL #3 (Prairie HS)
#3. Prairie (At-Large; 11-3)
#5. Troy (At-Large; 2-7)
WEST REGIONAL (Memorial Stadium, Boise)
#4. Clearwater Valley (At-Large; 12-6)
#7. North Star Charter (District Champion; 9-9)
These are all fairly straightforward. The only exception is #4 Clearwater Valley having to travel to face #7 North Star Charter, our projected district champion in District III-IV).
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