WPIAL releases 2026 baseball playoff pairings

By: Don Rebel
Friday, May 8, 2026 | 10:26 AM

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One word the WPIAL baseball steering committee would use to describe the 2026 district playoff brackets is “depth.”

WPIAL officials released the six brackets for the upcoming baseball playoffs Friday after some tough decisions were made on the makeup of each tournament.

While there may still be some unhappy coaches, the chairperson of the WPIAL baseball steering committee claims folks should not focus on the seeding number.

“The seeding number is just a number,” North Allegheny athletic director Bob Bozzuto said. “Some teams turn it on, and they turn it on at the right time. Maybe they are reaching their potential now when they didn’t at the end of the regular season.”

The six top seeds went to Butler (Class 6A), Pine-Richland (5A), Indiana (4A), Avonworth (3A), Fort Cherry (2A) and Eden Christian Academy (A).

The defending champions are Seneca Valley (6A), Shaler (5A), Indiana (4A), Riverside (3A), Freedom (2A) and Serra Catholic (A).

Butler (17-3) is looking for its first WPIAL title. The other Class 6A top seeds went to No. 2 Canon-McMillan, No. 3 North Allegheny and No. 4 Norwin.

As usual, the Class 5A bracket took some time to finalize because of four strong section champions, some quality runner-up teams and the overall strength of Section 1-5A: Penn-Trafford, Plum, Latrobe and Franklin Regional all entered the final week of section play with a chance to win the title.

“There was a great deal of discussion, even prior to (the committee meeting),” Bozzuto said. “Pine-Richland had four of their five losses against Class 6A teams, so that gave them the nod (for No. 1). That section (1) was very competitive down to the last series. Looking ahead, the quarterfinals are going to be very interesting.”

In Class 5A, Section 3 champion Pine-Richland (14-5), a six-time WPIAL winner, was followed by No. 2 Penn-Trafford, No. 3 Thomas Jefferson and No. 4 Moon.

Indiana was joined among top seeds in Class 4A by No. 2 Elizabeth Forward, No. 3 Valley and No. 4 Beaver.

Class 3A saw a great debate once Avonworth was placed on the No. 1-seed line. There was little difference in the resumes between the No. 2 and No. 7 seeds. The next seeds went to No. 2 Seton LaSalle, No. 3 Ellwood City and No. 4 Freeport.

“I didn’t think we would be a 2-seed,” Seton LaSalle coach Shawn Trainor said. “I thought we would end up between 3 and 5. All the top teams are very good with some good pitchers.”

There was some surprise that Section 1-3A co-champs Ellwood City and Mohawk were separated by a margin of three seeds and ended up in the same quadrant.

“I’ve learned that you can’t read into the positioning much,” said Mohawk coach Nick Maiorano, whose team is the No. 6 seed. “We’ve been in every position in these brackets, from being bounced in the first round as a No. 2 to making the championship as a No. 4 and reaching the semifinals as a No. 11 seed.

“Single-elimination baseball can be unpredictable. We are excited for another opportunity to play in the postseason.”

Rounding out the top seven in 3A were South Park at No. 5 and defending champion Riverside at No. 7.

Fort Cherry threatened with a perfect regular-season record before losing Tuesday to Burgettstown to finish 16-1.

Despite the loss, the Rangers earned the No. 1 seed in Class 2A.

“We were not expecting the one-seed,” Fort Cherry coach Bob Sawhill said. “We know a lot of teams think our conference is weak and we have a small field. We told our guys the seeding doesn’t matter. Who we play doesn’t matter. We need to take everything pitch by pitch and control what we can control. Don’t look past the first game and play where your feet are.

“This team has worked extremely hard on becoming a team and learning the game. They have playoff experience and I am excited for them to hit this stage.”

Rounding out the top four seeds in 2A are Neshannock, South Side and Riverview.

In Class A, Eden Christian (12-4) is followed by No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic, No. 3 Serra Catholic and No. 4 Western Beaver.

Opening-round games will begin Monday and Tuesday at neutral sites. Class 6A, which has only eight teams in the postseason, will start with quarterfinal games May 18.

“It’s go time,” Bozzuto said. “I will never use the word upset because if you’re strong, you may have two really good starters when another team only has one. If you can get by that first day, then you have the advantage. We know the capabilities of all our teams, so I’m never surprised.”

The championships will be May 26-27 at EQT Park in Washington.

Class 6A

Quarterfinals

May 18 schedule

Mt. Lebanon (12-7) vs. Butler (17-3) at North Allegheny, 7 p.m.

Central Catholic (9-11) vs. Norwin (12-8) at Gateway, 7 p.m.

Seneca Valley (10-10) vs. Canon-McMillan (15-5) at Boyce Mayview Park, 4 p.m.

Hempfield (10-10) vs. North Allegheny (12-7) at Boyce Mayview Park, 7 p.m.

Class 5A

First round

Tuesday’s schedule

Connellsville (9-11) vs. Pine-Richland (14-5) at Gateway, 6:30 p.m.

West Allegheny (12-8) vs. Montour (15-5) at Boyce Mayview Park, 6:30 p.m.

Baldwin (11-8) vs. Moon (15-4) at Peterswood Park, 6:30 p.m.

Upper St. Clair (10-8) vs. Plum (17-3) at Gateway, 4 p.m.

Fox Chapel (12-8) vs. Penn-Trafford (15-5) at Plum, 4 p.m.

South Fayette (11-9) vs. Franklin Regional (15-6) at West Mifflin, 6:30 p.m.

Mars (8-11) vs. Thomas Jefferson (16-4) at Boyce Mayview Park, 4 p.m.

Bethel Park (11-8) vs. Latrobe (17-3) at Plum, 6:30 p.m.

Class 4A

First round

Monday’s schedule

Blackhawk (11-7) vs. Knoch (12-8) at Pullman Park, 6:30 p.m.

Derry (7-9) vs. Beaver (15-5) at Deer Lakes, 4 p.m.

Hampton (12-8) vs. Belle Vernon (14-5) at Gateway, 6:30 p.m.

Ambridge (8-9) vs. West Mifflin (13-6) at Gateway, 4 p.m.

Ringgold (9-10) vs. Hopewell (14-5) at Peterswood Park, 6:30 p.m.

Bye: Indiana (15-4), Elizabeth Forward (14-6), Valley (14-5)

Class 3A

First round

Tuesday’s schedule

Waynesburg (7-12) vs. Avonworth (15-5) at Ross Memorial Park, 6:30 p.m.

Charleroi (11-8) vs. Mt. Pleasant (12-8) at Ross Memorial Park, 4 p.m.

Quaker Valley (8-11) vs. Freeport (17-1) at Deer Lakes, 4 p.m.

Keystone Oaks (9-9) vs. South Park (14-5) at Peterswood Park, 4 p.m.

South Allegheny (9-9) vs. Seton LaSalle (14-2) at West Mifflin, 4 p.m.

Shady Side Academy (11-8) vs. Riverside (10-7) at North Hills, 4 p.m.

Ligonier Valley (10-10) vs. Ellwood CIty (15-3) at Pullman Park, 4 p.m.

Burrell (10-9) vs. Mohawk (14-5) at Pullman Park, 6:30 p.m.

Class 2A

First round

Monday’s schedule

Freedom (8-10) vs. California (13-6) at Peterswood Park, 4 p.m.

Frazier (9-9) vs. Riverview (12-6) at West MIfflin, 6:30 p.m.

Burgettstown (8-11) vs. Laurel (10-6) at Burkett Park, 6:30 p.m.

Shenango (11-8) vs. Apollo-Ridge (11-8) at Seneca Valley, 7 p.m.

New Brighton (8-7) vs. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (13-6) at Pullman Park, 4 p.m.

Bye: Fort Cherry (16-1), Neshannock (16-3), South Side (14-3)

Class A

First round

Monday’s schedule

Sewickley Academy (8-9) vs. Carmichaels (8-9) at Ross Memorial Park, 4 p.m.

Bishop Canevin (6-12) vs. Leechburg (9-7) at West Mifflin, 4 p.m.

Union (6-10) vs. Jefferson-Morgan (11-9) at Ross Memorial Park, 6:30 p.m.

Aquinas Academy (10-5) vs. Avella (11-7) at Burkett Field, 4 p.m.

Bye: Eden Christian (12-4), Western Beaver (11-3), Greensburg Central Catholic (15-0), Serra Catholic (12-7)

Visit Trib HSSN for complete brackets.

Tags: Avonworth, Butler, Eden Christian, Fort Cherry, Indiana, Pine-Richland