COLUMBUS, Ohio – Entering the 2026 college baseball season there are a handful of notable rule changes that you should know:
College Baseball has enjoyed a boom in popularity and growth in recent years. Nothing makes that more evident than the scholarship increase.
ABCA Executive Director Craig Keilitz said, “I’m not apologetic for everything we’re getting.” Keilitz followed that statement up by stating that college baseball has earned all of this through the sport’s TV ratings and the success of the postseason.
Once upon a time, two-hole hitters and Saturday starters were getting only 30% of their tuition payments covered. Growing up, baseball players were lectured to focus on school and getting good grades. To a college coach, a good student was more attractive to recruit than an average one because there was a chance that the institution could kick in academic scholarship money.
We’re not saying that players can slack in school now. But no longer are the days of sitting in class next to the redshirt freshman wide receiver that received a full ride while the baseball player needed a part-time job during winter break just to make ends meet. In case you are wondering, no, 11Point7 does not have any plans to change our brand name just because there are 34 full scholarships now.
In ‘26, the NCAA Baseball Selection Committee won’t just rank the regional hosts 1-through-16. A new responsibility that the committee has is to seed the top 32 teams. Committee Chair and Florida State Athletic Director, Michael Alford, mentioned that the goal for this change is to make the NCAA Tournament more fair rather than geographical.
Expanding the travel roster size for NCAA Championships was a fantastic amendment too. The College World Series in Omaha, and a regional in College Station, are an experience. This adjustment that allows 34 student athletes to travel enables injured players and reserves the chance to experience the best that our sport has to offer with their buddies that they trained all year with.
I was able to ask two-time National Champion Head Coach Jay Johnson about the roster expansion on Friday morning at ABCA. "This is going to help a lot. [Having] those conversations... is really tough," Coach Johnson responded.
Elongating the practice window gives players and pitchers more time on campus to build themselves back up after the holiday break. We have seen too many arm, elbow, and shoulder injuries in the preseason. The goal is that we will hopefully see those casualties decrease. Practice for Division I officially begins Monday, January 12th.
On Thursday, the ABCA announced that they are experimenting with a rule in ‘26. If conferences give permission, schools will be allowed to use technology (tablets) in the dugout for live in-game scouting. The abilities will be limited to a Trackman Modified Dashboard (without a strike zone), approved note-taking applications, and preloaded or recorded video.
There is literally no negative by adding two more fall games. The game has grown. Mississippi State hosted 10,000 fans for a fall alumni game. This change allows the players to get more live game reps and fans more chances to watch college baseball.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Entering the 2026 college baseball season there are a handful of notable rule changes that you should know:
College Baseball has enjoyed a boom in popularity and growth in recent years. Nothing makes that more evident than the scholarship increase.
ABCA Executive Director Craig Keilitz said, “I’m not apologetic for everything we’re getting.” Keilitz followed that statement up by stating that college baseball has earned all of this through the sport’s TV ratings and the success of the postseason.
Once upon a time, two-hole hitters and Saturday starters were getting only 30% of their tuition payments covered. Growing up, baseball players were lectured to focus on school and getting good grades. To a college coach, a good student was more attractive to recruit than an average one because there was a chance that the institution could kick in academic scholarship money.
We’re not saying that players can slack in school now. But no longer are the days of sitting in class next to the redshirt freshman wide receiver that received a full ride while the baseball player needed a part-time job during winter break just to make ends meet. In case you are wondering, no, 11Point7 does not have any plans to change our brand name just because there are 34 full scholarships now.
In ‘26, the NCAA Baseball Selection Committee won’t just rank the regional hosts 1-through-16. A new responsibility that the committee has is to seed the top 32 teams. Committee Chair and Florida State Athletic Director, Michael Alford, mentioned that the goal for this change is to make the NCAA Tournament more fair rather than geographical.
Expanding the travel roster size for NCAA Championships was a fantastic amendment too. The College World Series in Omaha, and a regional in College Station, are an experience. This adjustment that allows 34 student athletes to travel enables injured players and reserves the chance to experience the best that our sport has to offer with their buddies that they trained all year with.
I was able to ask two-time National Champion Head Coach Jay Johnson about the roster expansion on Friday morning at ABCA. "This is going to help a lot. [Having] those conversations... is really tough," Coach Johnson responded.
Elongating the practice window gives players and pitchers more time on campus to build themselves back up after the holiday break. We have seen too many arm, elbow, and shoulder injuries in the preseason. The goal is that we will hopefully see those casualties decrease. Practice for Division I officially begins Monday, January 12th.
On Thursday, the ABCA announced that they are experimenting with a rule in ‘26. If conferences give permission, schools will be allowed to use technology (tablets) in the dugout for live in-game scouting. The abilities will be limited to a Trackman Modified Dashboard (without a strike zone), approved note-taking applications, and preloaded or recorded video.
There is literally no negative by adding two more fall games. The game has grown. Mississippi State hosted 10,000 fans for a fall alumni game. This change allows the players to get more live game reps and fans more chances to watch college baseball.
