Binghamton Claims America East, Draws No. 16 West Virginia in NCAA Regionals

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By winning the America East Tournament for the second consecutive year, the Binghamton Bearcats became the first team to win back-to-back conference championships on their home field since Stony Brook accomplished the feat in 2012.

The Bearcats put together a flawless 3-0 run through the tournament, capping off their title defense with a 7-3 victory over Maine on Saturday on their home field. Binghamton is no stranger to postseason success, having won the tournament title for the third time in the last five years and the seventh time overall. With this latest victory, they now hold the most postseason crowns of any team in the history of the America East baseball conference, past or present.

It is also the third time the program has completed the “double” by winning both the regular season and postseason championships in the same year. Over the last 19 years, the program has combined to win 14 regular-season and postseason titles—the highest mark in the league.

Destination: Morgantown

On Monday morning, the 31-20 Bearcats assembled at their indoor baseball complex to find out where they would be competing in the NCAA Tournament. They received their answer: Binghamton is heading to the Morgantown Regional as the No. 4 seed, where they will meet the host and No. 16 nationally ranked West Virginia Mountaineers out of the Big 12 Conference. The other two teams rounding out the high-powered regional field are Wake Forest out of the ACC and Kentucky from the SEC. Binghamton will feature in the night game on Friday.

The Bearcats enter Friday night’s game against West Virginia having won seven of their last nine games, including four in a row. They will square off against a Mountaineers squad that has been to the NCAA Tournament 17 times, including each of the last four years. This marks the third time in school history that West Virginia will serve as a regional host, with the last occurrence coming back in 2019.

At 39-14, WVU will be looking to capture its third straight regional title after winning the Tucson Regional in 2024 and the Clemson Regional last year. The Mountaineers are looking to bounce back after falling to Kansas on Saturday in the Big 12 Championship game.

The Matchup: Facing the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year

Binghamton will likely look across the diamond at the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, redshirt junior Maxx Yehl. The left-handed ace missed the entire 2025 season but returned stronger than ever for West Virginia in 2026, posting a 7-2 record with a stellar 2.10 ERA. His ERA was the best in the Big 12 and the seventh-best mark in the country.

Yehl struck out 88 batters in 73 innings pitched, surrendered just 20 walks, and held opposing lineups to a meager .222 batting average. He is only the third pitcher in WVU history to be named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year.

A Loaded Regional Field

The other two programs arriving in Morgantown bring highly impressive resumes to the table:

Wake Forest (38-19): The Demon Deacons finished tied for fifth in the ACC regular season with a 16-14 conference record. This will be their fifth consecutive appearance in an NCAA Regional. No stranger to the grand stage, Wake Forest has made three previous trips to Omaha and is hunting for a fourth.

Kentucky (31-21): The Wildcats punched their ticket despite finishing with a 13-17 under.500 record in a grueling SEC schedule. This marks their fourth straight trip to a regional as they look to map out their path toward a second-ever College World Series appearance.