CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jones College knows its seed, time and first-round opponent in Enid, Oklahoma, for the 2026 NJCAA Division II World Series at David Allen Memorial Ballpark.
The Bobcats (40-16) are the No. 6 seed and face Frederick, Maryland, (36-13) Saturday, May 23 at 1 p.m. in the first-ever meeting between the teams.
The winner gets the three-seed Madison (Wisc.) College on Sunday at 10 a.m.
MACCC rival Pearl River is the No. 2 seed and on the same side of the bracket and East Central is the No. 5 seed and on the opposite side of the bracket. PRCC and EC grabbed both at-large selections into the tournament field and are seeded higher than Jones.
Jones qualified by winning its first NJCAA Region 23 Championship since 2016, going 5-0 during the tournament and defeating five ranked teams.
Frederick won the Region 20 Championship, 9-3 over Garrett College, to secure its 11th trip to the NJCAA Division II World Series.
The Bobcats are hitting .326 as a team, the best in
Wes Thigpen's five years as head coach and nearly 30 points higher than last season. Seven everyday starters are hitting above .300, led by
Dylan Champagne (.376/20 2B/4 HR/42 RBIs) and
Sanders Ainsworth (.370/15 2B/10 HR/68 RBIs).
On the mound, Jones has a pair of 10-game winners for the first time since 2018.
Trevor Hodges is Jones' top reliever with a 10-1 record, six saves, a 1.68 ERA and 73 strikeouts against 11 walks.
Colton Smith is the Bobcats' No. 1 starter, logging a 10-3 record in 100.1 innings with four complete games and a 3.41 ERA.
Jones' pitching staff has allowed a .257 batting average against, sixth-best in the country.
The Cougars are batting .338 as a team and have the fifth-best on-base percentage in the nation at .481 with 303 walks and 75 hit-by-pitches. Four everyday starters hit over .400 for Frederick, including Vincenzo Cusat who is hitting .430 with eight doubles, nine home runs and 45 RBIs.
Frederick's pitching staff is 22nd in the NJCAA with a 5.58 ERA. Their ace is Evan Hassinger with a 9-2 record and 3.18 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 56.2 innings.
All games will air on
NJCAA.org/network for a fee. Live stats are also available for all games.
