3C2A State Baseball Title Up for Grabs Over Memorial Day Weekend

3C2A STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT CENTRAL PAGE

IRVINE – After four months of hard-fought competition, California's last surviving four teams will head to the Great Park in Irvine to settle the debate for baseball supremacy as the 2026 3C2A Baseball State Championships kick off this Saturday, May 23 beginning at 12 p.m. It continues Sunday-Monday, May 24-25.

Three of the top four teams in the final Home Run 30 State Rankings – No. 2 Palomar, No. 3 Santa Ana and No. 4 Ohlone – are joined by No. 15 Feather River for this year's final double-elimination tournament of 2026. 

In an era where offense has never been more successful, the final four clubs are ranked 1-2-3-5 in the state in terms of runs scored, so a team that finds a way to find success on the mound will have the decided edge in this three-day battle royale. 

Southern California's top-seed, Palomar, will take on the North's No. 2-seed, Feather River on Saturday at 12 p.m. In the nightcap, it will be north's No. 1-seed, Ohlone, taking on South's No. 2-seed, Santa Ana, at 6 p.m.

Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the state's final four teams heading into the state finals.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

S1 PALOMAR COLLEGE (41-6) – After a near-scare from No. 13 Santa Barbara City College, the top-seeded Comets, coached by Ben Adams, return to the State Final Four for the first time since 2022 in search of their first-ever baseball state crown.

Palomar dominated the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, going 23-2 against their PCAC foes. In the playoffs, the Comets swept through their opening three-team playoff round (12-0, 12-5, 14-4) and swept past Saddleback (12-1, 12-11) before winning 2-of-3 against SBCC (11-5, 1-14, 9-0) to earn the trip to Irvine.

Owners of the best team batting average in all of California (.354), the Comets' offense is spearheaded by 6-foot-7 freshman first baseman, Elijah Stephens, who is batting .480 (second-best in the state) with 85 hits (most in the state), 15 home runs (T-2 in the state) and 77 RBI (most in the state). Oh, he's also second in the state in on-base percentage (.583) and third in slugging percentage (.814). 

But, Palomar is definitely NOT just a one-man show. Joining Stephens in this lethal lineup include sophomores Michael Rodda (.379, 75 hits, 58 runs, 17 doubles, 10 HR, 64 RBI), Braedon Peterson-Cheek (.369, 59 hits, 58 runs, 3 HR, 32 RBI), Rainn McMillan (.366, 53 hits, 44 runs, 42 RBI) and freshman Preston Conklin (.335, 58 hits, 51 runs, 48 RBI).

The Palomar pitching staff is just as deep as it's batting order, holding a team ERA under 4.00 for the season (3.96). Season-long starters, Ryan Herrod (9-1, 3.58 ERA, 62 strikeouts in 73 innings) and Joey Navarro (9-2, 4.40 ERA, 63 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings) have carried the majority of the workload, with Stephens (yes … THAT Stephens) adding a 4-0 record and a 2.37 ERA to his resume as well, with 45 strikeouts in just 38 innings. Closer Joey Halter is 6-0 with six saves and a 2.68 ERA, averaging a strikeout (37) per inning pitched (37) this year. Adding to the Comet depth on the mound include Angel Barron (2-0, 1.69 ERA, one save, 22 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings) and Dylan Berentis (4-0, 3.55 ERA, 29 Ks in 38 IP).

S2 SANTA ANA COLLEGE (40-6-1) – Head coach Tom Nilles' Dons return to the big dance for the 13th time in school history and are going for their fifth state title in school history as well (1993, 1995, 1996, 2023).  A state title this year would be the 24th state crown from a school residing in the Orange Empire Conference.

After stubbing their toes by getting swept in the OEC series finale against Golden West, the conference-champion Dons refocused and have since ripped off seven consecutive playoffs wins in a row, outscoring the opposition 83-37 over that span. 

Ranked 4th in the state with a .347 team average heading into the State Final Four, the Dons have a lineup that features timely hitting and some power up and down the order. Nikko Paoletto has made the most with his season with the Dons, batting .406 with 73 hits, 57 runs, 7 HR and 49 RBI. 

While there are now double-digit home run hitters in the SAC lineup, there are SEVEN regulars in the lineup with seven-or-more HRs, including Aiden Marquez (.366), Barrett Ronson (.356), Nathaniel Williams (.343) and Ben Melendrez (.327) who share the team lead with nine home runs each. Orange Empire Conference MVP Ken Tomitaka (.371) has eight HR to go along with a team-best, 56 RBI, while Evan Reiter (.377) joins Paoletto with seven home runs to go along with 61 hits and 44 RBI.

SAC starting pitchers Andrew Phillips (8-0, 4.64 ERA, 60 strikeouts in 75 2/3 innings), Zach Ireland (7-1, 4.70 ERA, 50 K's in 67 IP), Matthew Solorzano (6-2, 5.30 ERA, 45 Ks in 56 IP) and Josh Rodriguez (5-1, 4.70 ERA, one complete game) have anchored the Dons' staff, with several stellar arms coming out of the Dons' bullpen, including closer Colin Galvin (2-1, five saves, 2.95 ERA, 27 Ks in 21 IP) and Adrian Villegas (2-0, 1 save, 3.97 ERA, 19 Ks in 11 1/3 innings), among others. 

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

N1 OHLONE COLLEGE (40-8) – The third of our 40-plus-win triad of schools is the Ohlone College Renegades, led by head coach Mike Curran. 

Winners of the Coast-South Conference (16-4), Ohlone has had to show the grit of a champion by winning a pair of Regional Game 3s to survive and advance. After sweeping through the opening round, the Renegades held off Folsom Lake, 8-7, in Game 3 of Round 2 before earning a come-from-behind 6-5 win in Game 3 of the Regional Finals against Santa Rosa, earning a State Final Four spot for the first time in four years. Another hot weekend of baseball will give Ohlone its first state title since winning it all back in 2010.

On a team with the 10th-best team batting average in the state (.329) as well as the state's leading pitching staff in terms of strikeouts (466), the Renegades have the ability to play however you want to play and still beat you.

Ohlone has a pair of hitters with 70-plus hits, including Chuy Vasquez (.402, 76 hits, 62 runs, 45 RBI) and Jordan Medina (.389, 74 hits, 60 runs, 51 RBI). Julian Cambra leads the "sluggers" on the squad with seven HR to go along with 42 RBI and a .316 average, but Ohlone's 109 stolen bases (only caught 19 times) make up for any lacking power in the lineup. Leading that stat is Caden Cuccia, with a team-best 26 stolen bases to go along with his .317 average, 52 hits, 59 runs scored and team-best 44 walks. 

All three of Ohlone's starting pitchers – Matthew Anderson, Matthew Foley and Drew Greenberg – all average a ton of innings and a ton of strikeouts. Anderson (state-best 13-1, 2.93 ERA) has fanned 109 batters in 104 1/3 innings (second-most in the state), Greenberg (8-1, 2.89 ERA) has 90 whiffs in 84 innings and Foley (8-2, 4.76 ERA) has struck out 82 batters over 75 2/3 innings. Anderson's 109 Ks is fourth-most in the state and tops among remaining pitchers in this year's State Final Four. The Renegades' relievers are deep and successful, including Bryce Monte (4-1, 1.78 ERA), Nick Valentine (1-1, 1.93 ERA), Brennan Baptist (3-0, 2.53 ERA) and Ben Thompson 1-1, 2.81 ERA). An "X" factor might be Dane LeBlanc, who is 1-1 out of the 'pen with 27 strikeouts in just 17 2/3 innings.

N2 FEATHER RIVER COLLEGE (36-14) – Nobody is an "underdog" come State Final Four time, but for head coach Terry Baumgartner's fifth-seeded Golden Eagles, their road to the finals perhaps raised more eyebrows than the others.

Needing TEN games to make it this far, FRC overcame some lopsided playoff losses to stick around and outlast their opponents in each round of the Regional Playoffs. 

In the Regional Finals, Feather River rallied with two runs in the bottom of the ninth for an 11-10 win in Game 1 over West Valley. After a 14-1 blowout loss to the Vikings in Game 2, the Golden Eagles showed their ability to turn the page with a solid 7-2 win over WVC to return to the State Final Four for the first time since 2013.

Coming into this weekend sixth in the state in offense (.335), a pair of FRC over-achievers in that category lead the way. Walker DesRosier is tops on the Golden Eagles with a .417 batting average with 78 hits (2nd-most in the state), 56 runs and 42 RBI, while teammate Kory Chu is right behind DesRosier with a .416 average, 62 hits, 46 runs and 36 RBI. Nick Anderson is second on the squad with 61 hits to go along with a .345 average, 62 runs and a team-best 48 RBI. The Golden Eagle "bopper" in the lineup is Jackson Phillips and his team-best eight home runs, 44 RBI and a .283 average.

With an offense that averages nearly 10 runs a game, the pitching staff has been solid enough to get the job done for the Golden Eagles. Jack Hanna (6-1, 3.09 ERA, 73 strikeouts in 81 2/3 innings) and Tanner Hail (5-2, 3.91 ERA, 60 Ks in 69 IP) have held down the fort with Marcus Maeder (6-2, 5.14 ERA, 58Ks in 63 innings) providing solid depth for the opening innings every third game. That trio of arms have started 42 of FRC's 50 games this year. 

Seven different Golden Eagle relievers have earned saves this year with Carl Colavecchio (4-1, 3.03 ERA) leading the way with three. Kani Thomas, Ryan Pineo and Jayden Andrade have a combined record of 10-3 out of the bullpen giving FRC plenty of weapons out of the bullpen.

Preview/3C2A State Baseball Event Coverage by Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA