The College of Charleston baseball team will begin its campaign in the 2026 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship against Hofstra on May 20. The Cougars, seeded fourth, are set to play the fifth-seeded Pride at noon at Brooks Field in Wilmington, North Carolina. The game will be broadcast live on FloCollege.
The double-elimination tournament features six teams and runs from May 20 through May 23, hosted by UNCW. Charleston is making its 27th consecutive appearance in a conference tournament and is seeking its second CAA title.
Charleston secured the No. 4 seed after sweeping William & Mary during the final weekend of regular season play. Redshirt senior Alex Lyon marked his 100th career game and set a new program record for appearances. Freshmen Nick Diaz, redshirt junior Braeden Smith, and graduate Will Tippett each hit three-run home runs in Saturday’s win over William & Mary.
Diaz was named CAA Rookie of the Week after batting .467 with two doubles, a home run, five runs scored, and seven RBI over four games. Redshirt senior Ethan Plyler enters the championship with a 13-game hitting streak while Tippett has posted a .636 batting average over his last seven games.
Charleston has previously won one CAA Championship since joining the conference and has reached the championship game three times overall. As a No. 4 seed, Charleston holds an all-time record of eight wins and six losses in this tournament position.
Against Hofstra, Charleston leads the series with a record of 23-13 and has scored double-digit runs eight times against them. In previous CAA Championships meetings between these teams, Charleston is undefeated with victories in both their matchups.
If victorious against Hofstra on Wednesday, Charleston would advance to face either Campbell or Northeastern on Thursday; otherwise they would play an elimination game later that day.
