State Baseball Tournament Pairings Unveiled
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has released the first‑round matchups for the statewide high school baseball tournament, laying out a full slate of contests across six divisions and setting the stage for a series of high‑stakes games.
Semifinals and championship games will be staged at three distinct sites over two days in late May. The 4A and 3A finals are slated for Everett Memorial Stadium on May 29‑30, while the 2A and 1A title games will take place at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham. The 1B and 2B championships will be held at Wood Field at Carlon Park in Selah.
One early highlight came when Sumner’s Landon Meyer rounded third base in a game against Emerald Ridge at Sumner High School on April 21, 2026, a moment that captured the competitive spirit of the season.
The brackets themselves read like a snapshot of the state’s baseball landscape. In the 4A field, traditional powerhouses such as Richland, Sumner, Tahoma and Gonzaga Prep are slated to meet, while the 3A draw features teams like Mount Vernon, Kennewick and Gig Harbor. The 2A division will see Bainbridge, Tumwater and Othello vying for advancement, and the 1A bracket includes Montesano, Cashmere and Lynden Christian. The 2B and 1B brackets each showcase squads such as Tri‑Cities Prep, Kittitas, Napavine, Liberty Christian, Naselle and Almira Coulee Hartline.
Jon Manley, a longtime high school sports reporter for The News Tribune, covered the release and brings decades of local insight to the story. Manley, a McClatchy President’s Award winner and 2024 National Sports Media Association state sportswriter of the year, has chronicled the South Sound scene since 2013 and was born and raised in Tacoma.
With the schedule set and the teams identified, the upcoming tournament promises a series of compelling matchups that will test the mettle of the state’s emerging talent.