The high school baseball 2026 regular season came to a conclusion last week, which meant it was crunch time for some teams hoping to extend their season in the Central Coast Section postseason.
Aptos of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and St. Francis of the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division secured their spots into the playoffs set to begin May 23.
Meanwhile, other local schools such as Watsonville, Pajaro Valley and Monte Vista Christian will have an entire year to regroup for a chance at a postseason run.
Below is a quick breakdown of how each team did during the spring season.
PCAL Gabilan
St. Francis earned an automatic qualifying spot into the CCS playoffs after it placed fifth in the challenging Gabilan Division with an 8-13 record in league play.
They earned the No. 5 seed in the Division V bracket, and will play at No. 4 Live Oak on Saturday at 3pm.
“First and foremost, your goal going into the year is to make CCS and make the playoffs,” St. Francis head coach Ken Nakagawa said. “We’re very young and we have some very talented baseball players, but they’re just young, and the Gabilan Division is tough.”
Despite losing two straight to close out the regular season, the Sharks snuck into the postseason by snatching the fifth and final automatic qualifier out of the Gabilan — the top tier of the three divisions within the PCAL.
Nicky Fantl had four hits, including a pair of doubles, four RBIs and scored four runs in St. Francis’ 19-10 loss to division champion Carmel on May 15.
Teammates Noah Magana and Brooks Drake each tallied three hits, while Max Madrigal finished with two hits and one RBI.
Jack Herceg, Jacob Fonseca and Angel Urabe Chavez each had one base hit for St. Francis, which finished the regular season with an 8-18-1 overall record.
“We knew we had a lot of talent, we just weren’t sure how they young guys were going to hold up going into the tough division we play in,” Nakagawa said. “We feel like we’re ready for the playoffs. I think our league challenges us and gets us ready for the playoffs.”
The Sharks currently don’t have a senior on the roster. Nakagawa said the hardest part about that is the lack of experience and leadership roles that some players are still trying to take on.
“They’re a very talented group, and are learning to play together as one team instead of an individual,” he said. “Their futures are obviously bright, we just gotta limit our mistakes and I think we’re gonna have an opportunity to make a run.”
Monte Vista Christian placed eighth with a 3-18 record in the Gabilan Division, losing seven straight to close out the regular season.
Aidan Miller and Luke Netzer each recorded one hit, while Mikie Melenudo scored both runs in the Mustangs’ 4-2 loss to Salinas in league play May 13. MVC finished with a 6-20 overall record.
PCAL Cypress
Watsonville was in a tight race with King City and North Salinas for the Cypress Division title at the beginning of May — all three tied at 7-1 in the league standings.
But the Wildcatz suffered four consecutive losses to close out the regular season, including a 20-2 thumping against league champion North Salinas on May 14.
Freshman Mauricio Estrada had a pair of hits for Watsonville, while teammates Justin Curiel and Mathew Silva each scored one run.
The ‘Catz dropped to 7-5 in Cypress Division play, and finished with a 7-17 overall record for the 2026 campaign.
Pajaro Valley finished its regular season by winning two out of three games, including a 12-11 victory over Seaside in Cypress Division action on May 7.
With the win, the Grizzlies improved to 2-10 in league play this season and finished with a 2-15 overall record.
SCCAL
Aptos earned the No. 5 seed in the D-III bracket, and they will play at No. 4 Sacred Heart Prep on Saturday at noon.
“We’re a younger team, so go out there and play loose, nothing to lose,” Aptos head coach Jason Biancardi said. “That was kind of our motto going into the season.”
The Mariners capped off the regular season with back-to-back wins against San Lorenzo Valley, including a decisive 19-3 victory on May 15.
Cal-Berkeley commit Cole McGillicuddy finished with three hits, including one double, four RBIs and two runs scored for Aptos, which secured second place in the SCCAL standings with a 9-6 record in league play this season.
The Mariners finished the regular season with a 13-8 overall record, and were runner-up behind league champion Soquel. Both teams, along with Harbor, earned the three automatic qualifying spots into the CCS postseason.
“Our league, as opposed to other years, it’s pretty close,” Biancardi said. “We all beat each other, but we won games that we needed to win. The kids showed they could compete under pressure.”
Freshman James Riley had four hits, including one double and four RBIs in last week’s regular season finale. Teammate Alec Mendoza recorded three hits, including one double, three RBIs and scored three runs.
Dom Castillo added a pair of hits and four RBIs for Aptos, while teammate Finn Cormier had one double, two RBIs and scored a pair of runs.
Damien Espinoza allowed three earned runs on five hits while striking out five batters in three innings of work on the mound. Teammates Jacob Kissinger and Oliver Meyers each recorded four strikeouts.
“They’re playing good right now, and they’re starting to hit the ball,” Biancardi said. “We’ve relied on our pitching a lot, but the hitting is stepping up, too. It’s a good combo.”
