GRANVILLE, Ohio (May 13, 2024) – The No. 2 nationally-ranked Denison University baseball team is looking to bring home its first NCAA Regional Championship in program history as the Big Red were selected to serve as a host institution for the NCAA Division III Baseball Regionals for the third year in a row. The Big Red were selected to host a four-team regional which will begin on Friday, May 17, in Granville, Ohio.

Denison tied with Wittenberg University for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference during the regular season, earning the fourth-straight regular-season crown for the Big Red, and won its fifth-straight NCAC Tournament title this past weekend as well after beating Wittenberg twice on Sunday, May 12.

The Big Red earned the NCAC's automatic bid to regionals for the fifth year in a row, and will now compete in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth year in a row after doing so for the first time in program history in 2018. Denison, currently ranked No. 2 in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 Poll, will bring a 39-6 overall record into regionals. The Big Red set a new program record for wins in the regular season (35) and are currently tied for the most wins in a single season in program history.

Joining Denison in the Granville Regional will be Hanover College (30-15), Rowan University (27-13) and Millikin University (29-14). The Big Red will first take on Hanover at 11 a.m. while Rowan will match up against Millikin at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

Rowan made the NCAA tournament as one of 10 at-large pool-c bids, while Hanover earned the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) automatic bid into the postseason and Millikin claimed the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) championship for the AQ into the national tournament.
 
Hanover:
The Hanover Panthers were crowned Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Champions, bringing Hanover their first HCAC Tournament title. The Panthers defeated the Transylvania Pioneers on back-to-back days, taking the championship 9-6. The win marks the first title for the Hanover Panthers in program history. With the title, the Blue and Red completed the sweep of both the regular season and the HCAC Tournament title. Hanover claimed their first HCAC regular season title since 2001 with a 17-5 mark. Prior to the 2001 campaign, the Panthers last championship came in 1988. Hanover enters the national tournament with the most wins since 2003 when the program collected 27 wins.
 
Rowan:
Rowan is an at-large entry from the New Jersey Athletic Conference. It marks the seventh consecutive NCAA appearance for Rowan under head coach Mike Dickson. The Profs have also reached the NCAA Super Regionals for three consecutive years, while advancing to the NCAA Division III World Series in 2021. Last year, Rowan won the Ambler (PA) Regional to advance to the NCAA Salisbury Super Regional, where the Profs fell to #2 Salisbury. Earlier this season, Ramapo rallied with five runs in the seventh inning to defeat #21 Rowan, 9-7, and capture the 2024 NJAC Baseball Championship. Rowan is currently the top team receiving votes in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 Poll.
 
Millikin:
The Millikin baseball team held off Augustana College 9-8 to win the 2024 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament, earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Millikin baseball team split a doubleheader with Wheaton College to become the 2024 CCIW Regular Season Co-Champion. The Big Blue finished the conference season 16-4, tied with North Park University. The regular season title was the ninth CCIW Championship in baseball, but the first since 1975. Millikin is currently receiving votes in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 Poll.
 
Overall, the Big Red are 1-0 against Hanover (2022) and Millikin (2021) and 0-1 against Rowan (2009).

Denison will be making its sixth-straight NCAA tournament appearance and holds a 9-10 (.474) all-time record on the national stage. Rowan makes its 29th NCAA appearance (74-55, .574), while Millikin makes its second (0-2) and Hanover will be making its tournament debut.

Winners of the sixteen regional tournaments will qualify for eight, best-of-three series at the super regionals, Friday-Saturday, May 24-25. The eight super regional winners will then qualify for the pool play double-elimination championship at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake, Ohio, Friday-Thursday, May 31-June 6, 2024, hosted by the NCAC.
 
2024 NCAA DIII Baseball Championship Selections