The path to an FHSAA baseball state championship has been revealed for eight Pensacola area teams after the brackets were released on April 20.
Pace (6A) and Northview (Rural) automatically qualified by winning district championships, while x other teams earned at-large bids
The state playoffs begin for classes 1A-7A with a winner-take-all regional quarterfinals. Classes 4A-7A will play their regional quarterfinals on April 24, with classes 1A-3A playing on April 25.
The Rural state playoffs start with the regional semifinals, which will be May 1-2 for all classes, followed by the regional finals on May 8-9. The regional semifinals and finals will be best two-out-of-three series, with all games at the higher seed. Game one will be on the first day, with game two and an if-necessary game three on Saturday.
This is different from last year's state playoffs, where all three regional rounds were best two-out-of-three series.
All roads lead to the state championships, which will be May 13-16 and May 18-20 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
Below is a breakdown of all regional brackets featuring Pensacola area teams. District champions are marked with an asterisk (*) and will host in the regional quarterfinals unless playing a higher seeded district champion.
Patriots celebrate with the trophy after their dramatic walk-off 4-2 victory over the Aggies during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.Patriots Braiden Cheshire (1) blasts a 3-RBI walk-off home run to defeat the Aggies 4-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.Patriots Aaron Comer (8) heads home on the 3-RBI walk-off home run by Braiden Cheshire (1) to defeat the Aggies 4-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.Patriots Braiden Cheshire (1) heads home on his 3-RBI walk-off home run to defeat the Aggies 4-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.Patriots celebrate their 4-2 victory thanks to the 3-RBI walk-off home run by Braiden Cheshire (1) in the bottom of the 7th inning during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.Patriots celebrate with the trophy after their dramatic walk-off 4-2 victory over the Aggies during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.Patriots celebrate with the trophy after their dramatic walk-off 4-2 victory over the Aggies during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.More photos are coming soon.1 / 8See Patriots stun Aggies with 3-run walk-off homer to win districtPatriots celebrate with the trophy after their dramatic walk-off 4-2 victory over the Aggies during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.1 / 8See Patriots stun Aggies with 3-run walk-off homer to win districtPatriots celebrate with the trophy after their dramatic walk-off 4-2 victory over the Aggies during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.2 / 8See Patriots stun Aggies with 3-run walk-off homer to win districtPatriots Braiden Cheshire (1) blasts a 3-RBI walk-off home run to defeat the Aggies 4-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.3 / 8See Patriots stun Aggies with 3-run walk-off homer to win districtPatriots Aaron Comer (8) heads home on the 3-RBI walk-off home run by Braiden Cheshire (1) to defeat the Aggies 4-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.4 / 8See Patriots stun Aggies with 3-run walk-off homer to win districtPatriots Braiden Cheshire (1) heads home on his 3-RBI walk-off home run to defeat the Aggies 4-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.5 / 8See Patriots stun Aggies with 3-run walk-off homer to win districtPatriots celebrate their 4-2 victory thanks to the 3-RBI walk-off home run by Braiden Cheshire (1) in the bottom of the 7th inning during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.6 / 8See Patriots stun Aggies with 3-run walk-off homer to win districtPatriots celebrate with the trophy after their dramatic walk-off 4-2 victory over the Aggies during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.7 / 8See Patriots stun Aggies with 3-run walk-off homer to win districtPatriots celebrate with the trophy after their dramatic walk-off 4-2 victory over the Aggies during the Tate vs Pace 1-6A District championship baseball game at Pace High School on April 16, 2026.8 / 8See Patriots stun Aggies with 3-run walk-off homer to win districtMore photos are coming soon.(1) Pace* vs. (8) Winter Park Lake Howell*
(2) Gainesville Buchholz* vs. (7) Jacksonville Mandarin*
(3) St. Johns Bartram Trail vs. (6) Orange Park Oakleaf
Analysis: Pace keep its spot atop not just Region 1 but the entire 6A classification after winning their sixth straight district title on April 16. This means it will have homefield advantage in the first three rounds if it continues to advance. If not for Braiden Cheshire's walkoff home run int he District 1-6A final, Pace would be making a nearly seven hour trip to Lake Howell for the regional quarterfinals.
The Patriots are making their sixth straight state playoff appearance and are looking to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2022, when they finished as 6A state runner-up. Pace has won four state championships, with the last coming in 2010.
Last year, Pace lost to Buchholz 2-1 (11-4, 2-11, 5-4 in the Region 1-6A final. The Bobcats (19-7) are the No. 2 seed in the region this year.
Lake Howell (11-16) won the District 4-6A championship to clinch its first state playoff appearance since 2019. The Silverhawks haven't won a state payoff game since 2011, when they advanced to the Region 1-6A final.
Tate (20-7) keeps a regional quarterfinal home game despite a heartbreaking loss to Pace in the District 1-6A final. The Aggies are making their second straight state playoff appearance and were swept by Buchholz in the Region 1-6A semifinals (3-2, 3-2) a year ago.
Tate is the Pensacola area's most successful program, winning seven state championships, with the last one coming in 2005.
Tocoi Creek (14-13), which opened in 2021, is making it third straight state playoff appearance. The Toros were swept by Pace (0-15, 0-11) in the Region 1-6A semifinals a year ago
If Pace and Tate both advance they would meet at Pace in the regional semifinals. The Patriots won two of three meetings between the two teams this season, including last week's district final.
Analysis: Gulf Breeze (16-11) hung on to its top four seed in the region, but will have to travel to Lincoln (13-14) after the Trojans upset Mosley and Chiles to win the District 2-5A title. This is a rematch from earlier this season, as Gulf Breeze beat Lincoln 7-2 on April 3.
Lincoln advanced to the Final Four a year ago and is making its fifth straight state playoff appearance. The Trojans have won their regional quarterfinal matchup in each of the previous four appearances.