Stars draw powerful pool at NBCWS

2026 SAN DIEGO STARS BASEBALL

WBA champions to face Hays Larks, Alaska Goldpanners and Tess’s Army beginning Saturday in Wichita

EastCountySports.com staff report

WICHITA, Kan. (7-20-26) — There will be no gentle introduction to the National Baseball Congress World Series this weekend for the newly crowned Western Baseball Association champion San Diego Stars.

The Stars were placed in Pool D alongside two of the tournament’s most accomplished organizations—the Hays Larks and Alaska Goldpanners—and independent entrant Tess’s Army for the 92nd NBC World Series.

San Diego will open pool play against Hays at noon Saturday at Wichita State’s Eck Stadium. The Stars will face the Alaska Goldpanners at 6 p.m. Sunday before completing pool play against Tess’s Army at noon Tuesday.

All listed game times are Central.

The top three teams from each four-team pool will advance to the single-elimination bracket, beginning Wednesday, July 29.

Unlike several teams playing during the tournament’s Baseball ’Round the Clock promotion, the Stars avoided the midnight, 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. starting times.

Their opponents, however, ensure there will be nothing easy about the trip.

SAN DIEGO STARS POOL SCHEDULE

All games at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kansas. Times Central.

STARS FACE FAMILIAR FOE FROM ALASKA

The Goldpanners will be the most familiar opponent in San Diego’s pool.

The Stars traveled to Fairbanks earlier this summer for a five-game series against Alaska and won twice. San Diego played competitively in four of the five games, with its losses coming by scores of 8-6, 9-8 and 7-2.

That experience could prove valuable when the teams meet again Sunday—this time with advancement in the national tournament at stake.

The Goldpanners are one of the most historic organizations in summer baseball. Alaska has won six NBC World Series championships and advanced to the quarterfinals last year after going 3-0 in pool play.

The Goldpanners outscored their 2025 pool opponents, 27-13, before falling to eventual champion Hutchinson, 2-1, in the quarterfinals.

HAYS BRINGS CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE

The Stars begin the tournament against a Hays club that finished its 2026 regular season 25-7 overall and 17-7 in the Rocky Mountain Baseball League.

Hays closed the regular season Sunday with a 7-4 victory over the Boulder Collegians and received an at-large invitation to Wichita.

The Larks captured their first NBC World Series championship in 2024, defeating the Hutchinson Monarchs, 7-3. They also have five national runner-up finishes, reaching the championship game in 1995, 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2016.

Longtime manager Frank Leo is a member of both the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame and NBC Hall of Fame.

Hays went 3-0 in pool play last year and advanced to the semifinals before finishing tied for third. The Larks have also crossed paths with the Stars during previous appearances in Wichita, adding familiarity to Saturday’s opening matchup.

Hays will be without catcher Dylan LaRue, who signed a professional contract with the Lake Country DockHounds after hitting .304 this summer.

TESS’S ARMY COMPLETES POOL D

Tess’s Army is the newest organization in the Stars’ pool.

The independent collegiate team was established in 2023 to honor the legacy of Tess Smith and has built its schedule around prominent summer tournaments, including the NBC World Series.

While Tess’s Army lacks the lengthy NBC history of Hays, Alaska or San Diego, its at-large selection places it among the 16 teams competing for this year’s national championship.

With three of the four teams advancing, the Stars’ final pool game against Tess’s Army could carry significant bracket implications.

STARS SEEK TO BUILD ON 2025 RUN

San Diego finished tied for seventh at the 2025 NBC World Series with a 2-3 overall record.

The Stars went 1-2 in pool play, scoring 18 runs while allowing 30. Despite the losing record, they advanced into the 12-team elimination bracket as the third-place team from their pool.

Their tournament began with a 13-5 loss to the eventual champion Hutchinson Monarchs. San Diego recovered sufficiently to reach bracket play and finished the event alongside the Derby Twins at 2-3.

Hutchinson went on to dominate the championship tournament, beating the Alaska Goldpanners, 2-1, in the quarterfinals and the Seattle Studs, 3-2, in the semifinals before routing the Lonestar Kraken, 21-4, in the championship game.

The Monarchs return to defend their title in Pool A this week.

San Diego heads back to Wichita after finishing second in the WBA regular season at 12-8 and winning both ends of Championship Day at Palomar College. The Stars defeated the Bulldogs, 10-3, in the semifinal and rallied from five runs down to upset the first-place Waves, 11-7, for the championship.

The Stars’ offense was led during the WBA regular season by Phill Jones, who hit .390 with 20 RBI. Hunter Kaul, a Christian High graduate playing at Biola University, batted .342 with four home runs and 17 RBI, while Carson Lewis hit .339 and scored 19 runs.

Manny Miranda went 4-1 over 45⅔ innings, while Nate Moloney recorded 36 strikeouts in 25 innings. Travis Van Dyke went 1-0 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.

NATIONAL FIELD LOADED WITH TRADITION

The 16-team field includes many of the most recognizable names in summer collegiate baseball.

Defending champion Hutchinson is joined by the Liberal Bee Jays, Seattle Cheney Studs, Alaska Goldpanners, Hays Larks and Santa Barbara Foresters.

Santa Barbara, a longtime regional rival of the Stars, enters the tournament after finishing 26-5-1 and winning the California Collegiate League South Division. The Foresters won three consecutive NBC championships from 2020 through 2022 and went 3-0 in last year’s pool play while outscoring opponents, 26-1.

The complete field is divided into four pools:

The tournament begins Thursday at Eck Stadium and continues through July 31. The championship game will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at Equity Bank Park in downtown Wichita.

All NBC World Series games will be streamed live and free through the tournament’s YouTube channel.

For the Stars, the national assignment begins Saturday against a recent champion, continues against an opponent they already know well and concludes against the pool’s wild card.

It is a difficult draw—but the Stars are arriving after spending Championship Day demonstrating that difficult circumstances do not bother them.

RECENT NBC WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS

• 2025 — Hutchinson Monarchs
• 2024 — Hays Larks
• 2023 — Hutchinson Monarchs
• 2022 — Santa Barbara Foresters
• 2021 — Santa Barbara Foresters
• 2020 — Santa Barbara Foresters

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