LAKELAND, Fla. - "All we needed was a chance. Let's do this." A phrase that was said in different iterations but with the same passion and focus among the celebrations Wednesday afternoon during the selection show encapsulates what the 2026 Faulkner Eagle Baseball season has seen so far with the newest chapter just hours from being written.

Faulkner in the postseason has felt like the expectation under Head Coach Patrick McCarthy, who has directed the Eagles to the national stage 14 times since taking the reins in 2010. "Death, taxes, Faulkner to Lewiston" became a national warning during the run of nine straight trips to the Avista NAIA World Series from the national title in 2013 to 2022. In that span, there were times that postseason successes have felt like business deals featuring muted celebrations for advancing out of Opening Rounds that closely resemble the reactions of a regular season midweek win. Faulkner was going to be there. Faulkner was going to be one of the teams to beat. There was an air of Kobe Bryant's famous quote "Job's not done, what's there to be excited about?"

Wednesday afternoon during the selection show, it felt very different though. The nervous energy was palpable amidst a confident feeling, waiting to see if the resumé was going to be rewarded with one more chance to prove themselves. As the first couple of brackets revealed, nerves grew a little more, but when the Eagles were unveiled in the Lakeland Bracket, jubilation struck with sparkling water flying around the cinema room on campus. The Eagles made it as a four-seed. To an outsider, it may seem strange for this once business as usual approach to change to celebrating a four-seed in a bubble at-large bid, but knowing the story of the last few seasons brings the reason for the celebration into light. 

To say this program has undergone hardships over the past few seasons is to grossly understate. In 2024, Faulkner was one win from a return to Lewiston having defeated OUAZ on a complete game shutout from Marco Ozuna–who now serves as pitching coach– and Georgia Gwinnett earlier in the Opening Round on a gem from Mose Hayes. The Grizzlies forced the if necessary game with a 16-3 win for the hosts. However in the decisive contest, Faulkner found itself in the driver's seat at the end. The Eagles led 6-2 with two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the ninth. About 10 pitches later, the Grizzlies were dogpiling and the Eagles were shellshocked. 

Last season, the Eagles were 33-12 with a chance at the SSAC regular season title  looking down the barrel of a No. 1 seed and hosting the Opening Round before having to forfeit the whole season. The heartbreak of the end of the 2024 season was unbelievable, however, the 2025 end felt devastating. A season with a real shot at a Red Banner ended just like that off the field. Death and taxes remained.

This season had its moments where some doubts crept in and others where it felt that third certainty would reenter the fray. The talent was obvious from the beginning. The Eagles opened the season going 2-1 against Sun Conference Regular Season Champions and Opening Round No. 1 seed Webber International and a 4-0 weekend against two other national tournament sides in Indiana Wesleyan and Keiser to start 7-1. Faulkner split a four game set with another tourney team, IU Southeast, to sit at 9-4 going into SSAC play and it seemed like it was a matter of when not if the Eagles would punch their ticket to the Opening Round.

The end of February and beginning of March got a little rocky for the Eagles though. After a fallout against Brewton-Parker when going for the sweep, the Eagles lost their next three ball games for a four game skid in which several key injuries piled up. Faulkner snapped it with a historic offensive output at UT Southern with a 28-5 win before falling in a midweek and losing the opener against William Carey in Hattiesburg. But Brandon Napier's complete game in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader fueled the Eagles taking the day and the series from William Carey and starting a seven game win streak where the belief was at a high. After a narrow series loss on the road to ABAC, Faulkner suffered its first home sweep on the field in SSAC play in the Patrick McCarthy era against Thomas and lost the following series to Blue Mountain to put the season in jeopardy. 

The Eagles responded by beating Mobile on the road with a great offensive performance in game one and Samir Rojas going the distance coming back from injury in game two to clinch the series and then sweeping No. 14 Loyola at home to wrap up the regular season and climb from seventh to fifth in the SSAC.

Faulkner started the SSAC Championship with a pair of wins in pool play setting up a winner-take-all contest against Abraham Baldwin that ended with the tying run on third and put the Eagles into an excruciating wait for the selection committee's decision. 

That chance is here. 

Three other teams with incredible stories in their own rights are also receiving that opportunity to head to the Pacific Northwest. The first team in Faulkner's way is the host team Southeastern at 6 p.m. eastern, 5 p.m. central. The home team of the Lakeland Bracket faced some tough luck last season, running into the buzzsaw that was LSU Shreveport last season twice in the World Series and finishing as national runners-up to one of the greatest achievements in college athletics of the undefeated season for the Pilots.

The Fire are coming back into their friendly confines of Ted A. Broer Stadium off a Sun Conference Tournament Championship with a 39-15 overall record and 22-9 at home this season under second year head coach Gabe Grinder. In his two years, Grinder has turned home field into a fortress with a 55-12 (82.1 percent) record including sweeping through their opening round last season at home. 

Southeastern is one of the nation's top scoring teams with 9.04 runs per game and 113 doubles over 54 games. The Fire get hit by pitches almost better than anyone with 147 bruise passes drawn and are very efficient with turning those into runs with 143 (2.65 per game) stolen bases on the season. The Fire also boast the 12th best pitching ERA in the nation with a 4.27 and don't let a lot of runners on with a 1.44 pitching staff WHIP. 

Faulkner is led by a lineup that can beat you in many different ways. Whether its the five-tool work of Jordan Carter in the leadoff spot, the increasingly hot bat of CJ Robertson, the supernova run Edrien Martínez has been on, the RBI machine and gold glove talent at short in Anthony Bassett Torres, the defensive versatility and timely hitting of Jimmy Perez, the all-conference power of Jeyson Polanco, the power surging Dariel Colón, the bulldog mentality and pop from Carter Schellsmidt, the contact game from Orlando Arellano, or any number of ways the Eagles have found ways to produce runs in key spots this season, the Eagles have no shortage of offensive firepower.

Added to the resurgence from the pitching staff that has seen more than its fair share of injury troubles and seems to be getting healthy and peaking at the right time around pitchers stepping up into bigger roles and delivering through the injuries, this is an Eagle team that isn't the average four seed that limps its way in and is just happy to be here. The job isn't done yet, Lewiston is still in the sights but the Eagles have enjoyed this rollercoaster ride and are buckled in for another spin, celebrating the hills and the valleys on and off the field that have grown every man in the program. 

The matchup is just the fifth time the sides have met, with four being on the national stage. This is just the second time the Eagles and Fire have met in the NAIA National Tournament with the Eagles falling in the 2018 World Series to the eventual national champion 6-4 in Lewiston. The other two national meetings go back to the 2005 NCCAA South Region Tournament where the Eagles handed the Fire both of their losses in the event. The only other meeting was a 2012 contest in Montgomery in which the Eagles won. Altogether, Faulkner is 4-1 against SEU all-time. 

The victor will take on the winner of British Columbia and Milligan, who start the tournament before the Eagles take the field

Faulkner seeks its first win in the state of Florida under Patrick McCarthy. This is the first time since Feb. 11, 2023 that Faulkner Baseball has played in Florida as the Eagles were swept by Webber International. The only other trip to Florida in the McCarthy era was the 2010 Opening Round hosted by Embry-Riddle where the Eagles lost their two contests in the event. 

The stream will be free on the Urban Edge Network.