NWAC Baseball: All 28 Teams, Real Rules, How to Get In
Updated September 2026. Team list and regions checked against the NWAC baseball standings, eligibility from the NWAC eligibility requirements page, championship details from NWAC Championship Central.
You typed “NWAC baseball” into Google and got a standings page, a few college athletics sites, and nothing that explains what the NWAC is. Nobody told you which 28 schools play, what a coach can actually offer you, or how a player from Spokane or Salem ends up on one of those rosters.
This page does all of that. It is the only complete list of NWAC baseball programs on the web, sorted by region, with the scholarship cap, the eligibility rules, the championship format, and a direct path to every coaching staff.
Here is what you get, in order:
- What the NWAC is, and how it differs from the NJCAA and the California junior colleges
- Every NWAC baseball team for 2026, by region
- The rules that shape a recruit’s offer: the scholarship cap, the recruiting territory, wood bats
- Eligibility, quarter by quarter
- The championship in Longview, and how eight teams get there
- How to get recruited by an NWAC program, step by step
- Whether the level is good, honestly
Key takeaways
- The NWAC is the Northwest Athletic Conference, 37 public two-year colleges in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. It is its own governing body, separate from the NJCAA.
- Twenty-eight of those colleges play baseball in 2026, split into North, East, West and South regions.
- Athletic aid is capped at 65 percent of in-state tuition. Nobody in the NWAC gets a full ride, and the cap is the same at every school.
- Coaches recruit inside a fixed territory: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, California, Montana, Nevada, Hawaii and British Columbia. A player from outside it needs the non-contiguous guide.
- Eight teams reach the championship at David Story Field in Longview, Washington. Four-year coaches and pro scouts get in free, on purpose.
If you are still working out where you fit, start with what college baseball level am I, then come back here. The NWAC is the junior college level for the whole Northwest, and it is the most under-explained level in the region.
What NWAC baseball is
NWAC baseball is the baseball championship structure of the Northwest Athletic Conference. The conference is the governing body for two-year college athletics in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. It runs its own rules, its own eligibility, its own championships and its own codebook. It is not a division of the NJCAA.
The conference traces back to 1946, when the Washington junior colleges organized their own league. Oregon’s community colleges joined in 1983, which is why the South region is all Oregon schools. The name changed from NWAACC to NWAC in 2014, and you will still see the old one on older jerseys and older articles.
Every member is a public college. Tuition is community college tuition, credits transfer into the state universities on articulation agreements, and the schools run on the quarter system. That last detail matters for eligibility, and we will come back to it.
Baseball is a men’s sport in the NWAC, with softball as the women’s equivalent. Twenty-eight of the 37 members field a baseball team. Nine do not.
The nine without a team: Columbia Gorge, Green River, Highline, Klamath, Peninsula, Portland, Rogue, South Puget Sound and Whatcom. If a college recruiter tells you one of those nine has a baseball program, ask which year.
NWAC vs NJCAA vs CCCAA: three junior college bodies, one Northwest
People search “what is NWAC baseball” more than any other question about the conference, and the honest answer is that junior college baseball in the United States has three governing bodies, not one.
| NWAC | NJCAA | CCCAA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | Washington, Oregon, British Columbia | Most of the country | California only |
| Baseball programs | 28 | About 400 across three divisions | About 90 |
| Athletic aid | Capped at 65 percent of in-state tuition | Division I allows full rides, Division III none | None by rule |
| Recruiting territory | Fixed nine-state and province list | Open | Open, but out-of-state tuition |
| Seasons of eligibility | Two | Two | Two |
| Academic calendar | Quarters | Mostly semesters | Semesters |
| Season length | February to late May | February to late May | January to late May |
The practical difference for a recruit is money and geography. An NJCAA Division I school in Texas or Florida can offer a full scholarship. A Northwest school cannot, at any of its 28 programs, because the cap is written into conference rules. In exchange, the NWAC keeps its coaches recruiting close to home, which is why a Washington or Oregon player gets more attention from a Northwest staff than from a JuCo two time zones away.
North Idaho College used to be an NWAC member. It left after the 2023-24 year and now plays in the NJCAA, so Idaho players have both options within a day’s drive.
Every NWAC baseball team in 2026, by region
Twenty-eight teams played the 2026 NWAC baseball season. The conference groups them into four regions, and the region decides the conference schedule, the standings, and the first step of the playoff. Every team below is in the Uncommitted University coach directory, where “Northwest Athletic” in the search box brings up every NWAC staff on one list.
North region, six teams
| College | City | State or province |
|---|---|---|
| Bellevue College | Bellevue | Washington |
| Douglas College | New Westminster | British Columbia |
| Edmonds College | Lynnwood | Washington |
| Everett Community College | Everett | Washington |
| Shoreline Community College | Shoreline | Washington |
| Skagit Valley College | Mount Vernon | Washington |
East region, eight teams
| College | City | State |
|---|---|---|
| Big Bend Community College | Moses Lake | Washington |
| Blue Mountain Community College | Pendleton | Oregon |
| Columbia Basin College | Pasco | Washington |
| Spokane (Community Colleges of Spokane) | Spokane | Washington |
| Treasure Valley Community College | Ontario | Oregon |
| Walla Walla Community College | Walla Walla | Washington |
| Wenatchee Valley College | Wenatchee | Washington |
| Yakima Valley College | Yakima | Washington |
West region, seven teams
| College | City | State |
|---|---|---|
| Centralia College | Centralia | Washington |
| Clark College | Vancouver | Washington |
| Grays Harbor College | Aberdeen | Washington |
| Lower Columbia College | Longview | Washington |
| Olympic College | Bremerton | Washington |
| Pierce College | Lakewood | Washington |
| Tacoma Community College | Tacoma | Washington |
South region, seven teams
| College | City | State |
|---|---|---|
| Chemeketa Community College | Salem | Oregon |
| Clackamas Community College | Oregon City | Oregon |
| Lane Community College | Eugene | Oregon |
| Linn-Benton Community College | Albany | Oregon |
| Mt. Hood Community College | Gresham | Oregon |
| Southwestern Oregon Community College | Coos Bay | Oregon |
| Umpqua Community College | Winchester | Oregon |
Twenty-one of the 28 are in Washington, six in Oregon, one in British Columbia. Douglas College is the only Canadian program, which makes it the natural landing spot for a British Columbia player who wants to stay home and the only NWAC roster where a Washington player is the international one.
The rules that shape your offer
The conference codebook is public, and four rules in it decide what a coach can put in front of you and what you swing when you get there. Read these before the first phone call, because they are the same at all 28 schools.
The scholarship cap. Athletic aid is limited to 65 percent of in-state tuition. Shoreline’s recruiting page states it plainly, and it is a conference rule, not a school choice.
Tuition waivers are awarded at the head coach’s discretion, can vary by quarter, and do not cover housing or food. At community college prices that is still real money, but it is not a full ride and no coach in the conference can promise one.
The recruiting territory. Coaches may recruit in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, California, Montana, Nevada, Hawaii and British Columbia. If you live outside that list, you can still play, but the school has to follow the NWAC guide for non-contiguous and international students and you should ask about it in your first email.
The letter of intent. The conference has its own letter of intent. Sign one, then leave the program, and you sit out three terms, summer excluded, before you can play for another conference school.
That rule is why a transfer within the conference is rare. Transfers out to four-year schools are the normal path and are not affected.
The bat rule. The NWAC is a wood bat conference. Every game, every team, wood only, with the detail in the baseball section of the 2026-27 codebook. If you have hit with BBCOR metal all through high school, start swinging wood the summer before you arrive, because your first fall scrimmage will be with it.
What a season looks like
The conference season opens in February and runs to the region playoffs in the middle of May. Teams play between 24 and 36 conference games depending on the region, and 45 to 57 games overall once the non-conference schedule is counted. Most weekends are doubleheaders, because the Northwest in March is wet and a rainout costs two games, not one.
The four regions do not play the same number of conference games. In 2026 the West played 24, the East and North 28 to 30, and the South 36. A South region schedule is the longest in the conference, which is one reason the Oregon programs post the biggest win totals.
Rosters run about 30 to 35 players, with freshmen and sophomores only. There is no redshirt culture to speak of, so a freshman who does not play in year one has spent half his eligibility on the bench. Ask every coach how many freshmen started last spring before you sign anything.
Costs are community college costs. Tuition is charged by the credit, in-state rates apply to residents of the college’s state, and most programs have no dorms. Players rent near campus, which is why the region you can afford to live in is the first filter, not the last.
Eligibility, quarter by quarter
NWAC eligibility is short, public, and built around the quarter system. These are the conference’s own requirements, in order.
- You must be a high school graduate, or your class must have graduated.
- You must be registered in at least 12 credits, and registered within 20 days of the quarter starting.
- You must have passed at least 10 credits in your last quarter of enrollment.
- For a second season in any sport, you need 36 earned credits and a cumulative 2.00 GPA.
- Playing in one contest, scrimmages excluded, uses one of your two seasons.
- Playing for any outside club or team during the season can cost your eligibility.
The quarter system is the trap. A semester-school athlete can have a slow fall and fix it in spring. A quarter-system athlete is checked every ten weeks.
Fall quarter, winter quarter, spring quarter, and the baseball season runs across two of them. Ten credits passed in winter is the number that keeps you on the field in April.
There is no NCAA Eligibility Center step here. Your high school transcript and your college registration are the whole file. That is one of the reasons the level works for a late starter, and it is also why the four-year transfer later needs the credits to be real.
The championship: eight teams in Longview
The NWAC baseball championship is played at David Story Field on the Lower Columbia College campus in Longview, Washington. The 2026 tournament ran May 21 to 25. The 2027 dates are already posted, May 27 to 31, same field.
Getting there works like this. Each of the four region champions advances automatically. The four region runners-up each host a three-team super regional, and the third and fourth place teams from two other regions fill out those brackets.
Four super regional winners join the four champions, and eight teams play five days of baseball for the title.
In 2026 the region champions were Everett, Spokane, Lower Columbia and Linn-Benton. The super regional qualifiers were Pierce, Wenatchee Valley, Lane and Edmonds. Lower Columbia went 22-2 in West region play and 45-11 overall, the best record in the conference.
| Region | 2026 champion | Conference record | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | Everett | 25-5 | 43-11 |
| East | Spokane | 21-7 | 33-14 |
| West | Lower Columbia | 22-2 | 45-11 |
| South | Linn-Benton | 27-9 | 38-11 |
Two things about this event matter to a recruit. First, the conference gives free entry to four-year college coaches and pro scouts. The tournament is a showcase by design. Second, about 200 players are on site for five days, so a sophomore who is still uncommitted in late May can change his situation in one weekend.
How to get recruited by one of these programs
Recruiting here is direct. Staffs are two or three people, the territory is small, and a player who emails with a schedule and a video link gets read. This is the whole method in five steps.
- Pick the region first. Six to eight schools sit in each one, and a coach in the East region has probably already seen the other seven rosters. Choose by where you can live cheaply, then by program.
- Find the coach. Every program above is in the coach directory. Search “Northwest Athletic” and the staffs come up together, with the questionnaire link where the school has one.
- Send a short email with a video link. The template and the timing are in how to email a college baseball coach. Say the region, say the quarter you plan to start, and ask about the tuition waiver in the first message.
- Ask the money question in NWAC terms. “How much of the 65 percent are you offering, and for how many quarters?” A coach who can answer that in one sentence is a coach who has a real spot for you.
- Go to the championship if you are a junior. Longview in late May puts eight staffs and their four-year visitors in one place. Watch the level, then email the coaches whose teams you saw.
Timeline wise, the conference recruits later than the NCAA. Rosters fill through the winter of senior year and some spots open after the spring quarter starts. A player with no offer in November should not read that as the end.
Our Build My List tool sorts programs by cost, distance and the numbers that matter to you, and every school above is in it.
Is NWAC baseball good?
Honest answer: the top of the conference plays real college baseball, and the bottom is a long way down.
Lower Columbia, Everett, Linn-Benton and Edmonds each won 38 or more games in 2026. Those programs send players to NCAA Division I and Division II rosters every year, and Pierce College can point to Billy Boyer, named third base coach of the Detroit Tigers in 2026. The tournament in Longview draws four-year coaches because the talent is there.
The other end is different. Grays Harbor went 3-45 in 2026. Douglas, Chemeketa and Clackamas each won 12 games or fewer.
A player can start as a freshman at those schools, play every day, and use two seasons of at-bats to build a four-year resume. That is a real path, and it is not the same path as Lower Columbia.
The transfer path is the point of the level. Two years at a Northwest college, then a four-year roster with the credits in hand. The NCAA publishes a two-year college transfer guide that spells out the credit and GPA rules for moving up, and the conference links it from its own compliance page. Read it as a freshman, not as a sophomore in May.
Use the same tools you would use anywhere. Compare your numbers to the exit velocity benchmarks by level and the pitching velocity benchmarks by level, and read the JuCo column. Then read three seasons of a program’s standings before you decide what it is.
For a Northwest player who wants two years of at-bats, transferable credits and a coach who lives in the same state, this is the level. Twenty-eight programs. Around 900 roster spots. A championship built to be watched by the coaches you want to meet next.
What to do next
Open the coach directory with all 28 staffs loaded, pick the region you can afford to live in, and send your first email this week. If you want the whole recruiting process laid out step by step, the college baseball recruiting guide is the place to start. If a Christian college is part of your search, the NCCAA baseball guide covers that association the same way.
We update this page every time the NWAC list changes. Bookmark it, and check the directory for the live version.
Frequently asked questions
What is NWAC baseball?
NWAC baseball is the two-year college baseball championship run by the Northwest Athletic Conference, the governing body for community college sports in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Twenty-eight member colleges played baseball in 2026, in four regions, with a championship at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington.
Is the NWAC part of the NJCAA?
No. The NWAC is its own governing body with its own codebook, eligibility rules and championships. The NJCAA covers most of the rest of the country, and the CCCAA covers California. North Idaho College left the NWAC for the NJCAA after the 2023-24 year.
Do NWAC baseball schools give scholarships?
Yes, with a cap. Athletic aid is limited to 65 percent of in-state tuition under conference rules, awarded as tuition waivers at the head coach’s discretion. It does not cover housing or food, and no NWAC program can offer a full athletic scholarship.
What are the NWAC eligibility rules?
Be a high school graduate, register in at least 12 credits within 20 days of the quarter, pass at least 10 credits in your last quarter, and for a second season hold 36 earned credits with a 2.00 GPA. One contest uses one season, and you get two seasons total.
Is the NWAC a wood bat league?
Yes. NWAC baseball is played with wood bats only, in every game. Players coming from BBCOR metal in high school should start swinging wood the summer before they arrive.
Where is the NWAC baseball championship?
David Story Field at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington. Eight teams qualify: the four region champions plus four super regional winners. The 2027 tournament is May 27 to 31.