MILWAUKEE – Horizon League Champion Milwaukee learned its destination for the 2026 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship on Monday afternoon. The Panthers will travel to take on the No. 4 overall seed Auburn on Friday at 12:00 p.m. (CT).
 
The Panthers finished the regular season with a 25-31 record and earned the second seed in the Horizon League Championship with a 14-10 league mark. At the championship, Milwaukee defeated first-round opponent Northern Kentucky, 14-2, before defeating top-seeded Wright State twice, 4-1 and 5-4, to earn the league's automatic qualifying bid.
 
Milwaukee will be making its fifth trip to the NCAA Championship, and first since the 2010 season. The program also qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 1999, 2001, and 2002.
 
Auburn will be Milwaukee's first opponent in the four-team pod, finishing the 2026 season with a 38-19 overall mark and a 17-13 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Tigers reached the SEC Semifinals at Hoover Met in Alabama on Saturday before falling to Arkansas, 2-1.
 
Auburn enters the NCAA Championship as the No. 4 overall seed, tying the program's highest postseason seed in program history. The Tigers were the No. 4 overall seed both in 2003 and 2025.
 
Joining Milwaukee and Auburn in Alabama will be second-seeded Central Florida, who finished the regular season 31-21 with a 19-11 record in the Big 12 Conference. Central Florida climbed as high as No. 12 in the national polls this season but fell to Oklahoma State in the quarterfinal rounds of the conference tournament.
 
UCF's first round opponent will be North Carolina State, which wrapped up the season with a 32-22 record overall and a 14-16 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Wolfpack earned the No. 9 seed in the ACC Tournament and fell to No. 16 seed Duke in a high-scoring first-round matchup, 21-12.
 
UCF and NC State will matchup following the Milwaukee-Auburn game at 5:00 p.m. (CT) at Plainsman Park to wrap up the opening day of the double-elimination bracket. Friday's winners will matchup at 7:00 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, May 30, while the first elimination game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (CT).
 
Sunday's games will also be 2:00 p.m. (CT) and 7:00 p.m. (CT) starts, while the if necessary game will take place on Monday, June 1, at a time to be announced. The winner of the Auburn Regional will matchup with the winner of the Lincoln Regional, hosted by Nebraska.
 
The Panthers have not played Auburn, UCF, or NC State in its program's history. Auburn will be the second SEC opponent that Milwaukee will face this season after opening the year at LSU in February. The Panthers did not face a Big 12 opponent during the regular season, but did take on Duke of the ACC in late February.
 
Ticket & Parking Information
Per Auburn, general admission all-session tickets are on sale as of Monday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m. (CT). Tickets are $90 for ballpark general admission and $70 for outfield general admission. If inventory remains, single-session tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. (CT). Tickets can be purchase at AUBTIX.com.
 
Parking passes for the Neville Arena, coliseum and athletics complex lots are also available for purchase a AUBTIX.com.