INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA released the regional brackets for the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Monday afternoon, and Rider University will be travelling to Gainesville, FL to face the no. 8 host Gators of Florida. The other two teams playing in the double-elimination regional are Miami and Troy.
 
The Broncs punched their ticket into the tournament by going 3-1 in the MAAC Tournament, reaching the Championship series through the winner's bracket before defeating third-seeded Fairfield, 6-1, to clinch the MAAC Championship.
 
PJ Craig (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) was named MAAC Tournament MVP after throwing a complete game in Rider's opening victory against Merrimack, then coming back on just one day's rest to toss seven scoreless innings in the winner-take-all Championship Game. Craig was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Christian Aiello (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford), Kyle Neri (Williamstown, NJ/St. Augustine Prep[Bryant]), Peter Crespo (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic), and Erich Hartmann (Medford, NJ/Shawnee).
 
Florida earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after falling in the semifinals of the SEC Championships to Georgia. The host Gators enter the tournament with a 39-19 record. They are led by sophomore pitcher Aidan King, who was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year. King finished the season 8-2 with a 2.68 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, striking out 89 batters in 84.0 innings. The Gators last faced a MAAC opponent in the 2025 Conway Regional, when the Gators defeated Fairfield. Rider and Florida have met just once previously, in 1992.
 
Miami earned an at-large bid out of the ACC, after falling in the ACC Semifinals to Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes and Broncs met for the only other time in program history in the 1994 Coral Gables Regional. Troy received an at-large berth into the tournament after falling in the Sun Belt Championship game to Southern Miss. Troy and the Broncs met during the regular season in 1992 with the Trojans claiming the victory in both games that season.
 
Rider is playing in the NCAA tournament for the 16^th time in program history and 13^th time in the regional era (since 1975). The Broncs are making their first appearance in the tournament since the 2023 season. Rider advanced through district play in 1967 to reach the College World Series. Rider has previously played in the Gainesville Regional in 1992, falling to the host Gators, 6-1.