The wait is over.
The 2026 MIAA baseball state tournament brackets are here, and all three of our Cape Ann area squads find themselves in the mix.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how things shook out in Division 3, 4 and 5 for Gloucester, Manchester Essex and Rockport, respectively.
Division 3
Top two seeds: Pittsfield (18-3) & North Reading (17-3)
Local team in mix: Gloucester (No. 10 at 17-3)
The Fishermen enjoyed another sensational regular season, finishing among the top teams in the Northeastern Conference and securing the No. 10 seed in the playoffs for the second straight year. Behind some stellar pitching from Pip Emerson, Nico Alves and Brady Ciaramitaro, Gloucester has earned the right to host their tournament opener; it’ll play the winner of No. 23 Nauset Regional (6-11) and No. 42 Greater Lawrence Tech (10-10), with a date and time yet to be determined.
No. 7 Norwell (12-6) will face the winner of No. 26 Pentucket (10-10) and No. 39 Old Rochester Regional (10-10), with the winner of that Norwell game then taking on Gloucester, assuming the latter wins its home opener.
After going 19-1 a season ago, the Fishermen ultimately succumbed in the Sweet 16 against eventual semifinalist Sandwich. If Gloucester is going to advance even further this spring, it’ll come down to consistency at the plate.
Senior captain Lukas Albano has been on a tear of late, while Emerson, Alves and Mike Marino are all hitting over .300 as well.
Division 4
Top two seeds: Hamilton-Wenham (19-1) & East Bridgewater (13-7)
Local team in mix: Manchester Essex (No. 15 at 10-10)
The Hornets grinded through a gauntlet of a schedule (the Cape Ann League was particularly strong this year) to even their record by the end of the regular season.
That was enough to earn them a first-round home game on Sunday at 1 p.m. against the winner of No. 18 Triton Regional (8-12) and No. 47 Maimonides (9-4).
Manchester already beat Triton, 12-7, earlier this month, so it should go into that matchup with full confidence assuming the Vikings hold it down at home in their preliminary round bout. Should manager BJ Weed and his group come out on top in their opener, they’d likely face No. 2 seed East Bridgewater on the road in the Sweet 16.
Connor St. Laurent and Mikey Harris have led the charge for the Hornets this spring, both at the plate and on the mound as the team’s No. 1 and 2 pitchers.
Division 5
Top two seeds: English High (14-7) & Georgetown (14-6)
Local team in mix: Rockport (No. 19 at 1-17)
First-year head coach Joe Orlando’s Vikings didn’t have the best luck in terms of wins this spring. But they did compete at a high level more often than not, and because of their daunting strength of schedule, they easily qualified for the tourney with a favorable power ranking.
Good news for Rockport is that come playoff time, regular season records are completely thrown out the window. It’s a fresh start now, and Rockport has the luxury of resetting and attempting to play its best baseball when it matters most.
The Vikings first test? A Round of 32 road clash at No. 14 Lenox Memorial (12-7) on Sunday at 2 p.m. Ben Sperry or Brady Murray will likely draw the start in that one, and should they lead their team to an upset, No. 3 Hopkins Academy (19-2) would likely await in Round 2.
Of all the 40 Division 5 playoff participating programs, Rockport has only played one (Georgetown) this season. They fell to the No. 2 seeded Royals twice by 12-0 and 6-2 scores, with the majority of their other games coming against Division 4 and 3 schools.
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.