Palomar earns No. 1 seed, will host SoCal 1 Regional

SAN MARCOS, Calif. — The accolades kept coming Sunday morning. Following the conclusion of a historic regular season, the No. 3 Palomar College Comets were awarded the No. 1 seed in the 2026 3C2A Baseball Championship, earning the right to host the SoCal 1 Regional at Bob Vetter Field from May 1-3.

Palomar finished the regular season 34-5 overall and 23-2 in the PCAC, the conference's five-time defending champions. The Comets owned the state's longest winning streak and were ranked as high as No. 2 in California. A pitching staff anchored by Joey Navarro (9-1), Ryan Herrod (8-1), and one of the deepest bullpens in the 3C2A carried a lineup that averaged nearly double-digit runs per game over the final month of the season.

Joining them in San Marcos are No. 16 Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) and No. 24 Mt. San Jacinto College. Mt. SAC enters at 23-17 overall after finishing in a tie for first place in the South Coast Conference, and as the defending 3C2A State Champions. Mt. San Jacinto finished 22-18 overall and placed third in the Inland Empire Conference.

The regional is a double-elimination format. Mt. SAC and Mt. San Jacinto will open the tournament in Game 1 on Friday at 11 a.m. The Comets enter in Game 2 at 3 p.m. Friday, facing the loser of that opener. From there, the bracket shifts based on results, the path through is straightforward for a team that wins, and unforgiving for one that doesn't. The regional champion advances to the Super Regional the following weekend, hosted by the higher seed.

For the Comets, the postseason is familiar ground. Palomar has been one of the premier programs in the 3C2A for years, and this group has the pitching depth, offensive firepower, and home-field advantage to make a deep run. First pitch Friday at Bob Vetter Field is at 11 a.m. for Game 1, with Palomar taking the field at 3 p.m.