Four Comets, four regionals: Palomar alumni make their mark in the 2026 NCAA Tournament

When the 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament field was announced, Palomar College had four alumni in it spread across four different regionals from the Florida Panhandle to the Pacific Northwest. As Sunday's action winds down and Monday's regional finals take shape, three of those four Comets are still competing, and two are one win away from a Super Regional berth.

Here is a look at where right-handed pitchers Ian Mowad (St. John's University) and Noah Waldeck (Saint Mary's of California), outfielder Elijah Cook (University of Oregon), and infielder Ryan Rivera (Long Island University) stand after an eventful regionals weekend.

Ian Mowad — St. John's University | Tallahassee Regional Regional Final (Monday)

Right-hander Ian Mowad is heading to the Tallahassee Regional Final on Monday, and the Red Storm are the last undefeated team standing in the field. St. John's opened by stunning No. 10 national seed Florida State 6-5, rallying from a three-run deficit in the final two innings. Then on Sunday, they made it emphatic. Trailing 5-0 after three innings, the Red Storm erupted for 18 unanswered runs to power past Northern Illinois 21-8. Every starter had at least one hit, one RBI and one run scored.

Mowad started the BIG EAST Tournament championship game against Creighton earlier this month, part of a remarkable turnaround for a team that lost 10 of its first 11 games before running off a 32-14 stretch to claim the conference's league-leading 11th BIG EAST Tournament title.

In Monday's final, St. John's will face Florida State, which survived two elimination games Sunday to force a winner-take-all matchup. The Red Storm need just one win to advance to the Super Regionals for the first time since 2012.

Noah Waldeck — Saint Mary's (CA) | Los Angeles Regional Regional Final (Sunday night)

Noah Waldeck and the Saint Mary's Gaels have been the story of the Los Angeles Regional. The WCC Tournament champions arrived in Westwood as a No. 4 seed and promptly knocked off No. 1 overall national seed UCLA 3-2 in Friday's opener, one of the defining upsets of regionals weekend. Jacob Johnson hit two home runs, including the go-ahead shot in the ninth inning.

Waldeck made his appearance in Saturday's 14-1 loss to Cal Poly in the winner's bracket, tossing 1.1 innings and inducing four groundouts. With the loss dropping Saint Mary's into the elimination bracket, the Gaels had to beat UCLA again Sunday afternoon to stay alive and did exactly that, winning 6-5 to eliminate the top-ranked Bruins from their own regional. The Gaels now face Cal Poly in Sunday night's Los Angeles Regional final. Win, and Waldeck's team is headed to the Super Regionals.

Elijah Cook — University of Oregon | Eugene Regional Regional Final (Sunday night)

Senior outfielder Elijah Cook and No. 11 Oregon have been dominant at home in the Eugene Regional at PK Park. The Ducks handled Yale 14-2 in the opener, then shut out Washington State 4-0 Saturday behind a stunning 14-strikeout performance from starter Will Sanford. Cook contributed in both games, a pinch-hit infield single and stolen base against Yale, and a key pinch-running appearance against Washington State in which he scored as part of the Ducks' decisive ninth-inning surge.

The Chula Vista native enters Sunday night's Eugene Regional Final against Oregon State as part of an undefeated team chasing history. Oregon has not appeared in the College World Series since 1954, and Cook's Ducks are one win from returning.

Ryan Rivera — Long Island University | Athens Regional Eliminated

Infielder Ryan Rivera and Long Island University's run in the Athens Regional came to an end Saturday, as the Sharks fell to host Georgia 18-2. Rivera, an All-NEC Second Team selection who hit above .350 on the season, made the NCAA Tournament field as one of the team's key contributors on LIU's NEC championship squad.

While the tournament run ended quickly against a powerhouse SEC program, Rivera's presence in the field of 64 is a meaningful milestone. In his previous season at Palomar, he earned All-NEC First Team honors and posted a .357 average with 51 RBI, numbers that made him one of the more decorated transfer contributors in the conference.

Three Palomar alumni in three different regional finals, or on the cusp of one, is not an accident. Mowad, Waldeck, Cook, and Rivera all came through a program that enters this spring ranked No. 2 in California with an undefeated PCAC conference record, and their postseason stories are being written at some of the highest-profile venues in college baseball: Jackie Robinson Stadium, PK Park, and Dick Howser Stadium.