County baseball
- Updated: March 1, 2026
Defending champion Oxford unanimous choice as top seed, and Alexandria takes No. 2 seed. (Will be updated with pairings)
2026 Calhoun County baseball tournament
SEEDINGS
1. Oxford 2-5, 0-0
2. Alexandria 4-2, 1-0
3. Piedmont 3-1, 1-1
4. Jacksonville 1-3, 0-1
5. Pleasant Valley 4-0, 2-0
6. White Plains 2-3, 2-0
7. Wellborn 3-2, 0-1
8. Ohatchee 3-2, 0-1
9. Weaver 2-3, 0-2
10. Faith Christian 2-1, 1-0
11. Donoho 0-1, 0-0
12. Saks 0-1, 0-0
13. Anniston 0-1, 0-1
14. Jacksonville Christian 0-0, 0-0
Tournament schedule
Editor’s note: Subject to change, depending on weather and the outcome of Wednesday’s Class 6A basketball semifinal involving Oxford’s boys’ team.
FRIDAY, March 6
At Choccolocco Park
No. 12 Saks vs. No. 13 Anniston, 4:30 p.m.
No. 11 Donoho vs. No. 14 Jacksonville Christian, 4:30 p.m.
No. 7 Wellborn vs. No. 10 Faith Christian, 4:30 p.m.
No. 8 Ohatchee vs. No. 9 Weaver, 6:30 p.m.
No. 5 Pleasant Valley vs. Saks/Anniston, 6:30 p.m.
No. 6 White Plains vs. Donoho/JCA, 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, March 7
At Alexandria High School
No. 4 Jacksonville vs. Saks/Anniston/PV, 10 a.m.
No. 2 Alexandria vs. Wellborn/Faith, noon
No. 3 Piedmont vs. Donoho/JCA/White Plains, 2 p.m.
No. 1 Oxford vs. Ohatchee/Weaver, 4 p.m. (Could move to 8 p.m.)
MONDAY, March 9
At Piedmont High School
Semifinals, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
TUESDAY, March 10
At Jacksonville State University
Championship, 5 p.m.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
ALEXANDRIA — Regard for Oxford’s baseball program within Calhoun County never graduates.
County coaches unanimously voted the defending champion Yellow Jackets (2-5) as the top seed in the county tournament, set to start Friday at Choccolocco Park and move to Alexandria on Saturday, Piedmont on March 9 and Jacksonville State University on March 10.
Alexandria (4-2) was voted the No. 2 seed.
Both programs have recently graduated groups of players that won state titles, Oxford in 2023 and Alexandria in 2024. Both teams are young.
Just how young explains Oxford’s “little bit of a slow start” to the season, third-year Oxford coach Travis Janssen said.
“We’re playing a lot of young players, and we haven’t had that happen in the last couple of years,” he said. “We have ninth-graders involved and a couple of sophomores involved, so it’s been a year where we’re trying to get guys used to playing at the varsity level, and the record is not great.
“We’ve competed against some really good teams. If we can figure out a way to close games out, we’re going to be just fine, but it is a little bit more of a work in progress this year than it has been in years past.”
Oxford’s losses have come against Briarwood Christian, Hewitt-Trussville, Gainesville (Ga.), perennial state power and reigning 6A state champion Hartselle and Hazel Green.
The Yellow Jackets beat Blessed Trinity Catholic (Roswell, Ga.), ranked No. 9 in Perfect Game’s national preseason top 50.
Oxford has Mississippi State signee and draft prospect Rocco Maniscalco, and Ayden Noyola is off to a strong start.
Noyola and Bryson Bradford are tied for the team lead among players who have played in all seven games with .300 batting averages. Bradford has a .417 on-base percentage, and Noyola .400. Noyola has a team-high six RBIs.
“He’s been great,” Janssen said. “He came in and played football in the fall, and I think he gained some confidence with that, both as a hitter and as a pitcher. He’s been an impact guy for us.
“He hit a huge home run against the nationally-ranked team we beat. That was a really cool moment.”
Janssen acknowledges that Oxford is “not overpowering” on the mound. He counts on his pitchers throwing strikes, changing speeds and trusting a “solid” defense.
He said he’s “excited”about getting the top seed in the county tournament.
“I think a little bit of that is reputation,” Janssen said. “Proud to be the number one seed, and we’ll go and play really good baseball for a few days. That’s our goal.”
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