American Legion tests new regional tournament format for 2026 Baseball playoff season

For the 2026 tournament season, American Legion Baseball tested a new regional format. Instead of eight regional sites with eight teams apiece, four regionals each included just six teams: the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-South and Central Plains. And two sites each hosted two regionals: the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in Shrewsbury/Worcester, Mass., and the Mid-South and Southeast in Cherryville/Gastonia, N.C. The new format meant teams had to rethink some strategy to accommodate the shorter tournament schedule.