A Deep Dive into the CCL Playoffs: Predictions and What to Watch For

by Micah Rodriguez

After a summer headlined by walk-off home runs, five-hit days, double-digit strikeout performances, eight-run comebacks, and nearly 8,000 fans packed into Greater Nevada Field, we have made it to the playoffs.

Six teams remain. Win or go home. Only one can be crowned as the 2026 California Collegiate League champions.

Southern Division

No. 1 Seed: Orange County Riptide

No. 2 Seed: Conejo Oaks

No. 3 Seed: Academy Barons

First Round Matchup: Oaks vs. Barons at Pirate Park

A decade after these teams last met in the playoffs, the Oaks and Barons meet again with a pot in the Southern Division championship game on the line. 

Home field advantage is huge in this matchup. As remains true for many teams in the CCL, the Oaks are miles better at home than on the road. In the regular season, the Oaks were 19–5 at home and 2–9–1 on the road. Both clubs were undefeated against each other at their home ballparks; the Barons took all three games at the MLB Academy while the Oaks triumphed in their three matchups at Pirate Park. 

For the Oaks to have success, the top of their lineup needs to produce. Brandon Contreras, who is currently battling a hand injury after being hit by a pitch, has been a catalyst atop the Oaks lineup all summer. The lefty's average hasn't dipped below .400 since Opening Day. Owen Meli, Tyson Reis, Matthew Witkow, and Caden Stillwell round out the upper half of the lineup.

Reis has blossomed into one of the CCL's best hitters in the heart of the Oaks lineup. The catcher is hitting .320 with a near 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has nine doubles with four home runs and has driven in 28 runs to lead the Oaks. 

On the mound for the Oaks, Derek Turner and Daniel Puebla have been their two best performers in the final week of the regular season. Turner has appeared in ten games, making eight starts, to the tune of a 4.94 ERA with 29 strikeouts. On July 22 against the Barons, Turner, with a fastball that routinely sits between 91 and 94, tossed five innings of one-run ball in a 7–2 Oaks win. 

Puebla, a right-hander who didn't make his first appearance for the club until July 8th, is yet to allow a run through 11 innings. In his final regular season appearance against the Blues, the incoming freshman twirled three scoreless innings with five strikeouts. 

This summer for the Barons has already been a massive success, but the club has the opportunity to do something many didn't see coming in early June: win the Southern Division. In James Bishop's first year at the helm, the Barons finished 18–15 and clinched a postseason birth for the first time since 2016.

Nik Sanders joined the Barons on June 26th and has been a fixture in the lineup ever since. The catcher has played in 17 games and is hitting .400 with three home runs and 16 RBIs. He has walked 11 times and struck out ten in that timeframe. 

Eiji Sawamura and Elijah Clayton are stalwarts at the top of the Barons lineup. The pair both boast OBP's north of .400 and are always threats on the bases. Sawamura has swiped 26 bags while Clayton has taken 27, adding four home runs – three of which have come after July 11th. 

Jason Del Villar leads the club with 120 at-bats and has launched four long balls along with ten doubles. He left the yard in a 5–4 loss on June 7th against the Oaks.  

Daniel Rivera has been a headliner for the Barons' pitching staff all summer. The left-hander has an almost unfathomable 0.87 ERA through 31 innings. Rivera holds a 3–0 record and has punched out 32. He has only surrendered 12 hits, and his WHIP sits at 0.84. If he is available, I'd expect the Barons to hand them the ball. 

Rivera faced the Oaks twice in the regular season, and through seven innings of work, he only allowed one run on two hits with ten strikeouts. 

A Rivera-versus-Turner duel on the mound could be electric. Two aces, one spot in the championship game. 

Can the Barons quell the Oaks' hopes of a three-peat?

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Awaiting the winner of the Wild Card round, the Riptide ended the regular season going 6–4 in their final ten games. The Riptide also had much greater success at home playing at Great Park. The club finished 21–8 in the friendly confines and 5–9 on the road. 

The Riptide were 2–0 at home against the Oaks and 2–1 at home against the Barons. 

The entire summer, the Riptide were a model of consistency. Never getting too high, and never stooping too low. The club does not blow teams away offensively. Their .257 team average is second-lowest amongst playoff-bound teams. However, behind their league-leading pitching staff, their offense did just enough to propel them to a 26–17 regular season mark.

Pitching was the Riptides' calling card the entire summer. The Riptide have ten arms who threw more than 13 innings, all with an ERA below 3 – a big reason why they have a 3.41 team ERA. 

Brandon Wyland leads the powerful group. In 18 innings, the right-hander has allowed just four runs, good for a 2.00 ERA, and punched 18 tickets. On July 24th against the Barons, he surrendered one base runner in five scoreless innings of work with six strikeouts. 

Andrew Harbour made eight starts this summer, leading the Riptide. He posted a 3.00 ERA over 24 innings with a 1.25 WHIP. In his final outing on July 25th against the Saints, he spun four innings, allowing two runs on four hits. 

And although the Riptide have dealt with a steady overhaul of their pitching staff as the summer has gone along, the quality of their arms has remained remarkably consistent.

On Wednesday, the Riptide will have their entire staff as part of their arsenal. At the same time, the Oaks or Barons will likely use their top arms to get out of the Wild Card round.

Can the Riptide's staff carry them once more? Will the offense collect the big hit as they have been doing all season? We'll find out in a winner-take-all game on Wednesday night.

Northern Division 

No. 1 Seed: Walnut Creek Crawdads

No. 2 Seed: San Luis Obispo Blues

No. 3 Seed: Sonoma Stompers

Wild Card Round: Blues vs. Stompers at Sinsheimer Park  

In the Northern Division, the Blues are facing off with the Stompers with a spot in the Divisional Round on the line.

For most of the summer, it looked like the Blues had the No. 1 seed locked away in the safe. However, in July, the Crawdads became one of the best clubs in the CCL and rode the momentum of their 13-game winning streak through the end of the summer. 

The Blues took the regular season series with the Stompers 3–1, but the clubs' last meeting came on June 17th, a 3–2 Blues win in 11 innings. 

The Blues went 7–3 to close out the regular season and finished with the most total wins in the CCL at 32–14. Their team ERA of 3.67 is the lowest in the Northern Division, and their .273 team average is the highest in the Northern Division. 

Cesar Chavez, Diego Murillo, and Brendan Comerford showed up day in and day out for the Blues all summer, and each has north of 43 hits. 

While the Crawdads and Riptide separated themselves from the rest of the pack, the Stompers always stayed right on their hip. The club was comfortably in the No. 3 seed and just found ways to win games. 

Tino Vasell and Hunter Carlson carried the load offensively all summer. Vasell really came on in July. His 36 RBIs lead the CCL, and Carlson is right behind him with 34. 

And offensively, the slugging was never a problem for the Stompers. 95 extra-base hits only trailed the Blues and Crawdads amongst playoff teams. However, a byproduct of that is swing and miss, and the Stompers do so a lot. The Sonoma club struck out 410 times this summer, the most in the CCL. 

This may be a problem as the Blues have punched out 477 batters and their 10.45 K/9 leads the CCL. 

I believe this matchup will come down to strikeouts. Will the Blues staff get ahead and put the Stompers away? Or will they fall behind and play into the Stompers' hands?

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The Crawdads exploded into the upper echelon of clubs in late June. The club rode a 13-game winning streak to the No. 2 seed in the Northern Division and didn't look back from there. From that moment on, the club went 12–6 over its final 18 games. 

What changed for the Crawdads? What flipped a switch?

Their offense started to click. 

TJ Woodson and Bryden Bull were mainstays all summer. Woodson ended the summer hitting .329 with an OPS north of .900, and Bull finished at .291 with five home runs – tied for second-most in the CCL. Alongside them, Ryan Ellis provided steady offense while holding down the middle infield. Ellis hit .305 with a .985 OPS. 

Aidan Robles joined the club in mid-July, and through 36 at-bats, the infielder is hitting .417 with three doubles and a home run. 

On the mound, Myles Brand has been elite out of the bullpen all summer. The right-hander leads the club with 14 appearances and has a 0.78 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts in 23 innings. 

Hudson Aber joined the team in mid-June and has become their ace. In six starts, Aber has a 1.27 ERA with a 0.98 WHIP. 

Against the Blues, the Crawdads really struggled. The club did not win a game, going 0–4. But against the Stompers, the Crawdads went 7–2.

Surely the club is rooting for the Stompers, but that would be the tenth time the teams matched up this summer. In contrast, they have only played the Blues four times. 

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Predictions: 

Southern Division:

Oaks over Barons 

Oaks prevail at home. Turner outduels Rivera in a low-scoring affair.

Oaks over Riptide

Oaks finally take one from the Riptide on the road. Getting on the board first is huge.

Northern Division:

Blues over Stompers

The swing and miss stuff from the Blues staff overpowers the Stompers.

Crawdads over Blues 

The Crawdads finally best the Blues. Taking the Blues away from their home field and home crowd serve as the difference maker.

Championship:

Crawdads over Oaks in 3 Games

The Oaks fall just short of a three-peat. The Crawdads' pitching depth outlasts the Oaks in a high-scoring series.