The New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) announced the seeding for the Class 5A baseball state tournament on Sunday, setting the stage for the postseason which begins this Wednesday. Rio Rancho earned the top seed after prevailing in a competitive five-week stretch within the 1-5A district. The Rams will host the first round of the best-of-three series next weekend as they aim for a state title.

Joining Rio Rancho as top contenders are Cleveland, La Cueva, and Piedra Vista, seeded second through fourth respectively. Rounding out the top eight seeds are Centennial, Carlsbad, Eldorado, and Mayfield, all of whom will also host opening round games. The NMAA released a bracket that features several regional matchups designed to limit travel for half of the visiting teams.

In the opening round, Rio Grande will visit Eldorado, while defending state champion Sandia, which finished the season at 13-13, will travel to face Cleveland. Centennial is set to host Las Cruces, and Atrisco Heritage, the final team to qualify, will travel to face top-seeded Rio Rancho. La Cueva holds the 5A No. 3 seed and will host Hobbs, the 14th seed. Meanwhile, District 5 champion Los Lunas is matched against Mayfield on the road.

The selection process sparked some debate over the last available slots in the tournament field. Sandia, Cibola, and Atrisco Heritage finished with similar records and criteria evaluations. After the NMAA weighed six seeding criteria points across the three teams, Sandia emerged with the highest rating and secured the final berth. Atrisco Heritage clinched the 16th seed due in part to a 15-5 victory over Cibola late in the season. Despite Cibola defeating four of the top seven seeds, including Cleveland, Piedra Vista, and Eldorado, their loss to Atrisco Heritage ultimately kept them out of the field.

NMAA executive director Dusty Young highlighted the narrow margins that influenced the final selections, noting the importance of individual head-to-head results in the seeding determinations.

In a notable development, Volcano Vista, a perennial contender in Class 6A, did not qualify for the state tournament, marking what is believed to be the first time they have missed the postseason since the classification’s inception. The 6A tournament is set to commence alongside 5A this week.

The 5A postseason will unfold with a series of best-of-three first-round matchups hosted by the higher seeds, with the ultimate goal for each team to advance toward the state championship.