Taking stock of the Division 3 postseason picture

Blase Cormier (Wayland, Mass.) is having a tremendous sophomore season for Suffolk, a contender to win the GNAC.

The start of postseason play in Division 3 is fast approaching, with regular seasons ending within a week’s time in most of the region’s conferences. There is plenty to dissect entering this postseason, as tournaments are played using different formats and the NCAAs take on a different look this year.

(Their first of three Regional Rankings, a good window into who's under consideration for an at-large bid, come out on Wednesday.)

The days of a “New England Regional” in Harwich, Mass., or Mansfield, Conn., are gone. Instead, the Division 3 national tournament will take a similar shape to Division 1, with 16 regionals contested throughout the country. According to the NCAA Pre-Championship Manual, 13 will see four teams play with double-elimination. The other three will feature two teams squaring off in a best-of-five series. The College World Series also heads to a new home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The weather and Easter shortened this weekend’s playing schedule dramatically, so now is the perfect time to take a look at where things stand in each conference, all of which — except the Little East, MASCAC, and NESCAC — begin postseason play later next week.