BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - With the regular season in the rearview, the Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team enters the season's next chapter, the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament. The Green and White (18-20) earned a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed with its 12-8 conference record. The Titans will travel to tournament host Millikin University, Thursday, May 7, to play the lowest remaining seed with first pitch at 3:30 p.m.

The 2026 version of the CCIW Tournament will open its gates at 2 p.m. for the championship's first game between No. 3 North Park and sixth-seeded Wheaton Wednesday, May 6. Approximately 30 minutes after the first game, No. 4 Carthage and No. 5 Augustana will square off for the final game of day one. 

The Titans bring their trio of All-CCIW members into the postseason which includes first team member junior Jack Novak (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central) and second team additions sophomores AJ Weller (Geneseo, Ill.-Geneseo) and Ben Ford (Naperville, Ill.-Waubonsie Valley). Novak's strong conference regular season consisted of a league-best batting average of .538. He posted 35 hits and 12 extra-base hits, seven doubles, two triples, and three home runs. 

A strong overall regular season from Weller was highlighted with two CCIW Hitter of the Week awards. His .380 batting average leads the team by over 20 points. The lefty racked up 62 hits and 33 RBI's. Ford flashed in his sophomore season with a .352 average on 50 hits. He recorded six doubles and three triples. The Illinois Wesleyan bats lead the CCIW in conference action with a batting average of .328 and have struck out a conference-low 115 times. IWU is third in slugging percentage at .452.

Senior Cole Shamhart (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) and sophomore Brennan Tomhave (Pittsfield.-Pittsfield) spotlight the starting rotation for the Green and White. They both sport 4-1 records through 11 appearances. Shamhart leads the team in innings pitched with 48.2 and has struck out 34. Tomhave started the year out of the bullpen but has started on the bump in his last three appearances. He holds the team-high in strikeouts with 37 in 36 innings. He dazzled in his last start against Wheaton. The hard-throwing righty went a season-high seven and a third innings and worked the first six scoreless. 

Out of the bullpen, freshman Brayden Elliott (Gibson City, Ill.-Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley) has been sensational. Elliott has a batting average against of .250, a team-low. The Titans' closer has saved six games to rank 23rd in the nation and third all-time in a single season. Sophomore Cade Addis (Fairbury, Ill.-Praire Central) has come up big as one-of-two lefties for the Titans. Addis' 16.2 innings have led to a 3.65 earned run average with a batting average against at .254.

Illinois Wesleyan earned its second seed with a strong end to the regular season in a series win over North Park. IWU finished its conference slate as winners of five of its final seven games. Against this year's field, the Green and White hold an 8-5 record with series wins over Millikin, Wheaton, and North Park. Thursday will mark Illinois Wesleyan's 35th appearance in the conference tournament as it enters its 39th year of existence. The Titans aim for their first CCIW Tournament Championship since 2014 and the league's automatic qualifier bid for the seventh time. The Green and White were crowned champions of the CCIW Tournament in 1989, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2014.

Live stats and a live stream will be made available for the tournament and can be found on the baseball schedule page of iwusports.com. Illinois Wesleyan will play the lowest seed remaining at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, at Workman Family Baseball Field in Decatur, Ill.