The year 2026 opens with a mixed calendar for French baseball and softball. Between well-established national competitions, stated European ambitions and a few areas of uncertainty, the season promises to be strategic, if not abundant.
Division 1: eight clubs in search of confirmation
The Division 1 championship will resume on the weekend of April 4th and 5th. Fourteen matchdays will punctuate the regular season, before the final stages scheduled for September 19th-20th and 26th-27th.
Eight teams will be in attendance. Metz, relegated to Division 2, is replaced by PUC. Béziers begins its second consecutive season in the elite, while Rouen defends its title after winning it in 2025.
Another highlight: the French Challenge, which will bring together the eight Division 1 teams from Division 1 from May 14th to 17th in Toulouse and Bon-Encontre, in a seven-game format. The 2025 edition was won by Savigny.
On the continental stage, the European Cup will be held from June 15 to 20 in Karlovac, Croatia. The French clubs Rouen Baseball 76 and Savigny Lions will try to shine against the locals from Karlovac, Brno and Brasschaat. In 2025, Tenerife won the final against Montpellier, after eliminating Rouen in the semi-finals. The objective is clear: to win the title for one of the two French teams and to return, in 2027, to the higher level of European competitions.
Division 2 and Division 3: density and renewal
The Division 2 will start on April 12. After nine rounds, the finals will be played on September 13 and 20. In 2025, PUC dominated Meyzieu in the final, validating its return to the elite.
The Division 3, a young championship in full structuring, starts its second season. Kick-off on April 12 for nine rounds, with sixteen teams divided into four pools. Montpellier is the defending champion.
Softball : les Comanches en locomotive
Le calendrier du softball sera marqué par deux Challenges de France :
- Masculin : du 1er au 3 mai à Évry-Courcouronnes (vainqueur 2025 : les Cavigal de Nice).
- Féminin : du 23 au 30 mai (vainqueur 2025 : les Comanches de Saint-Raphaël).
Le championnat de Division 1 féminine débutera le week-end du 22 mars. Après dix journées, les finales se tiendront les 4 et 11 octobre. Les Comanches de Saint-Raphaël, déjà sacrées en 2025, feront figure de favorites.
Sur la scène européenne, les Comanches de Saint-Raphaël, victorieuses de l’European Cup l’an dernier, disputeront la Coupe d’Europe B du 17 au 22 août en Hongrie.
En revanche, aucune information officielle n’a encore filtré concernant un championnat national masculin en 2026.
Baseball5 : cap sur Toulouse et Dakar
Discipline in full growth, Baseball5 will have two major events. The French Internationals will be held in Toulouse from July 3 to 5. In 2025, the French senior team won this edition.
But the flagship event will undoubtedly be the Youth Olympic Games, organized in Dakar from October 31 to November 13. For the first time, eight mixed junior teams, including France, will compete in an official tournament. A Olympic medal becomes a credible objective for the French team.
Federal events and international scene
The French Federation will hold its General Assembly on March 14 at the INSEP.
In terms of arbitration, Serge Makouchetchev will represent France from March 6 to 11 in Miami as part of the World Baseball Classic, in Group D (Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Netherlands, Israel, Nicaragua).
The World Baseball Classic, a major global tournament, will take place from 5th to 17th March, with four groups of five teams located in the United States, Japan and Puerto Rico. The final will be held in Miami at 8pm local time (2am in France). The defending champions are Japan. Five European nations will be competing: England, Italy, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Israel.
The World Federation also announced the qualification methods for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles for both Baseball and Softball. It is difficult to see how our senior French teams could compete, but…
World rankings: stable positions
At the beginning of 2026, the French teams hold the following positions:
- Men’s Baseball: 25th in the world, 7th in Europe
- Men’s Softball: not ranked
- Women’s Softball: 21st in the world, 8th in Europe
- Baseball5: 3rd in the world
A moderate year, an expected revival
On an international level, 2026 appears relatively sparse for the French national teams, with few major competitions on the schedule and continued uncertainty surrounding men’s softball.
Another constant: the still-discreet communication from Division 1 clubs regarding their ambitions, recruitments or infrastructure projects – with the notable exception of Rouen. As often, the real media kick-off will happen in March, as the first matches approach.
Season of transition or pivotal year? The answer on the fields.
