College baseball is taking another significant step into the technology era.
The NCAA has officially approved the experimental use of a ball-strike challenge system across Divisions I, II and III beginning with the 2027 season, giving teams the ability to challenge selected calls made by the home-plate umpire when the necessary technology is available.
The Division I Baseball Oversight Committee and the Division II and III Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the technology rules this month. Most importantly, this is not a full automated strike zone replacing the home-plate umpire. The umpire will continue calling balls and strikes, with technology serving as a review mechanism when a player challenges a call. The system can be used in both regular-season and postseason competition.
The NCAA’s decision comes after the SEC tested a challenge system during its conference tournament in May, providing college baseball with a high-profile trial run before the technology was approved on a broader experimental basis.
For anyone who has watched Major League Baseball this season, the concept should look familiar.
MLB officially implemented its Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System for the 2026 season following years of experimentation in the Minor Leagues, as well as testing during 2025 Spring Training and the All-Star Game. In the Major League version, each team begins a game with two challenges and retains a challenge when successful. Only the pitcher, catcher or batter can initiate one, and the request must be made immediately following the pitch.
MLB’s Hawk-Eye technology tracks each pitch and quickly displays a graphic showing whether the ball crossed the electronically defined strike zone. The process generally takes only seconds, preserving the human element behind the plate while providing players with recourse on potentially significant missed calls.
The NCAA has not indicated in its announcement that every college program will be required to install the necessary equipment. That’s an important distinction, particularly when considering the enormous differences in resources and ballpark infrastructure between Power Four programs and smaller Division II and III schools. The rule specifically permits the system “when available,” meaning its presence could vary considerably from one ballpark and program to another during the experimental period.
The ABS challenge system isn’t the only technological change coming to college baseball. Teams will also have the option of using bat-sensor technology for in-game data collection, following a two-year experimental period in Division I. At the same time, Division I is moving away from electronic technology used to communicate offensive signals because of concerns that it could provide hitters with an unfair advantage.
“As more technology becomes accessible, it is a balance of wanting to advance the game to be as modern as possible,” Xavier head coach and Division I Baseball Rules Subcommittee chair Billy O’Conner said when the proposals were introduced. “But we also want to keep the game as fair as possible.”
For college baseball, ABS could eventually have an impact beyond simply correcting missed calls.
Catchers will have to understand when a borderline pitch is worth challenging. Pitchers will have another opportunity to earn a strike on a pitch they believe caught the zone, while hitters can challenge the called third strike that might otherwise end an at-bat—or an inning. The system could also become another developmental bridge between college baseball and the professional game, where MLB players are already learning how to incorporate challenges into their strategy.
The human umpire isn’t disappearing from behind the plate in 2027.
But from Division I all the way through Division III, college baseball players could finally have an electronic second opinion when they believe Blue missed one.