2018-2019 NAIA DIII Men’s Basketball Qualifier and Bracket Announced
32 teams qualify for national championship
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 32 qualifiers for the 28th annual NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship, presented by Athletic Care. The event takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., March 6-12.
This year’s field consists of 23 automatic berths and 9 at-large spots. Automatic qualification is given to conference regular-season champions, regular-season runners-up, tournament champions or tournament runners-up depending on the league. At-large teams were determined using the final regular-season Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released today.
Qualifier Notes
• Defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan enters tournament as the No. 1 overall seed looking to become only the second team in Division II men’s basketball history to win back-to-back national titles. Bethel (Ind.) accomplished the feat in 1997 and 1998.
• This will be Indiana Wesleyan’s 12th trip to the national tournament. The Wildcats hold an overall record of 28-5 and leads the Crossroads League with a 14-4 record. The team also leads the division in field goal percentage (0.539).
• Twenty teams return to the championship from the 2018 field
• Eight teams have made at least 10 appearances at the national championship. College of the Ozarks (Mo.) leads the group as 2019 will mark the Bobcats 22nd time competing in the tournament. Oregon Tech and Cornerstone (Mich.) are next with 17 appearances each.
• Three different institutions in this year’s tournament have won three national titles. Cornerstone (1999, 2011, 2015), Oregon Tech (2004, 2008, 2012), Indiana Wesleyan (2014, 2016, 2018) pace the field with three national titles each.
• IU Kokomo (Ind.) and Ave Maria (Fla.) all making their first-ever trip to the national championship.
| Team Name | Qualification | Record | Appearance | Tournament Record | Last Time | Titles |
| Antelope Valley (Calif.) | California Pacific Conference Tournament Champion | 16-12 | 1 | 0-1 | 2018 | 0 |
| Ave Maria (Fla.) | The Sun Conference Tournament Champion | 23-8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bethel (Ind.) | At-Large | 21-10 | 15 | 32-12 | 2018 | 3 |
| Briar Cliff (Iowa) | At-Large | 20-8 | 12 | 7-12 | 2018 | 0 |
| College of Idaho | Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Champion | 28-5 | 13 | 17-12 | 2018 | 1 |
| College of the Ozarks (Mo.) | AII Tournament Runner-up | 22-10 | 21 | 28-20 | 2017 | 1 |
| Cornerstone (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion | 25-8 | 16 | 39-13 | 2018 | 3 |
| Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | At-Large | 22-9 | 10 | 8-10 | 2018 | 0 |
| Friends (Kan.) | At-Large | 22-9 | 6 | 2-6 | 2015 | 0 |
| Indiana East (Ind.) | At-Large | 24-8 | 6 | 8-6 | 2018 | 0 |
| Indiana Tech | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 22-11 | 8 | 4-8 | 2018 | 0 |
| Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League Tournament Champion | 28-5 | 11 | 30-8 | 2018 | 3 |
| IU Kokomo (Ind.) | River States Conference East | 25-7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamestown (N.D.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament | 28-5 | 9 | 5-9 | 2013 | 0 |
| Madonna (Mich.) | At-Large | 23-9 | 1 | 0-1 | 2013 | 0 |
| Marian (Ind.) | At-Large | 25-7 | 5 | 6-5 | 2018 | 0 |
| Mayville State (N.D.) | North Star Athletic Association Tournament Champion | 20-8 | 7 | 8-7 | 2018 | 0 |
| Montreat (N.C.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-up | 24-7 | 2 | 1-2 | 2006 | 0 |
| Morningside (Iowa) | Great Plains Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion | 27-3 | 6 | 7-6 | 2018 | 0 |
| Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) | At-Large | 26-7 | 8 | 6-8 | 2009 | 0 |
| Oklahoma Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 30-3 | 6 | 13-5 | 2018 | 1 |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion | 23-8 | 2 | 0-2 | 2016 | 0 |
| Oregon Tech | Cascade Collegiate Conference Regular Season Champion | 24-7 | 16 | 33-13 | 2018 | 3 |
| Southeastern (Fla.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion | 20-9 | 4 | 3-2 | 2018 | 0 |
| Southwestern (Kan.) | At-Large | 27-4 | 4 | 1-4 | 2018 | 0 |
| Spring Arbor (Mich.) | Crossroads League Regular Season Champion | 25-7 | 2 | 3-2 | 2010 | 0 |
| St. Francis (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 25-7 | 2 | 0-2 | 2016 | 0 |
| Union (Ky.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 26-6 | 6 | 6-5 | 2018 | 1 |
| Voorhees (S.C.) | AII Tournament Champion | 24-5 | 1 | 0-1 | 2018 | 0 |
| Warner (Fla.) | The Sun Conference Regular Season Champion | 21-10 | 6 | 10-6 | 2018 | 0 |
| Washington Adventist (Md.) | AII Tournament Third Place | 22-10 | 2 | 0-2 | 2017 | 0 |
| WVU Tech | River States Conference Tournament Champion | 29-4 | 2 | 0-2 | 2018 | 0 |