Baseball National Championship Qualifiers Revealed
May 11, 2023
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Opening Round Schedule] The NAIA has announced the 46-team field and pairings for the 2023 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round. The 14th annual event takes place May 15-18 at 10 host sites nationwide. Six of the sites will feature five-team, double-elimination tournaments while the final four brackets will sport only four squads each.
The winners of all 10 Opening Round sites will head to Lewiston, Idaho for the 66th Annual Avista NAIA Baseball World Series running from May 26 – June 2. For more information on the World Series, click here.
The field consists of 31 automatic qualifiers – given to conference regular-season champions, regular-season runners-up, tournament champions or tournament runners-up. Additionally there were 15 at-large teams. Conferences with 10-or-more members receive two automatic qualifiers, while leagues with less than 10 get one. At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Baseball National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, a member of the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association Executive Committee and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
Opening Round Notes
Overall, there are 30 repeat qualifiers from the 2022 Opening Round, including nine teams that won opening round titles last season.
Dillard (La.) and Concordia (Mich.) will be making their first appearance in the Opening Round in program history.
Southeastern (Fla.), the reigning NAIA National Champions, are the lone team to reach the 50-win threshold this season.
Twenty-two have combined to win 51 Opening Round crowns.
The AAC leads all conference with four entrants, followed by the Golden State, Great Plains, Heart, Mid-South, Sooner, and Sun with three each.
All-Time Opening Round Record by Seed
No. 1-Seed: 238-80 (.748)
No. 2 seed: 152-156 (.493)
No. 3 seed: 152-158 (.490)
No. 4 seed: 124-172 (.419)
No. 5 seed: 97-171 (.362)
All-Time Opening Round Host Records
2011 Hosts: 17-7 (.708)
2012 Hosts: 23-7 (.766)
2013 Hosts: 20-5 (.800)
2014 Hosts: 18-8 (.692)
2015 Hosts: 20-9 (.689)
2016 Hosts: 20-14 (.588)
2017 Hosts: 21-10 (.677)
2018 Hosts: 17-9 (.653)
2019 Hosts: 21-8 (.76)4
2021 Hosts: 15-11 (.576)
2022 Hosts: 30-8 (.789)
TOTAL: 192-88 (.698)
Institution     Qualifying Method        Record        Appearances  Last Time  OR   Titles OR Record
Antelope Valley (Calif.) Cal Pac Tournament Champion 30-14 5 2022 1 7-7
Ave Maria (Fla.) At-Large 34-16 2 2013 0 1-2
Bellevue (Neb.) NSAA Tournament Champion 45-8 13 2022 3 24-20
Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.) At-Large 42-12 2 2021 0 1-2
British Columbia CCC Tournament Champion 34-19 10 2022 0 14-18
Bryan (Tenn.) AAC Tournament Runner-Up 35-19 8 2022 0 11-14
Central Methodist (Mo.) At-Large 34-17 4 2022 0 1-6
Columbia (Mo.) AMC Tournament Champion 38-13 4 2022 0 3-6
Concordia (Mich.) WHAC Regular Season 46-8 1 NA NA NA
Concordia (Neb.) GPAC Tournament Runners-Up 38-15 5 2022 1 8-7
Cumberland (Tenn.) At-Large 35-13-1 7 2018 2 15-9
Cumberlands (Ky.) MSC Tournament Champion 46-7 6 2022 0 7-10
Dillard (La.) GCAC Tournament Champion 22-28 1 NA NA NA
Doane (Neb.) GPAC Regular Season Champion 42-10 6 2022 0 5-10
Fisher (Mass.) CAC Tournament Runner-Up 29-23 3 2022 0 0-4
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) MSC Tournament Runner-Up 37-19 8 2022 2 14-11
Georgia Gwinnett CAC Tournament Champion 47-5 9 2022 5 24-8
Grand View (Iowa) Heart Tournament Champion 34-12 5 2015 0 3-8
Hope International (Calif.) At-Large 33-9 5 2022 1 10-6
Houston-Victoria (Texas) RRAC Tournament Champion 26-25 4 2014 0 5-6
Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads Tournament Champion 36-18-1 4 2021 0 2-6
Kansas Wesleyan KCAC Regular Season Champion 42-13 5 2022 0 7-8
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) World Series Host Berth 30-16 2 2022 1 3-1
LSU Shreveport (La.) RRAC Regular Season Champion 44-8 14 2022 4 24-20
Madonna (Mich.) WHAC Tournament Champion 35-15 8 2022 0 5-14
McPherson (Kan.) KCAC Tournament Champion 36-14 3 2022 0 3-4
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) Heart Tournament Runner-Up 30-25 6 2022 1 8-8
Midway (Ky.) RSC Regular Season Champion 27-22 2 2017 0 0-2
Missouri Baptist At-Large 42-7 9 2017 2 17-13
Mobile (Ala.) SSAC Tournament Champion 35-13 3 2019 0 1-4
Morningside (Iowa) At-Large 36-16 2 2016 0 1-2
Oklahoma City Sooner Tournament Champion 30-19 13 2022 6 29-14
Point Park (Pa.) RSC Tournament Champion 36-15 7 2022 1 9-10
Reinhardt (Ga.) At-Large 33-18 4 2022 1 7-5
Science & Arts (Okla.) At-Large 34-18 8 2022 2 12-8
Southeastern (Fla.) The Sun Tournament Champion 52-4 8 2022 4 16-6
St. Francis (Ill.) CCAC Regular Season 25-26 6 2015 0 8-10
Saint Xavier (Ill.) CCAC Tournament Champion 31-25 5 2021 0 2-8
Taylor (Ind.) Crossroads Regular Season Champion 37-15 8 2022 0 6-14
Tennessee Wesleyan At-Large 42-9 14 2022 6 34-19
Texas Wesleyan At-Large 36-14 7 2019 0 12-12
Union (Ky.) AAC Tournament Champion 30-17-1 5 2019 0 6-8
Vanguard (Calif.) At-Large 33-16 7 2022 1 14-10
Webber International (Fla.) At-Large 40-15 5 2022 1 8-7
Westmont (Calif.) GSAC Tournament Champion 40-8 80 2022 1 12-12
William Carey (Miss.) At-Large 44-9 9 2022 1 17-15
Championship Information baseball
66th ANNUAL BASEBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
May 15-18, 2023
National Championship
Opening Round – Campus Sites
May 26 – June 2, 2023
World Series
Lewis-Clark State College
Lewiston, Idaho