The 48-Team Field is Set for The 44th Annual NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Rounds
May 07, 2025
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 48-team field for the 44th annual NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Rounds on Wednesday evening. The field consists of 29 automatic qualifiers and 19 at-large selections made by the softball national selection committee, comprised of head coaches and administrators from around the country. 18 conferences are represented in this year’s national championship field, led by the Cascade Collegiate Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference, each sporting five teams in the field. The Sun Conference and Red River Athletic Conference both follow with four teams who will continue to battle for the coveted red banner this season.
34-of-48 teams return to the field from last season, including the defending national champions, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas). Cornerstone (Mich.) will return to the national tournament for the first time since 2014, while Arizona Christian returns for the first time since 2016. Keiser (Fla.), Johnson (Tenn.), and British Columbia will enter the softball opening rounds for the first time in the history of their respective programs, while Oklahoma City will play in an opening round for a field best 12th time. The 48-team field has a combined record of 1736-597 or a 74.4 winning percentage. The winners from each of the opening rounds will travel to Columbus, Georgia, to compete in the NAIA Softball World Series from May 22-28 at South Commons Complex. All opening round broadcasts will be streamed by the host institution.
Let’s take a look at a couple of highlights in the opening round. In San Antonio, the defending national champions of OLLU will see two west coast teams in Eastern Oregon and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Middle Georgia State, and Central Baptist (Ark.). The Saints are on an eight-game winning streak entering the opening rounds, while Middle Georgia State is peaking at the right time, having won the last 27 games dating back to March 11. Heading to the Pacific Northwest, Southern Oregon will host another team that is peaking at the right time and on a 22-game winning streak with Saint Xavier (Ill.). The 2024 World Series Runner-up Science and Arts (Okla.) received one-of-two, four-team brackets this year as they play host to Grand View (Iowa), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), and Stillman (Ala.).
*Host Institutions
INSTITUTION HOW THEY QUALIFIED RECORD LAST TIME APPEARANCES
Arizona Christian Tournament Champion 27-24 2016 2
Baker (Kan.) At-Large 29-17 2024 5
British Columbia At-Large 26-18 – 1
Campbellsville (Ky.) At-Large 27-16 2023 9
Central Baptist (Ark.) Tournament Runner-Up 31-25 2021 3
Central Methodist (Mo.)* Regular Season Champion 38-9 2024 10
Coastal Georgia At-Large 35-17 2024 5
College of Idaho At-Large 26-18 2024 8
Cornerstone (Mich.) At-Large 35-14 2014 2
Cumberlands (Ky.)* Tournament Champion 37-7 2024 4
Eastern Oregon Tournament Champion 32-9 2024 5
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) At-Large 27-11 2024 4
Evangel (Mo.) Tournament Champion 40-10 2024 2
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) At-Large 20-15 2024 8
Friends (Kan.) Regular Season Champion 36-13 2024 7
Georgia Gwinnett* Tournament Champion 43-8 2024 10
Grand View (Iowa) Tournament 37-13 2024 10
Hope International (Calif.) At-Large 35-13 2024 6
Houston – Victoria (Texas) At-Large 29-21 2024 8
Indiana Wesleyan* Tournament Runner-Up 43-9 2024 10
Jamestown (N.D.) Tournament Champion 35-15 2018 3
Johnson (Tenn.) Tournament Champion 29-13 – 1
Keiser (Fla.) At-Large 39-15 – 1
LSU Alexandria (La.) Best Record in Conference & Tournament Play 46-7 2024 8
Madonna (Mich.) Regular-Season Champion 44-8 2024 9
Marian (Ind.) Co-Regular Season Champion & Tournament Champion 44-7 2024 11
Middle Georgia State Tournament Champion 38-8 2024 3
Midland (Neb.) At-Large 37-15 2024 7
Missouri Baptist Regular Season & Tournament Champion 44-6 2024 2
Mobile (Ala.) At-Large 32-18 2023 7
Morningside (Iowa) Tournament Runner-Up 33-17 2021 7
Northwestern (Iowa)* Regular Season Champion 46-11 2024 4
Northwestern Ohio Tournament Champion 35-16 2018 2
Oklahoma City* Tournament Runner-Up 46-8 2024 12
Oregon Tech* Co-Regular-Season Champion 42-9 2024 11
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)* Regular Season Champion 45-7 2024 5
Reinhardt (Ga.) Regular Season Champion 28-10 2024 9
Rio Grande (Ohio) Tournament Champion 44-9 2024 9
Saint Xavier (Ill.) Tournament Champion 36-6 2024 11
Science and Arts (Okla.)* Regular Season Champion 47-7 2024 9
Southeastern (Fla.) At-Large 40-9 2024 8
Southern Oregon* At-Large 45-8 2024 9
St. Thomas (Fla.) Tournament Champion 44-6 2024 3
Stillman (Ala.) Tournament Champion 33-11 2024 2
Tennessee Southern At-Large 30-19 2016 2
Texas A&M -Texarkana At-Large 39-10 2022 2
Thomas (Ga.) At-Large 29-20 2018 2
William Carey (Miss.) At-Large 35-17 2024 10