KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Bracket Reveal | Schedule] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the teams and pairings for the 2022 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship, Presented by Select Sport America. The 40-team event will be played on campuses across the nation from Nov. 17-19.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference saw three teams qualify for the tournament, with No. 21-ranked Warner Pacific University grabbing the conference’s first automatic qualifier after winning both the regular-season and tournament championships. (RV) Oregon Tech also picked up an automatic bid as the runner-up to the 2022 CCC Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, while (RV) Corban University grabbed an at-large bid to the tournament.
Each bracket format features four teams with #1 vs. #4 and #2 vs. #3 on Thursday, November 17th. The winner of each contest will meet on Saturday for a spot at the final site in Decatur, Ala. The 64th Annual Men's Soccer National Championship will be played at Jack Allen Sports Complex from November 29-December 5 where one team will leave the pitch claiming the famous Red Banner.
This year’s opening round field includes 27 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship, or finished runner-up at the conference tournament. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Selection Committee. This committee consists of one representative from each geographical area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, the president of the NAIA-Men’s Soccer Coaches Association, and four at-large representatives. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
The NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast all eight matches live at the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final site in Decatur, Ala. with the championship game being shown on ESPN3. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-championship tournament package is available at $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, click
HERE.
Qualifier Highlights
- Saint Mary (Kan.) and Williams Baptist (Ark.) are in the field for the first time in program history
- Of the teams that previously qualified, Corban (Ore.) had the longest delay since their last appearance in 2012
- The Heart of America and Southern States conference lead the way with four teams each; Cascade, Continental, Crossroads and Wolverine-Hoosier have three
- Twenty-six teams from the 2021 tournament are back in the mix this season
- All 10 of the bracket host institutions sit as the No. 1 team in the bracket with a combine record of 137-18-29
- The field features seven teams who have won the national championship, highlighted by Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) with nine
- Central Methodist (Mo.), Madonna (Mich.), and Warner Pacific (Ore.) have not suffered a defeat; They combine for 11 ties
- Bethel (Ind.) comes into the tournament with the most wins on the year (19)
- Last season's champion, Keiser (Fla.), and runnners-up, Mobile (Ala.) have returned to the 2022 field
- For a full look at all of the First & Second Round brackets and matchups, click HERE
2022 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Qualifiers
(Alphabetical Listing)
| Institution |
Qualifying Method |
Record |
Berths |
Last |
Champ. Record |
Titles |
| Bellevue (Neb.) |
Tournament Champion |
7-10-3 |
9 |
2021 |
7-8-0 |
0 |
| Bethel (Ind.) |
Tournament Champion |
19-1-1 |
11 |
2021 |
3-12-2 |
0 |
| Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
Regular Season Runner-Up |
13-6-1 |
6 |
2020 |
3-4-1 |
0 |
| Central Methodist (Mo.) |
Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
15-0-5 |
4 |
2021 |
16-2-0 |
2 |
| Columbia (Mo.) |
Tournament Champion |
14-3-3 |
11 |
2021 |
15-10-2 |
0 |
| Columbia International (S.C.) |
Tournament Champion |
12-3-4 |
1 |
2021 |
1-1-0 |
0 |
| Concordia (Neb.) |
Tournament Champion |
15-2-3 |
1 |
2015 |
1-1-0 |
0 |
| Corban (Ore.) |
At-Large |
16-3-1 |
7 |
2012 |
1-7-1 |
0 |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) |
At-Large |
10-4-4 |
3 |
2021 |
3-3-0 |
0 |
| Dalton State College (Ga.) |
At-Large |
14-1-3 |
3 |
2021 |
1-3-0 |
0 |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
16-3-1 |
4 |
2019 |
1-3-0 |
0 |
| Florida National (Fla.) |
Tournament Runner-Up |
10-2-3 |
1 |
2021 |
0-1-0 |
0 |
| Georgia Gwinnett (Ga.) |
At-Large |
12-2-2 |
8 |
2021 |
9-8-2 |
0 |
| Grace (Ind.) |
At-Large |
11-2-6 |
3 |
2020 |
0-3-0 |
0 |
| Hastings (Neb.) |
Regular Season Champion |
15-1-2 |
18 |
2021 |
21-11-5 |
2 |
| Indiana Tech (Ind.) |
Tournament Champion |
12-2-6 |
5 |
2021 |
6-5-0 |
0 |
| Indiana Wesleyan |
At-Large |
11-4-4 |
3 |
2015 |
2-2-2 |
0 |
| Keiser (Fla.) |
Tournament Champion |
12-1-2 |
8 |
2021 |
10-4-3 |
1 |
| Life (Ga.) |
Tournament Champion |
14-2-1 |
4 |
2019 |
3-4-1 |
0 |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
Tournament Champion |
10-6-3 |
29 |
2021 |
58-18-6 |
9 |
| LSU Shreveport (La.) |
Tournament Champion |
14-3-3 |
1 |
2019 |
0-1-0 |
0 |
| Madonna (Mich.) |
Regular Season Champion |
15-0-5 |
6 |
2019 |
7-6-0 |
0 |
| Mid-America Christian (Okla.) |
Tournament Champion |
17-1-2 |
3 |
2021 |
3-4-0 |
- |
| MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
At-Large |
13-3-3 |
10 |
2021 |
13-10-3 |
0 |
| Milligan (Tenn.) |
Regular Season Champion |
10-2-7 |
4 |
2021 |
2-3-0 |
0 |
| Missouri Valley (Mo.) |
At-Large |
13-4-1 |
11 |
2021 |
23-9-1 |
1 |
| Mobile (Ala.) |
At-Large |
14-3-1 |
22 |
2021 |
33-20-4 |
1 |
| Oklahoma Wesleyan |
Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
14-5-2 |
12 |
2021 |
18-7-4 |
0 |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
Regular Season Champion |
16-1-3 |
9 |
2020 |
1-6-2 |
0 |
| Oregon Tech |
Tournament Runner-Up |
13-2-4 |
1 |
2021 |
0-1-0 |
0 |
| Rio Grande (Ohio) |
Tournament Champion |
14-3-2 |
21 |
2021 |
25-17-3 |
2 |
| Saint Mary (Kan.) |
Tournament Runner-Up |
13-4-3 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| St. Thomas (Fla.) |
At-Large |
9-1-5 |
6 |
2021 |
5-5-1 |
0 |
| UC Merced (Calif.) |
Tournament Runner-Up |
12-2-5 |
4 |
2020 |
1-4-1 |
0 |
| Univ. of Northwestern Ohio |
At-Large |
14-2-4 |
6 |
2020 |
8-6-1 |
0 |
| Vanguard (Calif.) |
Tournament Champion |
11-3-3 |
8 |
2021 |
7-7-1 |
0 |
| Warner Pacific (Ore.) |
Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
18-0-3 |
6 |
2021 |
3-6-0 |
0 |
| William Carey (Miss.) |
At-Large |
11-2-3 |
15 |
2021 |
18-17-4 |
0 |
| William Penn (Iowa) |
Tournament Runner-Up |
11-6-3 |
4 |
2021 |
1-3-1 |
0 |
| Williams Baptist (Ark.) |
At-Large |
15-1-2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |