KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [
Opening Round Schedule] The NAIA has announced the 40-team field and pairings for the 2022 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round. The 9
th annual event takes place May 16-18 at 10 host sites. Each of the 10 locations features a four-team, double-elimination tournament.
The 10 opening round champions will battle for the red banner at the 41
st annual NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Ga., May 26 – June 1. For more information on the World Series, click
here.
In arguably the toughest softball conference in the NAIA, the Cascade Collegiate Conference saw four teams qualify for the Opening Round: No. 4-ranked Oregon Tech, No. 8-ranked Southern Oregon University, No. 15-ranked Eastern Oregon Univeristy and No. 20-ranked College of Idaho.
Both the Owls and Raiders will host an Opening Round tournament, while the Coyotes are headed to Chickasha, Okla., and will face Ottawa (Kan.) in the first game. The Mounties are also headed for Oklahoma, taking on Texas A&M Texarkana in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Owls drew Cottey (Mo.) for their first matchup in Klamath Falls, Ore., while SOU hosts Taylor (Ind.) in Medford, Ore.
The field consists of 33 automatic qualifiers – given to conference regular-season champions, tournament champions or tournament runners-up – and seven 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 Softball 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-Softball Coaches Association Executive Committee and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
For more information on NAIA Softball, click
here.
| Institution |
Qualifying Method |
2022 Record |
| Bryan (Tenn.) |
Appalachian Regular Season Champion |
30-16 |
| Campbellsville (Ky.) |
At-Large |
37-16 |
| Central Methodist (Mo.) |
Heart Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
40-5 |
| Coastal Georgia |
At-Large |
38-12 |
| College of Idaho |
Cascade Tournament Runner-Up |
41-15 |
| Columbia (Mo.) |
AMC Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
33-10 |
| Cottey (Mo.) |
Continental Tournament Runner-Up |
30-15 |
| Eastern Oregon |
At-Large |
41-15 |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
Cal Pac Tournament Champion |
40-3 |
| Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
Mid-South Tournament Champion |
48-3 |
| Friends (Kan.) |
KCAC Tournament Champion |
30-19 |
| Georgia Gwinnett |
Continental Tournament Champion |
35-18 |
| Grand View (Iowa) |
Heart Regular Season Runner-Up |
42-9 |
| Indiana Wesleyan |
Crossroads Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
50-8 |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
Mid-South Tournament Runner-Up |
38-15 |
| Madonna (Mich.) |
WHAC Regular Season Champion |
31-7 |
| Marian (Ind.) |
At-Large |
40-11 |
| Michigan-Dearborn |
WHAC Tournament Champion |
30-11 |
| Midland (Neb.) |
GPAC Regular Season Champion |
36-10 |
| Mobile (Ala.) |
SSAC Tournament Champion |
46-2 |
| Mount Marty (S.D.) |
GPAC Tournament Champion |
32-14 |
| Oklahoma City |
Sooner Tournament Champion |
47-6 |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Tournament Runner-Up |
33-13-1 |
| Oregon Tech |
Cascade Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
46-10 |
| Ottawa (Kan.) |
KCAC Regular Season Champion |
35-13-1 |
| Our Lady of the Lake |
Red River Top Overall Record |
44-11 |
| Rio Grande (Ohio) |
River States Regular Season Champion |
39-13 |
| Saint Mary-of-the-Woods |
River States Tournament Champion |
29-12 |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Regular Season/Tournament Champion |
36-6 |
| Science & Arts (Okla.) |
At-Large |
47-8 |
| Southeastern (Fla.) |
The Sun Regular Season Champion |
46-10 |
| Southern Oregon |
At-Large |
46-12 |
| Taylor (Ind.) |
Crossroads Tournament Runner-Up |
26-27 |
| Tennessee Wesleyan |
Appalachian Tournament Champion |
34-7 |
| Texas A&M Texarkana |
Red River Tournament Champion |
42-12 |
| Valley City State (N.D.) |
North Star Tournament Champion |
33-16 |
| Webber International (Fla.) |
The Sun Tournament Champion |
39-21 |
| William Carey (Miss.) |
At-Large |
45-9 |
| William Jessup (Calif.) |
GSAC Tournament Champion |
36-13 |
| William Woods (Mo.) |
AMC Tournament Runner-Up |
23-23 |
| |
|
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Opening Round Notes
- Overall, there are 23 repeat qualifiers from the 2021 opening round, including seven teams that won opening round titles last season – College of Idaho, Madonna (Mich.), Oklahoma City, Olivet Nazarene, Oregon Tech, Ottawa (Kan.) and Southern Oregon.
- Indiana Wesleyan is the lone team in the field with 50 or more wins at 50-8 overall. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) has the next highest win total at 48-3.
- Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Oklahoma City are back in the field for a 9th time, which leads the field. These two clubs are the only NAIA teams to have participated in every event since the format was established in 2013.
- There are six newcomers to the opening round in this year’s field in Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Michigan-Dearborn, Mount Marty (S.D.), Saint Mary of the Woods (Ind.), Texas A&M Texarkana and William Jessup (Calif.).
- Oklahoma City has the honor of the most opening round championships with six. 20 teams in the 2022 field have at least one opening round championship to their credit.
- The Cascade Collegiate Conference leads all leagues with four teams in the 2022 field. The Crossroads League, Mid-South Conference and The Sun Conference followed with three each.
- All-Time Opening Round Record by Seed
- No. 1-Seed: 190-75 (.712)
- No. 2 seed: 148-132 (.529)
- No. 3 seed: 97-143 (.404)
- No. 4 seed: 57-146 (.281)
- All-Time Opening Round Host Records
- 2013 Hosts: 24-12 (.667)
- 2014 Hosts: 27-7 (.794)
- 2015 Hosts: 27-9 (.750)
- 2016 Hosts: 22-11 (.667)
- 2017 Hosts: 18-13 (.581)
- 2018 Hosts: 16-8 (.667)
- 2019 Hosts: 20-6 (.762)
- 2020 Hosts: 11-16 (.407)
- TOTAL: 165-82 (.668)