BU to host NAIA Baseball Opening Round
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bellevue University's Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex will be among the 10 host sites for the 2026 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, following an announcement by the NAIA on Friday.
The Bruins will host the NAIA Opening Round – Bellevue Bracket, scheduled for May 11-14, and will feature a five- or four-team, double-elimination format.
It will be Bellevue's sixth time hosting an Opening Round, and marks the first time the newly-completed Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex will serve as the host venue, after BU previously welcomed teams to Don Roddy Field in 2015, 2017, and 2021-23.
The entire 46-team Opening Round field will be announced during the NAIA Selection Show on Wednesday, May 6 at 4 p.m. Additional information, including game times and ticketing information will be released as it becomes available.
All games will be live-streamed free of charge and live stats for all games will also be available.
In each of their previous five forays into hosting, Bellevue reached the championship game, including winning the title and advancing to the Avista NAIA World Series in both 2022 and 2023.
The Bruins are 28-24 all-time in the NAIA Opening Round, winning four Opening Round titles since its inception prior to the 2009 season. In addition to winning titles in 2022 and 2023, Bellevue also won the 2016 Grand Rapids Bracket and 2019 Shreveport Bracket.
Bellevue (45-3) is currently ranked No. 2 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll and riding a program-record 33-game winning streak. BU is also No. 1 in both the RPI and BoChip standings.