Opening Round field announced; top-seeded Bruins to host 5-team bracket
NAIA Release
Opening Round Schedule/Results
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the sixth time, the Bellevue University baseball team will host an NAIA National Tournament Opening Round Bracket, as the NAIA announced the entire field of qualifiers Wednesday afternoon.
The 46-team field is set to compete in 10 four- or five-team Opening Round sites around the country from May 11-14. The 10 Opening Round winners will advance to Lewiston, Idaho for the 69th Avista-NAIA World Series to be played at Harris Field on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College.
All eight or nine games for the Bellevue Bracket will be streamed free of charge via Urban Edge Network and live stats will be available on both Presto and StatBroadcast.
Joining the Bruins in the Bellevue bracket, in seeded order, are Indiana University Southeast, Huntington University, Nelson University, and Saint Ambrose University.
This year, Bellevue earned the No. 1 seed in the Bellevue Bracket, which they will host for the first time at the Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex. In their inaugural season as a member of the Frontier Conference, the Bruins swept both the regular season and tournament titles. They enter the National Tournament with a 48-4 overall record after an unbeaten 24-0 run through the Frontier Conference. In the Final NAIA Coaches' Poll, released on Wednesday, Apr. 29, BU secured the No. 2 ranking.
IU Southeast, the No. 2-seed won the regular season title in the River States Conference to earn their way into the field and swept through the conference tournament to pick up dual titles. The Grenadiers are 39-14 overall, went 22-5 in conference play, and are ranked No. 20 in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll.
Third-seeded Huntington secured an at-large bid out of the Crossroads League. The Foresters come into the National Tournament with a 39-12 overall mark and posted a 27-9 record in league play, finishing tied for second in the regular season standings. They are ranked No. 22 in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll.
Nelson comes in as the No. 4 seed having earned an at-large bid from the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Lions sport a 35-18 overall record and went 14-13 in the SAC, finishing fifth in the regular season standings before a third place finish in the conference tournament. They are receiving votes in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll.
The No. 5-seed Saint Ambrose qualified as champions of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Fighting Bees are 32-20 overall and went 24-8 in conference play while also claiming the regular season title out of the Chicagoland.
Bellevue has won each of the last two Opening Rounds it has hosted (2022, 2023) while three other programs have advanced to the Avista NAIA World Series in the others: Tabor (2015), Science & Arts (2017), and Concordia (2021).
The Bruins are making their 28th NAIA National Tournament Appearance and pursuing their 17th trip to the World Series.
NAIA National Championship Opening Round
Bellevue Bracket • Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex
Monday, May 11:
Game 1: #4 Nelson vs. #5 Saint Ambrose, 11 a.m.
Game 2: #2 IU Southeast vs. #3 Huntington, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: #1 Bellevue vs. Game 1 Winner, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, May 12:
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 11 a.m.
Game 5: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, May 13:
Game 7: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner, noon
Game 8: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 14:
Game 9: Same Teams as Game 8, noon *If Necessary