Reinhardt, Tennessee Wesleyan Receive NAIA Opening Round Assignments

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Opening Round Schedule] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 40-team field and pairings for the 2023 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round. The 10th annual event takes place May 15-17 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 42nd annual NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Ga., May 25 – 31. For more information on the World Series, click here.

The field consists of 32 automatic qualifiers – given mainly to conference regular-season champions, tournament champions or tournament runners-up – and eight 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.

Reinhardt and Tennessee Wesleyan are the Appalachian Athletic Conference's (AAC) representatives in the tournament. Reinhardt is the No. 3 seed in Ashland (Ore.) Bracket. Meanwhile, Tennessee Wesleyan is the No. 4 seed in the Indianapolis (Ind.) Bracket.

For more information on NAIA Softball, click here.

Opening Round Notes

• Overall, there are 26 repeat qualifiers from the 2022 opening round, including eight teams that won opening round titles last season – Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), Indiana Wesleyan, Mobile (Ala.), Oklahoma City, Oregon Tech, Science & Arts (Okla.), Southeastern (Fla.) and Tennessee Wesleyan
• Oregon Tech and Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) lead the field with 47 wins apiece. Northwestern (Iowa) and College of Idaho are the next highest with 46. Overall, 15 institutions have at least 40 wins.
• Oklahoma City leads the field with 10, Opening Round appearances. The Stars are now the only NAIA team to have participated in every event since the format was established in 2013.
• There are three newcomers to the opening round in this year's field in Indiana Tech, Middle Georgia State and Texas A&M Stan Antonio.
• Oklahoma City has the honor of the most opening round championships with seven. 23 teams in the 2023 field have at least one opening round championship to their credit.
• The Cascade Collegiate Conference, the Crossroads League, the Heart of America Athletic Conference and the Mid-South Conference lead the way with three teams from each of their respective leagues in the field this season.
• All-Time Opening Round Record by Seed
  • No. 1 seed: 220-84 (.724)
  • No. 2 seed: 161-151 (.516)
  • No. 3 seed: 116-160 (.420)
  • No. 4 seed: 60-166 (.265)
• 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)
  • 2021 Hosts: 11-16 (.407)
  • 2022 Hosts: 26-8 (.765)
  • TOTAL: 191-90 (.680)