Reinhardt, Tennessee Wesleyan Receive NAIA Opening Round Assignments
(Story provided by NAIA Sports Communications)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Opening Round Schedule] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the teams and pairings for the 2024 NAIA Softball National Championship. The 48-team field will kick things off in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, at 10 campus sites around the nation on May 13-16.
The 2024 NAIA National Championship Opening Round Winners will meet up in Columbus, Ga., at the NAIA Softball World Series. The final site takes place at the South Commons Softball Complex from May 23-29, 2024, hosted by Columbus, Ga. Sports Council.
This year's championship field includes 32 automatic qualifiers and 16 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, or regular-season championship or finished runner-up at the conference tournament or regular season as determined by each conference qualification plan. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Softball National Selection Committee. This committee consists of one representative from each Area Rating Committee (ARC), a representative from the National Administrative Council, an officer of the NAIA Softball Coaches Association, and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
All championship opening-round games will be video-streamed by the host.
Hudl TV will be the official home of NAIA Softball World Series streaming. It will broadcast all games from Columbus, Georgia through Game 15 on Monday. Single-day and all-championship passes can be purchased here. Games on Tuesday and Wednesday will be streamed exclusively on ESPN3 and are not included in packages on Hudl TV.
Qualifier Highlights
- Six teams will make their first NAIA Softball Opening Round appearance this season with Florida National, Stillman (Ala.), Mid-America Christian (Okla.), Missouri Baptist, Benedictine (Kan.), and Jessup (Calif.).
- Spring Arbor (Mich.) and Evangel (Mo.) are in the field for the first time in 38 and 18 years, respectively.
- Four teams in this year's field have won a red banner before as Oklahoma City has won the most with 11 and Southern Oregon is second with three.
- Seven teams are on a double-digit win streak heading into the opening rounds, led by Madonna (Mich.) on a 26-game streak.
- The Cascade and Heart of America lead all conferences with the most teams in the field with four each.
- 21 Teams sport an animal as a mascot, most commonly an eagle.
- The 48 field sports a combined record of 1,759-604, or a .744 winning percentage.
- For a full look at all of the Opening Round tournaments and matchups, click here
| Institution | Qualification Method | Season Record | Last Qualified | Appearances | Titles |
| Aquinas (Mich.) | Tournament Runner-Up | 40-13 | 2021 | 3 | |
| Baker (Kan.) | At-Large | 33-14 | 2023 | 1 | |
| Bellevue (Neb.) | At-Large | 32-20 | 2019 | 5 | |
| Benedictine (Kan.) | Tournament Runner-Up | 39-14 | |||
| Central Methodist (Mo.) | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 48-4 | 2023 | 4 | |
| Coastal Georgia | At-Large | 36-12 | 2023 | ||
| College of Idaho | At-Large | 32-17 | 2023 | 4 | |
| Cottey (Mo.) | Tournament Runner-Up | 31-19 | 2023 | ||
| Cumberlands (Ky.) | At-Large | 44-7 | 2023 | 1 | |
| Dickinson State | Conference Tournament Champion | 24-22 | 2021 | 5 | |
| Eastern Oregon | Tournament Champions | 37-8 | 2022 | 2 | |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | Tournament Champion | 38-11 | 2023 | ||
| Evangel (Mo.) | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 36-8 | 2006 | 1 | |
| Florida National | Tournament Runner-Up | 23-22 | |||
| Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | Tournament Champion | 31-16 | 2023 | 2 | |
| Friends (Kan.) | At-Large | 34-17 | 2011 | 3 | |
| Georgia Gwinnett | Tournament Champion | 29-15 | 2023 | 3 | |
| Grand View (Iowa) | At-Large | 33-17 | 2022 | 2 | |
| Hope International (Calif.) | At-Large | 35-15 | 2023 | ||
| Houston-Victoria (Texas) | At-Large | 32-12 | 2021 | 3 | |
| Indiana Wesleyan | Tournament Runner-Up | 40-13 | 2023 | 4 | |
| Indiana-Southeast | Regular Season Champion | 34-16 | 2023 | 3 | |
| Jessup (Calif.) | At-Large | 36-9 | |||
| LSU-Alexandria (La.) | Tournament Champion | 36-12 | 2019 | 3 | |
| Madonna (Mich.) | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 48-3 | 2023 | 5 | |
| Marian (Ind.) | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 44-10 | 2023 | 6 | |
| Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | At-Large | 36-15 | |||
| Middle Georgia State | Tournament Runner-Up | 33-14 | 2023 | ||
| Midland (Neb.) | Tournament Runner-Up | 42-10 | 2023 | 4 | |
| Missouri Baptist | Regular Season Champion | 33-12 | |||
| Northwestern (Iowa) | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 48-5 | 2023 | 2 | |
| Oklahoma City | Regular Season Champion | 49-3 | 2023 | 33 | 11 |
| Oregon Tech | Regular Season Champion | 43-9 | 2023 | 8 | 1 |
| Ottawa (Kan.) | No.2 Seed in Conference Tournament | 38-16 | 2023 | 4 | |
| Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 50-3 | 2023 | ||
| Reinhardt (Ga.) | Regular Season/ Tournament Champion | 42-8 | 2023 | 4 | |
| Rio Grande | Tournament Champion | 34-17 | 2022 | 1 | |
| Saint Francis (Ill.) | At-Large | 29-14 | 2023 | ||
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) | Tournament Champion | 27-12 | 2023 | 7 | |
| Science & Arts (Okla.) | Tournament Champion | 44-7 | 2023 | 7 | 1 |
| Southeastern (Fla.) | At-Large | 38-17 | 2023 | 2 | |
| Southern Oregon | At-Large | 37-17 | 2023 | 5 | 3 |
| Spring Arbor (Mich.) | At-Large | 33-20 | 1986 | 1 | |
| St. Thomas (Fla.) | Tournament Champion | 38-10 | 2014 | 1 | |
| Stillman (Ala.) | At-Large | 35-13 | |||
| Tennessee Wesleyan | Tournament Runner-Up | 27-13 | 2023 | 1 | |
| Vanguard (Calif.) | Tournament Champion | 40-11 | 2023 | 5 | |
| William Carey (Miss.) | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 38-12 | 2022 | 7 |