Four AAC Teams Earn Spots in NAIA Baseball Opening Round
(Story provided by NAIA Athletic Communications)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The trek to Lewiston, Idaho, begins now as 46 teams have qualified for the Opening Round of the 2026 NAIA Baseball National Tournament, taking place on Monday, May 11, through Thursday, May 14, at host sites across the nation.
Each Opening Round will feature a double-elimination format, with six sites hosting five-team brackets and four sites hosting four-team brackets. When the dust settles, 10 teams will punch their ticket to historic Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho, for the 2026 Avista NAIA World Series, beginning May 22 and continuing through May 30, until one team stands alone and is crowned a champion.
The Red River Athletic Conference has the most representation with five teams that have qualified for the Opening Rounds.
Lewis-Clark State leads the field with 19 national championship titles. Tennessee Wesleyan and Southeastern (Fla.) have both been crowned champions twice, while Georgia Gwinnett, Bellevue (Neb.), Hope International (Calif.), LSU Shreveport (La.), Faulkner (Ala.), and William Carey (Miss.) have won the title once.
Bellevue has made it to the final site 16 times, followed by Faulkner with 10 appearances. St. Ambrose will look to battle their way to the final site for the first time since 1996.
Last year's champion, LSU Shreveport (La.), and runner-up, Southeastern, return as No. 1 seeds and will host Opening Round sites.
Opening round games across the nation will be broadcast for free on the Urban Edge Network (UEN), with all streams produced by the host institution.
Watch the Field Reveal on YouTube
| Institution | Conference | Qualification | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | Tournament Runner-Up |
|
Bellevue (Neb.) | Frontier Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
British Columbia | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Tournament Runner-Up |
|
Bryan (Tenn.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Tournament Runner-Up |
|
Central Baptist (Ark.) | American Midwest Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Concordia (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | Tournament Runner-Up |
|
Cumberlands (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Doane (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | Regular-Season Champion |
|
Faulkner (Ala.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
Georgia Gwinnett | Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) | Tournament Champion |
|
Hope International (Calif.) | Great Southwest Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Huntington (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large |
|
Huston-Tillotson (Texas) | HBCU Athletic Conference | Tournament Runner-Up |
|
Indiana Tech | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League | Tournament Runner-Up |
|
IU Southeast (Ind.) | River States Conference | Regular-Season Champion |
|
Johnson (Tenn.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
Kansas Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Regular-Season Champion |
|
Keiser (Fla.) | The Sun Conference | At-Large |
|
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Host Berth |
|
Louisiana Christian | Red River Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
Loyola (La.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
LSU Alexandria (La.) | Red River Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
LSU Shreveport (La.) | Red River Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Madonna (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Marian (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large |
|
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | Sooner Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Milligan (Tenn.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
Missouri Baptist | Heart of America Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
Mount Mercy (Iowa) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Nelson (Texas) | Sooner Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
Northwestern Ohio | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | Regular-Season Champion |
|
Oakland City (Ind.) | River States Conference | At-Large |
|
Oklahoma Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Tournament Runner-Up |
|
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | Red River Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
Shawnee State (Ohio) | River States Conference | Tournament Runner-Up |
|
Southeastern (Fla.) | The Sun Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Talladega (Ala.) | HBCU Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Taylor (Ind.) | Crossroads League | Regular-Season Champion |
|
Tennessee Wesleyan | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion |
|
Texas A&M - Victoria | Red River Athletic Conference | Regular-Season Champion |
|
Texas Wesleyan | Sooner Athletic Conference | Regular-Season Champion |
|
Webber International (Fla.) | The Sun Conference | At-Large |
|
William Carey (Miss.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | At-Large |
|
William Woods (Mo.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Tournament Runner-Up |