KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 40-team field and pairings for the 2018 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round. The sixth annual event will take place from May 14 – 16 at nine different locations. The format is a double-elimination, four-team tournament. For more information on the host sites, click here. 

The 40-team field is comprised of 30 automatic qualifiers and 10 at-large berths. The 19 conferences receive one berth per six teams and two berths per ten teams. At-large teams were determined using the final regular-season Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released earlier today, which can be accessed here.

(Opening Round Schedule) (Bracket Reveal Video) 

The champions from each of the 10 opening round tournaments advance to the 38th annual NAIA Softball World Series in Clermont, Fla., from May 25 – 31. These programs will participate in a double-elimination national championship at the Legends Way Ball Fields. Last year, Oklahoma City won its NAIA-record 10th championship – and second in-a-row – after a 4-1 victory over Corban (Ore.) on June 1.

The World Series bracket will be announced on May 16 on NAIA.org. Advanced World Series tickets may be purchased by clicking here.

For complete story and list of qualifiers, CLICK HERE

— Courtesy of NAIA 

2018 Softball National Championship Opening Round Qualifiers

School Name Qualification Record Baker (Kan.) At-Large No. 10 40-14 Brenau (Ga.) Appalachian Athletic Tournament Runner-Up 28-20 Campbellsville (Ky.) Mid-South Tournament Champion 45-8 Central Methodist (Mo.) Heart of America Athletic Tournament Runner-Up 41-10 Columbia (Mo.) American Midwest Tournament Champion 30-14 Corban (Ore.) At-Large No. 6 35-13 Dickinson State (N.D.) North Star Athletic Tournament Champion 30-19 Eastern Oregon Cascade Collegiate Tournament Runner-Up 26-22 Faulkner (Ala.) At-Large No. 7 44-13 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) American Midwest Regular-Season Champion 31-13 Georgia Gwinnett Association of Independent Institutions Tournament Champion 49-3 Grand View (Iowa) Heart of America Athletic Regular-Season No. 1 Seed and Tournament Champion 46-8 Hope International (Calif.) Golden State Athletic Tournament Champion 46-9 Houston-Victoria (Texas) Red River Athletic Tournament Champion 30-16 Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads Tournament Champion 54-9 Jamestown (N.D.) At-Large No. 4 43-8 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) At-Large No. 5 39-14 Madonna (Mich.) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Regular-Season Champion 27-15 Marian (Ind.) Crossroads Regular-Season Champion 47-5 Midland (Neb.) Great Plains Athletic Regular-Season Champion 34-15 Midway (Ky.) River States Tournament Runner-Up 23-20 Mobile (Ala.) At-Large No. 2 43-13 Northwestern (Iowa) Great Plains Athletic Tournament Champion 35-11 Northwestern Ohio, University of Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Tournament Champion 30-12 Oklahoma City Sooner Athletic Tournament Champion 48-7 Oklahoma Wesleyan Kansas Collegiate Athletic Regular-Season No. 2 Seed 29-19 Oregon Tech At-Large No. 8 36-13 Rio Grande (Ohio) River States Regular-Season and Tournament Champion 35-11 Saint Xavier (Ill.) Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Tournament Runner-Up 27-15 Science & Arts (Okla.) At-Large No. 1 50-5 Simpson (Calif.) Cal Pacific Tournament Champion 34-20 Southeastern (Fla.) At-Large No. 9 40-16 Southern Oregon Cascade Collegiate Regular-Season and Tournament Champion 44-12 St. Francis (Ill.) Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Regular-Season and Tournament Champion 38-7 Tabor (Kan.) Kansas Collegiate Athletic Regular-Season and Tournament Champion 29-19 Talladega (Ala.) Association of Independent Institutions Tournament Runner-Up 18-20 Thomas (Ga.) The Sun Tournament Champion 38-14 Truett-McConnell (Ga.) Appalachian Athletic Regular-Season and Tournament Champion 40-15 Vanguard (Calif.) At-Large No. 3 50-10 William Carey (Miss.) Southern States Athletic Tournament Champion 37-14