Record-Breaking Talent and First-Time Appearances Highlight 2025 NAIA Baseball National Championship
- Dwayne
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
The 68th annual NAIA Baseball National Championship is set to begin its Opening Round on May 12, 2025, and will run through May 15. With 46 teams competing at ten host sites across the country, the field is packed with talent, historic performances, and a number of newcomers to the postseason stage. The tournament will culminate in the Avista-NAIA World Series, held for the 33rd time in Lewiston, Idaho, from May 23 to May 31. This year's championship features a 1711-661-3 combined record among participating teams, translating to a winning percentage of .721. Among the most notable contenders is No. 1 LSU Shreveport (La.), entering the postseason with the best regular-season record in collegiate baseball history. The Pilots will host a five-team bracket in Shreveport that includes Ottawa (Kan.) and first-time qualifier Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO), as well as a highly anticipated top-25 matchup between No. 19 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) and No. 21 Johnson (Tenn.), the latter making its first-ever championship appearance. The Lawrenceville, Georgia bracket will focus on elite base-running talent, with host Georgia Gwinnett setting a new NAIA record with 344 stolen bases. They are joined by Talladega (Ala.) and Saint Xavier (Ill.), who rank second and third nationally in the same category, with 271 and 222 stolen bases, respectively.
In Williamsburg, Kentucky, another historic milestone is drawing national attention. Host school Cumberlands (Ky.) is led by slugger Charlie Muniz, who shattered the all-time home run record across all levels of collegiate baseball. Muniz enters the tournament with 32 home runs this season and 111 in his career, surpassing the legendary mark set by former MLB player Pete Incaviglia. Top seed Missouri Baptist enters the site on a 20-game win streak and will face Northwestern Ohio, which features Jeremy Yurcak, the new all-time leader in both total and relief pitching appearances (106 total, 105 in relief). World Series host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) leads a challenging bracket featuring defending national champion Hope International (Calif.), Wayland Baptist (Texas), Oregon Tech, and Dickinson State (N.D.), the latter two making their tournament debuts. Other first-time participants include Oakland City (Ind.), playing in the Waleska, Georgia bracket hosted by Reinhardt (Ga.), and Abraham Baldwin (Ga.), competing in Lakeland, Florida at Southeastern (Fla.).
The remaining five-team brackets are located in Lincoln, Nebraska, hosted by Concordia (Neb.), and Kingsport, Tennessee, hosted by Visit Kingsport—the only non-institutional site. Four-team brackets are also set in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, hosted by William Carey (Miss.), and Upland, Indiana, hosted by Taylor (Ind.). This year’s field was selected through a combination of 30 automatic bids awarded to conference champions or runners-up and 15 at-large selections determined by the NAIA Baseball National Selection Committee. One host bid was also included. Each host will provide a video stream of all games, offering fans across the country the opportunity to witness what promises to be one of the most exciting NAIA Baseball Championships in recent memory.
2025 NAIA BASEBALL OPENING ROUND QUALIFIERS
INSTITUTION | RECORD | HOW THEY QUALIFIED | APPEARANCES | LAST TIME |
Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) | 35-14 | At-Large | 1 | - |
Arizona Christian | 39-14-1 | At-Large | 4 | 2024 |
Ave Maria (Fla.) | 27-25 | At-Large | 3 | 2023 |
Bellevue (Neb.) | 40-13 | North Star Athletic Association Reglar-Season and Tournament Champion | 15 | 2024 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 28-22 | Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 2 | 2015 |
British Columbia | 36-17 | Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 15 | 2024 |
Central Methodist (Mo.) | 35-13 | Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 6 | 2024 |
Columbia (Mo.) | 41-9 | At-Large | 6 | 2024 |
Concordia (Neb.) | 40-11 | Great Plains Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion | 7 | 2024 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) | 37-16-1 | Mid-South Conference Tournament Champion | 8 | 2022 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) | 45-10 | At-Large | 7 | 2024 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) | 21-29 | North Star Athletic Association Tournament Runner-Up | 1 | - |
Georgia Gwinnett | 49-4 | Continental Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 11 | 2024 |
Grand View (Iowa) | 34-11 | At-Large | 6 | 2023 |
Hope International (Calif.) | 43-8 | Great Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 7 | 2024 |
Houston-Victoria (Texas) | 38-15 | At-Large | 5 | 2023 |
Indiana Tech | 37-19 | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 11 | 2024 |
Indiana Wesleyan | 29-21 | Crossroads League Tournament Runner Up | 5 | 2023 |
IU Southeast (Ind.) | 30-16 | At-Large | 9 | 2024 |
Johnson (Tenn.) | 35-16 | At-Large | 1 | - |
Kansas Wesleyan | 39-13 | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 7 | 2024 |
Keiser (Fla.) | 35-15 | At-Large | 5 | 2024 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 35-14 | Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Champion and World Series Host | 4 | 2024 |
Louisiana Christian | 29-24 | Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 3 | 2024 |
Loyola (La.) | 38-15 | Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 4 | 2024 |
LSU Shreveport (La.) | 51-0 | Red River Athletic Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champion | 16 | 2024 |
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | 38-15 | At-Large | 2 | 2024 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 33-16 | At-Large | 8 | 2024 |
Missouri Baptist | 40-9 | American Midwest Conference Tournament Champion | 11 | 2024 |
Mount Mercy (Iowa) | 33-21 | Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 2 | 2024 |
Northwestern Ohio | 40-13-1 | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion | 7 | 2024 |
Oakland City (Ind.) | 39-13 | River States Conference Tournament Champion | 1 | - |
Oklahoma Wesleyan | 46-9 | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion | 15 | 2024 |
Oregon Tech | 38-14 | At-Large | 1 | - |
Ottawa (Kan.) | 38-14 | At-Large | 3 | 2022 |
Reinhardt (Ga.) | 42-11 | Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 6 | 2024 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 31-22 | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 6 | 2023 |
Science and Arts (Okla.) | 34-18 | Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 10 | 2024 |
Southeastern (Fla.) | 41-13 | At-Large | 10 | 2024 |
SUNO (La.) | 24-25 | HBCU Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 1 | - |
Talladega (Ala.) | 42-12 | HBCU Athletic Conference Regular-Season and Tournament Champion | 6 | 2024 |
Taylor (Ind.) | 46-9 | Crossroads League Regular-Season and Tournament Champion | 10 | 2024 |
Tennessee Wesleyan | 42-11 | Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 16 | 2024 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 39-17 | Sooner Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champion | 3 | 2016 |
Webber International (Fla.) | 41-13 | The Sun Conference Tournament Champion | 7 | 2024 |
William Carey (Miss.) | 38-12 | Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up | 11 | 2024 |
