The 2021 NAIA baseball tournament was the 64th edition of the NAIA baseball championship. The 46-team tournament began on May 17 with Opening Round games across nine different sites and concluded with the 2021 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho that began on May 28 and ended on June 3. Georgia Gwinnett defeated Central Methodist (MO) 8–4 in the championship game for their first title in program history. This was the most recent championship game(s) in which both teams would be vying for their first national title.
The 46 participating teams were selected from all eligible NAIA teams with the World Series host receiving an automatic bid to the NAIA World Series. The remaining 45 teams participated in the Opening Round with 30 teams being awarded automatic bids as either champions and/or runners-up of their conferences, and 15 teams were selected at-large by the National Selection Committee. Teams were then placed into one of nine pre-determined Opening Round sites of five teams a piece, each of which is conducted via a double-elimination tournament. The winners of each of the Opening Round sites plus the World Series host team participated in the NAIA World Series.
This would be the final year in which the team hosting the NAIA World Series would bypass the Opening Round and directly receive an automatic bid to the World Series.
Tournament procedure A total of 46 teams entered the tournament. As World Series host, Lewis–Clark State received an automatic bid into the NAIA World Series. 30 automatic bids were determined by either winning their conference's regular season championship, conference tournament, and/or conference tournament runner-up. The other 15 bids were at-large, with selections determined by the NAIA Baseball National Selection Committee.
Opening round hosts On May 3, the NAIA announced the nine opening round host sites, which were played from May 17–20.
Venue(s) Location(s) Host(s) Brown ParkDon Roddy Field Omaha, NEBellevue, NE Bellevue University CarShield Field O'Fallon, MO Central Methodist University Doyle Buhl Stadium Williamsburg, KY University of the Cumberlands Harrison Field Montgomery, AL Faulkner University Wildcat Field Marion, IN Indiana Wesleyan University Segnette Field Westwego, LA Loyola University New Orleans Chain of Lakes Park Winter Haven, FL Southeastern University Hunter Wright Stadium Kingsport, TN Visit KingsportAppalachian Athletic Conference Russell Carr Field Santa Barbara, CA Westmont College
Bids Automatic School Conference Record Berth Last NAIA Appearance Bryan (TN) Appalachian 35–16 Pool B champion 2019 (Miami Gardens Bracket) Central Methodist (MO) Heart 42–6 Tournament champion 2019 (Montgomery Bracket) Columbia (MO) American Midwest 36–9 Tournament champion 2019 (Shreveport Bracket) Concordia (NE) Great Plains 38–9 Regular season champion 2019 (Henderson Bracket) Corban (OR) Cascade 22–29 Tournament runner-up First appearance Cumberlands (KY) Mid-South 46–6 Tournament champion 2019 (Williamsburg Bracket) Doane (NE) Great Plains 35–17–1 Regular season runner-up 2014 (Hutchinson Bracket) Fisher (MA) A.I.I. 31–20 Tournament runner-up First appearance Freed–Hardeman (TN) Mid-South 26–23 Tournament runner-up 2019 NAIA World Series Georgia Gwinnett A.I.I. 42–9 Tournament champion 2019 NAIA World Series Indiana Tech Wolverine-Hoosier 31–25 Regular season champion 2019 NAIA World Series Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads 43–12 Regular season champion 2018 (Lawrenceville Bracket) IU–Southeast River States 45–14 Tournament champion 2019 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Lewis-Clark State (ID) Cascade 41–4 World Series host 2019 NAIA World Series LSU–Shreveport Red River 40–13 Tournament champion 2019 (Shreveport Bracket) Mayville State (ND) North Star 35–16 Tournament champion 2017 (Oklahoma City Bracket) MidAmerica Nazarene (KS) Heart 39–14 Tournament runner-up 2017 (Lima Bracket) Mount Vernon Nazarene (OH) Crossroads 32–19 Tournament runner-up 2015 (Grand Rapids Bracket) Northwestern Ohio Wolverine-Hoosier 29–17 Tournament champion 2018 NAIA World Series Oklahoma Wesleyan Kansas 46–8 Regular season champion 2019 (Henderson Bracket) Olivet Nazarene (IL) Chicagoland 36–18 Regular season champion 2019 (Montgomery Bracket) Ottawa (KS) Kansas 35–18 Tournament champion First appearance Our Lady of the Lake (TX) Red River 34–17 Regular season champion First appearance Point Park (PA) River States 37–14 Tournament runner-up 2018 (Williamsburg Bracket) Saint Katherine (CA) Cal Pac 29–16 Tournament champion First appearance Saint Xavier (IL) Chicagoland 32–25 Tournament runner-up 2019 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Science & Arts (OK) Sooner 34–10 Tournament champion 2019 NAIA World Series Southeastern (FL) The Sun 47–7 Tournament champion 2019 NAIA World Series Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 51–4 Pool A champion 2019 NAIA World Series Vanugard (CA) Golden State 37–14 Tournament champion 2016 (Faulkner Bracket) William Carey (MS) Southern States 34–10 Tournament champion 2018 (Hattiesburg Bracket)
At–Large School Conference Record Last NAIA Appearance Bellevue (NE) North Star 38–16 2019 NAIA World Series Benedictine (KS) Kansas 34–14 First appearance Benedictine–Mesa (AZ) Cal Pac 31–14 First appearance Faulkner (AL) Southern States 35–9 2019 NAIA World Series Hope International (CA) Golden State 27–13 2019 (Montgomery Bracket) Keiser (FL) The Sun 33–16 2018 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Loyola (LA) Southern States 36–13 First appearance McPherson (KS) Kansas 36–13 First appearance Middle Georgia State Southern States 34–19 2019 (Macon Bracket) Oklahoma City Sooner 33–17 2019 (Shreveport Bracket) Reinhardt (GA) Appalachian 32–19 2018 NAIA World Series St. Thomas (FL) The Sun 33–19 2019 NAIA World Series USC–Beaufort The Sun 31–21 2016 (Savannah Bracket) Warner (FL) The Sun 33–21 2009 (Group 4 Bracket) Westmont (CA) Golden State 27–18 2019 (Santa Barbara Bracket)
Opening Round Source:
Bellevue Bracket Hosted by Bellevue (NE) at Don Roddy Field in Bellevue, NE and Brown Park in Omaha, NE
Kingsport Bracket Hosted by Visit Kingsport/Appalachian Athletic Conference at Hunter Wright Stadium
Lakeland Bracket Hosted by Southeastern (FL) at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, FL
Marion Bracket Hosted by Indiana Wesleyan at Wildcat Field
Montgomery Bracket Hosted by Faulkner (AL) at Harrison Field
New Orleans Bracket Hosted by Loyola (LA) at Segnette Field
O'Fallon Bracket Hosted by Central Methodist (MO) at CarShield Field
Santa Barbara Bracket Hosted by Westmont (CA) at Russell Carr Field
Williamsburg Bracket Hosted by Cumberlands (KY) at Doyle Buhl Stadium
NAIA World Series The NAIA World Series was held at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.
Participants SchoolConferenceRecordHead CoachBracketPrevious NAIAWS AppearancesBest NAIAWS FinishNAIA WSRecord Central Methodist (MO) Heart 45–6 Nate Breland O'Fallon none none 0–0 Concordia (NE) Great Plains 42–10 Ryan Dupic Bellevue none none 0–0 Faulkner (AL) Southern States 38–10 Patrick McCarthy Montgomery 8 1st 18–14 Georgia Gwinnett A.I.I. 46–10 Jeremy Sheetinger Santa Barbara 3 3rd 5–6 IU–Southeast River States 48–14 Ben Reel Kingsport none none 0–0 Keiser (FL) The Sun 36–16 Brook Fordyce New Orleans 1 T-7th 1–2 Lewis–Clark State (ID) Cascade 41–4 Jake Taylor n/a 38 1st 145–50 LSU–Shreveport Red River 44–14 Brad Neffendorf Williamsburg 3 3rd 8–6 Oklahoma Wesleyan Kansas 49–9 Kirk Kelley Marion 2 3rd 3–4 Southeastern (FL) The Sun 50–7 Adrian Dinkel Lakeland 2 1st 7–2
Bracket Source:
Preliminary Bracket
Championship Bracket
Game Results All game times are listed in Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−07:00).
Preliminary Bracket
Championship Bracket
Championship Game
See also 2021 NAIA softball tournament 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 2021 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 2021 NCAA Division III baseball tournament
Notes
References