The 2018 NAIA baseball tournament was the 62nd edition of the NAIA baseball championship. The 46-team tournament began on May 14 with Opening Round games across nine different sites and concluded with the 2018 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho that began on May 25 and ended on May 31. Southeastern (FL) defeated Freed–Hardeman (TN) 6–3 in the championship game for their first title in program history and becoming the most recent team to win the NAIA baseball championship in their first World Series appearance. This was also the most recent championship game in which both teams were making their very first NAIA World Series appearance.

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 31 teams being awarded automatic bids as either champions and/or runners-up of their conferences, and 14 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.

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. 31 automatic bids were determined by either winning their conference's regular season championship, conference tournament, and/or conference tournament runner-up. The other 14 bids were at-large, with selections determined by the NAIA Baseball National Selection Committee.

Opening round hosts On May 1, the NAIA announced the nine opening round host sites, which were played from May 14–17.

Venue(s) Location(s) Host(s) Bowling Green Ballpark Bowling Green, KY Bowling Green CVB Doyle Buhl Stadium Williamsburg, KY University of the Cumberlands Harrison Field Montgomery, AL Faulkner University Grizzly Baseball Complex Lawrenceville, GA Georgia Gwinnett College Jim Wade Stadium Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma City University McBean Stadium Lincoln, CA Placer Valley TourismWilliam Jessup University Winterholter Field Upland, IN Taylor University Hunter Wright Stadium Kingsport, TN Visit Kingsport Milton Wheeler Field Hattiesburg, MS William Carey University

Bids Automatic School Conference Record Berth Last NAIA Appearance Antelope Valley (CA) NAIA West Group 41–11–1 Regular season champion 2017 (Bellevue Bracket) Bellevue (NE) North Star 37–21 Tournament champion 2017 (Bellevue Bracket) British Columbia NAIA West Group 28–24 Tournament runner-up 2016 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Campbellsville (KY) Mid-South 36–15 Tournament champion 2017 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Central Methodist (MO) Heart 40–14 Tournament runner-up 2017 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Clarke (IA) Heart 35–21–1 Tournament champion 2017 (Hutchinson Bracket) Freed–Hardeman (TN) American Midwest 40–14 Tournament champion 2016 (Savannah Bracket) Georgia Gwinnett A.I.I. 45–10 Tournament runner-up 2017 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Indiana Tech Wolverine-Hoosier 42–19 Regular season champion 2017 (Bartlesville Bracket) Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads 37–18 Regular season champion 2016 (Montgomery Bracket) IU–Southeast River States 40–12 Regular season champion 2017 (Kingsport Bracket) Judson (IL) Chicagoland 35–18 Regular season champion 2017 (Bellevue Bracket) Lewis-Clark State (ID) NAIA West Group 38–11 World Series host 2017 NAIA World Series LSU–Alexandria Red River 32–25 Tournament champion 2017 (Hattiesburg Bracket) LSU–Shreveport Red River 39–20 Regular season champion 2017 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Lyon (AR) American Midwest 36–15 Regular season champion 2017 (Hattiesburg Bracket) Madonna (MI) Wolverine-Hoosier 36–16 Tournament runner-up 2016 (Santa Barbara Bracket) Marian (IN) Crossroads 24–25 Tournament champion 2017 (Kingsport Bracket) Middle Georgia State Southern States 45–16 Tournament champion 2017 (Lima Bracket) Midland (NE) Great Plains 32–20 Tournament runner-up 2017 (Bartlesville Bracket) Northwestern (IA) Great Plains 30–18 Regular season champion 2014 (Shawnee Bracket) Oklahoma City Sooner 47–7 Tournament runner-up 2017 NAIA World Series Oklahoma Wesleyan Kansas 51–6 Regular season champion 2017 NAIA World Series Point (GA) Appalachian 34–23 Tournament champion 2016 (Savannah Bracket) Point Park (PA) River States 45–7 Tournament champion 2014 (Marion Bracket) Science & Arts (OK) Sooner 45–6 Tournament champion 2017 NAIA World Series Talladega (AL) A.I.I. 27–22 Tournament champion 2017 (Kingsport Bracket) Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 37–19 Tournament runner-up 2017 (Kingsport Bracket) Trinity Christian (IL) Chicagoland 34–21 Regular season champion 2013 (Joliet Bracket) Webber International (FL) The Sun 35–22 Tournament champion 2017 (Lawrenceville Bracket) William Jessup (CA) Golden State 38–15 Tournament champion First appearance York (NE) Kansas 29–21 Tournament runner-up 2016 (Grand Rapids Bracket)

At–Large School Conference Record Last NAIA Appearance Bryan (TN) Appalachian 40–15 2017 (Bartlesville Bracket) Cumberland (TN) Mid-South 34–19 2014 NAIA World Series Cumberlands (KY) Mid-South 46–9 2017 (Montgomery Bracket) Faulkner (AL) Southern States 50–7 2017 NAIA World Series Jamestown (ND) North Star 41–9 2017 (Hutchinson Bracket) Keiser (FL) The Sun 37–17 2017 NAIA World Series Mobile (AL) Southern States 42–15 First appearance Northwestern Ohio Wolverine-Hoosier 38–18 2017 (Lima Bracket) Reinhardt (GA) Appalachian 38–17 First appearance Southeastern (FL) The Sun 51–7 2017 (Hattiesburg Bracket) St. Thomas (FL) The Sun 53–7 2017 (Montgomery Bracket) Taylor (IN) Crossroads 43–14 2016 (Savannah Bracket) Westmont (CA) Golden State 34–16 2016 (Santa Barbara Bracket) William Carey (MS) Southern States 33–23 2017 NAIA World Series

Opening Round Source:

Bowling Green Bracket Hosted by the Bowling Green CVB at Bowling Green Ballpark

Hattiesburg Bracket Hosted by William Carey (MS) at Milton Wheeler Field

Kingsport Bracket Hosted by Visit Kingsport at Hunter Wright Stadium

Lawrenceville Bracket Hosted by Georgia Gwinnett at Grizzly Baseball Complex

Lincoln Bracket Hosted by Placer Valley Tourism & William Jessup (CA) at McBean Stadium

Montgomery Bracket Hosted by Faulkner (AL) at Harrison Field

Oklahoma City Bracket Hosted by Oklahoma City at Jim Wade Stadium

Upland Bracket Hosted by Taylor (IN) at Winterholter 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 Antelope Valley (CA) NAIA West Group(Cal Pac) 44–12–1 Jacob Garsez Lincoln none none 0–0 Faulkner (AL) Southern States 50–7 Patrick McCarthy Montgomery 6 1st 17–10 Freed–Hardeman (TN) American Midwest 47–15 Jonathan Estes Upland none none 0–0 Georgia Gwinnett A.I.I. 48–10 Brad Stromdahl Lawrenceville 1 T-7th 1–2 Lewis–Clark State (ID) NAIA West Group(Frontier) 38–11 Jeremiah Robbins n/a 36 1st 142–46 Northwestern Ohio Wolverine-Hoosier 42–18 Kory Hartman Williamsburg none none 0–0 Oklahoma City Sooner 50–8 Denney Crabaugh Oklahoma City 15 1st 35–29 Reinhardt (GA) Appalachian 41–18 Bill Popp Bowling Green none none 0–0 Southeastern (FL) The Sun 54–7 Adrian Dinkel Macon none none 0–0 St. Thomas (FL) The Sun 56–7 Jorge Perez Hattiesburg 5 2nd 7–12

Bracket 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 2018 NAIA softball tournament 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 2018 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 2018 NCAA Division III baseball tournament

References