The 2016 NAIA baseball tournament was the 60th 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 2016 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho that began on May 27 and ended on June 3. Lewis–Clark State (ID) defeated Faulkner (AL) 12–11 in the championship game for their second consecutive title and 18th title in program history.
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 April 22, the NAIA announced the nine opening round host sites, which were played from May 17–20.
Venue(s) Location(s) Host(s) AUM Baseball Complex Montgomery, AL Auburn University at Montgomery Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex Grand Rapids, MI Davenport University Harrison Field Montgomery, AL Faulkner University Grizzly Baseball Field Lawrenceville, GA Georgia Gwinnett College Jack Brown Stadium Jamestown, ND University of Jamestown Hunter Wright Stadium Kingsport, TN Kingsport CVBAppalachian Athletic Conference Hobart-Detter Field Hutchinson, KS Tabor College Historic Grayson Stadium Savannah, GA University of South Carolina Beaufort Russell Carr Field Santa Barbara, CA Westmont College
Bids Automatic School Conference Record Berth Last NAIA Appearance Auburn–Montgomery Southern States 42–15 Tournament runner-up 2015 (Daytona Beach Bracket) Avila (MO) Heart 33–24 Regular season champion 2013 (Cleveland Bracket) Bellevue (NE) North Star 47–9 Regular season champion 2015 (Bellevue Bracket) British Columbia NAIA West Group 38–20 Regular season runner-up 2015 (Santa Clarita Bracket) Campbellsville (KY) Mid-South 36–15 Tournament champion 2015 (Montgomery Bracket) Central Baptist (AR) American Midwest 44–14 Tournament champion First appearance Central Methodist (MO) Heart 43–15 Tournament champion 2013 (Hattiesburg Bracket) Clarke (IA) Unaffiliated Group 37–15 Tournament runner-up First appearance College of Idaho NAIA West Group 38–20 Tournament runner-up 2012 NAIA World Series Faulkner (AL) Southern States 46–12 Tournament champion 2015 NAIA World Series Georgia Gwinnett Unaffiliated Group 55–4 Tournament champion 2015 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Indiana Tech Wolverine-Hoosier 39–18 Tournament runner-up 2013 (Montgomery Bracket) Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads 36–23–1 Tournament co-champion First appearance Keiser (FL) The Sun 37–20 Tournament champion 2015 (Montgomery Bracket) Lewis-Clark State (ID) NAIA West Group 48–7 World Series host 2015 NAIA World Series LSU–Shreveport Red River 38–18 Tournament champion 2015 (Shawnee Bracket) Madonna (MI) Wolverine-Hoosier 41–15 Regular season champion 2015 (Bellevue Bracket) Mayville State (ND) North Star 31–28 Tournament runner-up 2015 (Bellevue Bracket) Midland (NE) Great Plains 41–18–1 Regular season champion 2014 (Marion Bracket) Missouri Baptist American Midwest 42–13 Tournament runner-up 2015 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Morningside (IA) Great Plains 43–14 Tournament champion First appearance Olivet Nazarene (IL) Chicagoland 39–15 Regular season champion First appearance Point (GA) Appalachian 30–28 Tournament runner-up 2014 (Montgomery Bracket) Rio Grande (OH) Kentucky 37–23 Tournament champion 2015 (Daytona Beach Bracket) Saint Xavier (IL) Chicagoland 30–24 Tournament champion 2009 (Group 3 Bracket) Science & Arts (OK) Sooner 45–11 Tournament champion 2013 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Sterling (KS) Kansas 47–13 Tournament champion 2015 (Shawnee Bracket) Tabor (KS) Kansas 42–16 Regular season champion 2015 NAIA World Series Taylor (IN) Crossroads 40–16–1 Regular season champion 2013 (Kingsport Bracket) Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 45–12 Regular season champion 2015 (Kingsport Bracket) Texas A&M–Texarkana Unaffiliated Group 31–18 Tournament third place First appearance The Master's (CA) Golden State 38–17 Tournament champion 2015 (Santa Clarita Bracket)
At–Large School Conference Record Last NAIA Appearance Davenport (MI) Wolverine-Hoosier 41–15 2015 NAIA World Series Freed–Hardeman (TN) American Midwest 40–17 2015 (Kingsport Bracket) IU–Southeast Kentucky 42–13 2011 (Kingsport Bracket) Jamestown (ND) North Star 50–9 2014 (Hutchinson Bracket) Lindsey Wilson (KY) Mid-South 37–22 2015 NAIA World Series Middle Georgia State Southern States 39–16 First appearance St. Thomas (FL) The Sun 35–20 2015 NAIA World Series Texas Wesleyan Sooner 39–17 2013 (Montgomery Bracket) USC–Beaufort The Sun 43–12 2013 (Hattiesburg Bracket) Vanguard (CA) Golden State 37–15–1 2015 NAIA World Series Wayland Baptist (TX) Sooner 44–15 2009 (Group 1 Bracket) Westmont (CA) Golden State 41–11 2015 (Lawrenceville Bracket) William Carey (MS) Southern States 37–19 2013 (Hattiesburg Bracket) York (NE) Kansas 44–15 2015 (Oklahoma City Bracket)
Opening Round Source:
Faulkner Bracket Hosted by Faulkner (AL) at Harrison Field
Grand Rapids Bracket Hosted by Davenport (MI) at Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex
Hutchinson Bracket Hosted by Tabor (KS) at Hobart-Detter Field
Jamestown Bracket Hosted by Jamestown (ND) at Jack Brown Stadium
Kingsport Bracket Hosted by Kingsport CVB & Appalachian Athletic Conference at Hunter Wright Stadium
Lawrenceville Bracket Hosted by Georgia Gwinnett at Grizzly Baseball Field
Montgomery Bracket Hosted by Auburn–Montgomery at AUM Baseball Complex
Santa Barbara Bracket Hosted by Westmont (CA) at Russell Carr Field
Savannah Bracket Hosted by USC–Beaufort at Historic Grayson Stadium
NAIA World Series The NAIA World Series was held at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.
Participants SchoolConferenceRecordHead CoachBracketPrevious NAIAWS AppearancesBest NAIAWS FinishNAIA WSRecord Auburn–Montgomery Southern States 45–15 Marty Lovrich Montgomery 3 2nd 7–6 Bellevue (NE) North Star 51–10 Duane Monlux Grand Rapids 12 1st 20–22 Faulkner (AL) Southern States 50–11 Patrick McCarthy Faulkner 4 1st 9–6 Lewis–Clark State (ID) NAIA West Group(Frontier) 48–7 Jeremiah Robbins n/a 34 1st 133–44 Lindsey Wilson (KY) Mid-South 42–23 Jonathan Burton Lawrenceville 1 T-9th 0–2 Point (GA) Appalachian 34–29 Jeremy Christian Savannah none none 0–0 Science & Arts (OK) Sooner 48–11 Mike Ross Hutchinson none none 0–0 Sterling (KS) Kansas 50–14 Adrian Dinkel Jamestown 1 T-9th 0–2 Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 48–13 Travis Watson Kingsport 3 1st 5–5 The Master's (CA) Golden State 41–17 Monte Brooks Santa Barbara 2 T-3rd 3–4
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 2016 NAIA softball tournament 2016 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 2016 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 2016 NCAA Division III baseball tournament
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References