The 2026 NAIA baseball tournament was the 69th edition of the NAIA baseball championship. The 46-team tournament began on May 11 with Opening Round games across ten different sites and concludes with the 2026 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho that started on May 22 and concluded a week later on May 30.
Tennessee Wesleyan won their 3rd national championship as they beat top-seeded Taylor (IN) 21–3 in the championship game. Tennessee Wesleyan's 18-run victory was the largest margin of victory in a championship game and their 22 hits was the most since 1958. Allan Gil Fernandez of Tennessee Wesleyan was named tournament MVP.
The 46 participating teams were selected from all eligible NAIA teams. The World Series host and 30 teams were 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 ten pre-determined Opening Round sites, with six sites consisting of five teams and four sites consisting of four teams, each of which is conducted via a double-elimination tournament. The winners of each of the Opening Round sites will advance to the NAIA World Series.
Tournament procedure A total of 46 teams entered the tournament, with Lewis–Clark State receiving an automatic bid into the Opening Round as World Series host. 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 1, the NAIA announced the ten opening round host sites, which are being played from May 11–14.
Venue Location Host Hunter Wright Stadium Kingsport, TN Appalachian Athletic Conference Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex Bellevue, NE Bellevue University Doyle Buhl Stadium Williamsburg, KY University of the Cumberlands Sherman Field Lincoln, NE Doane University Grizzly Baseball Complex Lawrenceville, GA Georgia Gwinnett College Dean Evans Stadium Salina, KS Kansas Wesleyan University Harris Field Lewiston, ID Lewis-Clark State College Pilot Field Shreveport, LA Louisiana State University Shreveport Ted A. Broer Stadium Lakeland, FL Southeastern University Winterholter Field Upland, IN Taylor University
Bids Source:
Automatic School Conference Record Berth Last NAIA Appearance Abraham Baldwin (GA) Southern States 39–15 Tournament runner-up 2025 (Lakeland Bracket) Bellevue (NE) Frontier 48–4 Tournament champion 2025 (Upland Bracket) British Columbia Cascade 38–15 Tournament runner-up 2025 NAIA World Series Bryan (TN) Appalachian 27–24 Tournament runner-up 2023 (Kingsport Bracket) Central Baptist (AR) American Midwest 34–18 Tournament champion 2016 (Montgomery Bracket) Concordia (NE) Great Plains 37–16 Tournament runner-up 2025 (Lincoln Bracket) Cumberlands (KY) Mid-South 46–8 Tournament champion 2025 NAIA World Series Doane (NE) Great Plains 44–9 Regular season champion 2024 (Lincoln Bracket) Georgia Gwinnett Continental 46–6 Tournament champion 2025 NAIA World Series Hope International (CA) Great Southwest 37–13 Tournament champion 2025 NAIA World Series Huston–Tillotson (TX) HBCU 33–18 Tournament runner-up First appearance Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads 34–22 Tournament runner-up 2025 (Lincoln Bracket) IU Southeast River States 39–14 Regular season champion 2025 (Hattiesburg Bracket) Kansas Wesleyan Kansas 48–7 Regular season champion 2025 (Upland Bracket) Lewis-Clark State (ID) Cascade 41–7 World Series host 2025 (Lewiston Bracket) Loyola (LA) Southern States 36–17 Tournament champion 2025 NAIA World Series LSU–Shreveport Red River 41–12 Tournament champion 2025 NAIA World Series Madonna (MI) Wolverine-Hoosier 41–14 Tournament champion 2023 (Fayette Bracket) Mid-America Christian (OK) Sooner 39–13 Tournament champion 2025 (Shreveport Bracket) Mount Mercy (IA) Heart 38–13 Tournament champion 2024 (Lincoln Bracket) Northwestern Ohio Wolverine-Hoosier 36–16 Regular season champion 2025 (Williamsburg Bracket) Oklahoma Wesleyan Kansas 36–17 Tournament runner-up 2025 (Hattiesburg Bracket) Shawnee State (OH) River States 32–18 Tournament runner-up 2011 (Cleveland Bracket) Southeastern (FL) The Sun 39–15 Tournament champion 2025 NAIA World Series St. Ambrose (IA) Chicagoland 32–20 Tournament champion 2017 (Bartlesville Bracket) Talladega (AL) HBCU 32–17 Tournament champion 2025 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Taylor (IN) Crossroads 49–5 Regular season champion 2025 (Upland Bracket) Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 40–14 Tournament champion 2025 NAIA World Series Texas A&M–Victoria Red River 36–15 Regular season champion 2025 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Texas Wesleyan Sooner 41–10 Regular season champion 2023 (Hattiesburg Bracket) William Woods (MO) Heart 29–21 Tournament runner-up 2015 (Bellevue Bracket)
At–Large School Conference Record Last NAIA Appearance Faulkner (AL) Southern States 30–22 2024 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Huntington (IN) Crossroads 39–12 2019 (Macon Bracket) Indiana Tech Wolverine-Hoosier 41–15 2025 (Kingsport Bracket) Johnson (TN) Appalachian 37–12 2025 (Shreveport Bracket) Keiser (FL) The Sun 35–17 2025 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Louisiana Christian Red River 35–13 2025 (Kingsport Bracket) LSU–Alexandria Red River 33–15 2022 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Marian (IN) Crossroads 35–16 2019 (Kingsport Bracket) Milligan (TN) Appalachian 40–13 2024 (Hattiesburg Bracket) Missouri Baptist Heart 39–10 2025 (Williamsburg Bracket) Nelson (TX) Sooner 35–18 First appearance Oakland City (IN) River States 39–13 2025 (Waleska Bracket) Our Lady of the Lake (TX) Red River 34–18 2019 (Montgomery Bracket) Webber International (FL) The Sun 37–17 2025 NAIA World Series William Carey (MS) Southern States 35–18 2025 (Hattiesburg Bracket)
Opening Round All game times are listed in local time.
Source:
Bellevue Bracket Hosted by Bellevue University at Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex
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Results
Kingsport Bracket Hosted by the Appalachian Athletic Conference at Hunter Wright Stadium
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Results
Lakeland Bracket Hosted by Southeastern University at Ted A. Broer Stadium
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Results
Lawrenceville Bracket Hosted by Georgia Gwinnett College at Grizzly Baseball Complex
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Results
Lewiston Bracket Hosted by Lewis–Clark State College at Harris Field
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Results
Lincoln Bracket Hosted by Doane University at Sherman Field
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Results
Salina Bracket Hosted by Kansas Wesleyan University at Dean Evans Stadium
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Results
Shreveport Bracket Hosted by Louisiana State University Shreveport at Pilot Field
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Results
Upland Bracket Hosted by Taylor University at Winterholter Field
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Results
Williamsburg Bracket Hosted by the University of the Cumberlands at Doyle Buhl Stadium
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Results
NAIA World Series The Avista NAIA World Series was held at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho from May 22 to 30.
Participants SchoolConferenceRecordHead CoachBracketPrevious NAIAWS AppearancesBest NAIAWS FinishNAIA WSRecord Doane (NE) Great Plains 47–9 Josh Oltmans Lincoln none none 0–0 Georgia Gwinnett Continental 49–6 Tommy Goodale Lawrenceville 8 1st 16–14 IU Southeast River States 42–14 Vincent Tornincasa Bellevue 2 T-5th 3–4 Johnson (TN) Appalachian 40–12 Dave Serrano Salina none none 0–0 Lewis–Clark State (ID) Cascade 44–7 Jeremiah Robbins Lewiston 41 1st 156–56 Mid-America Christian (OK) Sooner 42–13 Brett Stanton Shreveport none none 0–0 Southeastern (FL) The Sun 43–16 Gabe Grinder Lakeland 7 1st 20–11 Taylor (IN) Crossroads 52–5 Kyle Gould Upland 2 T-5th 3–4 Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 43–14 Billy Berry Kingsport 8 1st 19–14 William Carey (MS) Southern States 38–18 Bobby Halford Williamsburg 5 1st 9–9
Bracket Source:
Game Results All game times are listed in Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−07:00).
Championship Game
See also 2026 NAIA softball tournament 2026 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 2026 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 2026 NCAA Division III baseball tournament
Notes
References
External links