KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the teams and pairings for the 2024 NAIA Softball National Championship. The 48-team field will kick things off in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, at 10 campus sites around the nation on May 13-16.

Marian University has been picked as the No. 1 seed in their bracket, and will play their first game in the NAIA Opening Round on Tuesday, May 14. The tournament will begin on May 13 at 11:00 a.m.

This year's championship field includes 32 automatic qualifiers and 16 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, or regular-season championship or finished runner-up at the conference tournament or regular season as determined by each conference qualification plan. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Softball National Selection Committee.

MEET THE TEAMS
Marian University is the No. 1 seed in the bracket, and enter the NAIA Tournament as an automatic qualifier, winning both the Crossroads League Regular Season and Tournament for a second consecutive year. Marian will be the host for the second time in program history, and hold a record of 44-10 overall entering the NAIA Tournament. Marian has qualified for the NAIA Tournament in nine consecutive seasons and 11 times overall, and are led by CL Pitcher of the Year Olivia Stunkel and CL Newcomer of the Year Abbey Hofmann. Seniors Sierra Norman and Savannah Harweger also anchor the Knights lineup, as does sophomore Abby Madere, who is the NAIA leader in RBI. The Knights are 9-4 against teams who qualified for the NAIA National Tournament this season. Marian will be looking to go back to the NAIA World Series for the second consecutive season.

The No. 2 seed in the Indianapolis bracket is the defending NAIA National Champion Southern Oregon. The Raiders enter the NAIA National Tournament with a 37-17 overall record, and are the No. 17 rated team in the NAIA entering the National Tournament, having won three of the last four NAIA World Series. Southern Oregon played for the Cascade Conference Tournament Championship this past week, and were one of 16 teams that received an at-large bid to the tournament field. This is the first season since 2017 that Southern Oregon will play on the road in the NAIA Opening Round. Seven different Raiders earned CCC All-League honors, including first team honorees Jordan Henderson, Piper Love, and Katie Machado. Marian does have postseason history with SOU, most recently splitting a pair of matchups at the 2018 World Series

Middle Georgia State will return to Indianapolis for a second consecutive year in the NAIA Opening Round, earning an automatic bid as the SSAC Tournament Runner-Up. The Knights will be the No. 3 seed, and are currently rated No. 24 in the final NAIA Poll. This season the Knights are 33-14, and own four wins over teams rated in the top-25 at the time of the matchup. Middle Georgia State is led by Beth Eddins and Morgan Windham, who were First Team All-Conference Players in the Southern States. Marian played Middle Georgia State one time in last year's tournament, taking out MGA by a 5-0 count.

The No. 4 seed in the bracket is Aquinas, who enters with an overall record of 40-13. Aquinas took an automatic bid to the NAIA Tournament, finishing as the runner-up in the WHAC Conference Tournament. The Saints have played six games against teams rated in the NAIA Top-25 this season, and hold a record of 1-5, with the lone win coming over Marian back in early March, as the Knights were entering their final day of their 10-game Florida Spring Break trip. The Saints had five players make the All-WHAC Second Team, and are led by freshman Katie Carlson. 

The final team in the NAIA Opening Round for the Indianapolis Bracket is Rio Grande, who earned an automatic bid as the River States Conference Tournament Champion. Rio Grande will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament, and enter with an overall record of 34-17. The Red Storm last qualified for the NAIA Tournament in 2022, and are led this season by senior shortstop Caitlyn Brisker and junior outfielder Madison Ogden. Brisker and Ogden were among three All-RSC First Team selections, while Ogden was the RSC Newcomer of the Year. 

GAME SCHEDULE

The NAIA Opening Round will take place on Marian's campus at the Marian Softball Diamond on Monday May 13, with games played through Thursday, May 16. Game one on Monday will feature Aquinas playing Rio Grande at 11 a.m., while Southern Oregon will play Middle Georgia State at 1:30 p.m. The full schedule is below. All games are subject to change, pending weather. All changes will be announced via Marian social media and website channels.

MAY 13
Game 1 | 11 AM | (4) Aquinas (Mich.) vs. (5) Rio Grande (Ohio)
Game 2 | 1:30 PM |  (2) Southern Oregon vs. (3) Middle Georgia State
MAY 14
Game 3 | 11 AM | (1) Marian (Ind.) vs. Game 1 winner
Game 4 | 1:30 PM | Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (loser eliminated)
MAY 15
Game 5 | 11 AM | Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner
Game 6 | 1:30 PM | Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner (loser eliminated)
Game 7 | 4 PM | Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 winner (loser eliminated)
MAY 16
Game 8 | 11 AM | Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner (championship round)
Game 9 | 30 Minutes Following Game 8 | If necessary

FOLLOW ALONG
Live updates from the tournament will be made on the Marian social media platforms, and fans can catch the content by following MUKnights on both X and Instagram.

LIVE VIDEO AND STATS

The ISC Sports Network will be the official live stream provider for the Indianapolis Bracket in the 2024 NAIA Opening Round. The tournament will be pay-per-view, and a tournament fee of $9.99 will be charged. Fans will get all games of the tournament with the one-time price. 

Live stats will be available on Marianstats.com, the official live stat website for Marian athletics. Live stat links for the games can be found in the above link.

TICKETS

Tickets for each day will be sold at one of two locations along the Marian Softball Diamond. Single day session passes will be sold, with the price of $10 for general admission, while children five and under will be admitted free. A tournament pass will be sold at $30 and will be valid for the duration of the week.

The first game of the 2024 NAIA Opening Round at Marian University is set to begin at 11:00 a.m., as Aquinas takes on Rio Grande. 

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