KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The trek to Lewiston, Idaho, begins now, as 46 teams have qualified for the Opening Round of the 2026 NAIA Baseball National Tournament, taking place on Monday, May 11, through Thursday, May 14, at host sites across the nation. For the first time since 2019, the Marian baseball team joins the NAIA Tournament field, earning an at-large bid to the 2026 tournament, as announced in Wednesday's NAIA Selection Show. 

The Marian Knights are one of the 46 teams to make the 2026 NAIA National Tournament, earning their fourth trip to the field in the modern format, and the first since 2019. Marian is headed to Lawrenceville, Georgia, where the Knights will be a three seed in the bracket hosted by Georgia Gwinnett.

Each Opening Round will feature a double-elimination format, with six sites hosting five-team brackets and four sites hosting four-team brackets. When the dust settles, 10 teams will punch their ticket to historic Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho, for the 2026 Avista NAIA World Series, beginning May 22, and continuing through May 30, until one team stands alone and is crowned a champion.

Marian is one of four Crossroads League teams to make the field, helping the conference earn a record four bids to the national tournament. Taylor is the No. 1 seed in its bracket, while Huntington is a three seed and Indiana Wesleyan is a four seed. 

Eight of Marian's opponents in the 2026 season qualified for the NAIA National Tournament, backing the team's top-25 strength of schedule this year. 

Lewis-Clark State leads the field with 19 national championship titles. Tennessee Wesleyan and Southeastern (Fla.) have both been crowned champions twice, while Georgia Gwinnett, Bellevue (Neb.), Hope International (Calif.), LSU Shreveport (La.), Faulkner (Ala.), and William Carey (Miss.) have won the title once. 

The one-seed in Marian's bracket is Georgia Gwinnett, who enters the national tournament as the No. 3 team in the coaches' poll and the No. 2 team in the RPI. GGC (46-6) earned an automatic bid to the national tournament after winning the Continental Athletic Conference tournament title. The No. 3-ranked Grizzlies have advanced to the Avista NAIA World Series seven straight seasons and won the national title in 2021. GGC is hosting an Opening Round for the fifth consecutive season. The Knights have never played Georgia Gwinnett. 

Marian's first opponent in the NAIA Tournament Opening Round will be the second seed, Louisiana Christian. Louisiana Christian (35-13) received an at-large bid to the national tournament field as a member of the Red River Athletic Conference, a league that produced an NAIA-best five tournament teams. The Wildcats are tied for No. 24 in the final NAIA Top 25 regular-season poll. Monday's matchup against the Wildcats will be the first-ever in program history.

Northwestern Ohio (36-16) will be the fourth seed and won the regular season title in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference to earn an automatic bid into this year's national tournament. The Racers received votes in the final national poll. Despite the proximity in region to UNOH, Marian has only played the Racers once in its baseball history, with the matchup being a loss in the 2018 NAIA Opening Round.

Talladega (31-17) won the HBCU Athletic Conference tournament title to secure an automatic bid into the national field. The Tornadoes are the five-seed in the bracket, and are 0-1 all-time against Marian, with the Knights winning a 2017 NAIA Opening Round matchup in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Marian's first game in the NAIA Opening Round will be on Monday, May 11, at 3:00 p.m. If the Knights win, they will continue a run of mid-afternoon games, playing on Tuesday, May 12 at the same scheduled start time. If the Knights fall, they will play an elimination game on Tuesday morning at 11:00 a.m. against either Talladega or UNOH. 

Fans can find updated information on the tournament, including the full schedule, photos, parking and ticketing information, and live video links at the Georgia Gwinnett Tournament Central page. 

Marian plays against Louisiana Christian on Monday, May 11, in the NAIA Opening Round at 3:00 p.m.

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