The 2023 NAIA baseball tournament was the 66th edition of the NAIA baseball championship. The 46-team tournament began on May 15 with Opening Round games across ten different sites and concluded with the 2023 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho that began on May 26 and ended on June 2.
The Westmont (CA) defeated host Lewis–Clark State in a winner-take-all championship game 7–6 to capture their first national title in program history.
Lewis–Clark State's Isaiah Thomas won tournament MVP honors. Thomas became the first player since Oklahoma City's Chris Bradshaw in 1998 to win the tournament MVP on a non-championship winning team.
The 46 participating teams were selected from all eligible NAIA teams. The World Series host and 31 teams were 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 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 participated in 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. 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 ten opening round host sites, which were played from May 15–18.
Venue Location Host Don Roddy Field Bellevue, NE Bellevue University Estes Baseball Field Fayette, MO Central Methodist University Doyle Buhl Stadium Williamsburg, KY University of the Cumberlands Grizzly Baseball Complex Lawrenceville, GA Georgia Gwinnett College Harris Field Lewiston, ID Lewis-Clark State College Pilot Field Shreveport, LA Louisiana State University Shreveport Winterholter Field Upland, IN Taylor University Hunter Wright Stadium Kingsport, TN Visit Kingsport Russell Carr Field Santa Barbara, CA Westmont College Milton Wheeler Field Hattiesburg, MS William Carey University
Bids Source: Automatic School Conference Record Berth Last NAIA Appearance Antelope Valley (CA) Cal Pac 30–14 Tournament champion 2022 (Santa Barbara Bracket) Bellevue (NE) North Star 45–8 Tournament champion 2022 NAIA World Series British Columbia Cascade 34–19 Tournament champion 2022 (Lewiston Bracket) Bryan (TN) Appalachian 35–19 Tournament runner-up 2022 (Upland Bracket) Columbia (MO) American Midwest 38–13 Tournament champion 2022 (Upland Bracket) Concordia (MI) Wolverine-Hoosier 46–8 Regular season champion First appearance Concordia (NE) Great Plains 38–15 Tournament runner-up 2022 (Bellevue Bracket) Cumberlands (KY) Mid-South 46–7 Tournament champion 2022 (Kingsport Bracket) Dillard (LA) Gulf Coast 22–28 Tournament champion First appearance Doane (NE) Great Plains 42–10 Regular season champion 2022 (Lewiston Bracket) Fisher (MA) Continental 29–23 Tournament runner-up 2022 (Shreveport Bracket) Freed–Hardeman (TN) Mid-South 37–19 Tournament runner-up 2022 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Georgia Gwinnett Continental 47–5 Tournament champion 2022 NAIA World Series Grand View (IA) Heart 34–12 Tournament champion 2015 (Grand Rapids Bracket) Houston–Victoria (TX) Red River 26–25 Tournament champion 2014 (Jackson Bracket) Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads 36–18–1 Tournament champion 2021 (Marion Bracket) Kansas Wesleyan Kansas 42–13 Regular season champion 2022 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Lewis-Clark State (ID) Cascade 30–16 World Series host 2022 NAIA World Series LSU–Shreveport Red River 44–8 Regular season champion 2022 NAIA World Series Madonna (MI) Wolverine-Hoosier 35–15 Tournament champion 2022 (Kingsport Bracket) McPherson (KS) Kansas 36–14 Tournament champion 2022 (Miami Gardens Bracket) MidAmerica Nazarene (KS) Heart 30–25 Tournament runner-up 2022 NAIA World Series Midway (KY) River States 27–22 Regular season champion 2017 (Lima Bracket) Mobile (AL) Southern States 35–13 Tournament champion 2019 (Williamsburg Bracket) Oklahoma City Sooner 30–19 Tournament champion 2022 (Oklahoma City Bracket) Point Park (PA) River States 36–15 Tournament champion 2022 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Southeastern (FL) The Sun 52–4 Tournament champion 2022 NAIA World Series Saint Xavier (IL) Chicagoland 31–25 Tournament champion 2021 (Bellevue Bracket) St. Francis (IL) Chicagoland 25–26 Regular season champion 2015 (Montgomery Bracket) Taylor (IN) Crossroads 37–15 Regular season champion 2022 (Upland Bracket) Union (KY) Appalachian 30–17–1 Tournament champion 2019 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Westmont (CA) Golden State 40–8 Tournament champion 2022 NAIA World Series
At–Large School Conference Record Last NAIA Appearance Ave Maria (FL) The Sun 34–16 2013 (Daytona Beach Bracket) Benedictine–Mesa (AZ) Cal Pac 42–12 2021 (O'Fallon Bracket) Central Methodist (MO) Heart 34–17 2021 NAIA World Series Cumberland (TN) Mid-South 35–13–1 2018 (Upland Bracket) Hope International (CA) Golden State 33–9 2022 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Missouri Baptist American Midwest 42–7 2017 NAIA World Series Morningside (IA) Great Plains 36–16 2016 (Hutchinson Bracket) Reinhardt (GA) Appalachian 33–18 2022 (Montgomery Bracket) Science & Arts (OK) Sooner 34–18 2022 (Shreveport Bracket) Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 42–9 2022 NAIA World Series Texas Wesleyan Sooner 36–14 2019 (Henderson Bracket) Webber International (FL) The Sun 40–15 2022 NAIA World Series William Carey (MS) Southern States 44–9 2022 (Lawrenceville Bracket) Vanugard (CA) Golden State 33–16 2022 (Lewiston Bracket)
Opening Round Source:
Bellevue Bracket Hosted by Bellevue (NE) at Don Roddy Field
Fayette Bracket Hosted by Central Methodist (MO) at Estes Baseball Field
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
Lewiston Bracket Hosted by Lewis–Clark State (ID) at Harris Field
Santa Barbara Bracket Hosted by Westmont (CA) at Russell Carr Field
Shreveport Bracket Hosted by LSU–Shreveport at Pilot Field
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 Bellevue (NE) North Star 48–8 Duane Monlux Bellevue 15 1st 26–29 Cumberlands (KY) Mid-South 49–7 Brad Shelton Williamsburg none none 0–0 Georgia Gwinnett Continental 50–6 Jeremy Sheetinger Lawrenceville 5 1st 11–8 Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads 39–18–1 Rich Benjamin Kingsport none none 0–0 Lewis–Clark State (ID) Cascade 33–16 Jake Taylor Lewiston 40 1st 152–54 MidAmerica Nazarene (KS) Heart 34–26 Ryan Thompson Shreveport 1 T-9th 0–2 Southeastern (FL) The Sun 55–4 Adrian Dinkel Fayette 4 1st 13–5 Taylor (IN) Crossroads 34–26 Kyle Gould Upland 1 T-5th 1–2 Westmont (CA) Golden State 43–8 Tyler LaTorre Santa Barbara 1 T-9th 0–2 William Carey (MS) Southern States 47–9 Bobby Halford Hattiesburg 4 1st 7–5
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 2023 NAIA softball tournament 2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 2023 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 2023 NCAA Division III baseball tournament
References