We promise Nick Herfordt was locked away in his office with no communication to the NAIA world as the postseason tournament began yesterday. The results and scores in no way influenced Nick's picks as he dove into dissecting all ten brackets and chose his winner of each.
As always, look for Nick's most recent DII, DII, and NAIA rankings this Wednesday, May 17th as the postseason will be rolling and championship time is right around the corner.
Bartlesville Bracket (Hosted by Oklahoma Wesleyan)
1. Oklahoma Wesleyan (48-9)
2. Indiana Tech (42-12)
3. Bryan (TN) (37-19)
4. Midland (NE) (41-18)
5. St. Ambrose (IA) (28-24)
I’m going all in on the host for this one. No question.
Bryan struggled to close the year with pairs of losses to Truett-McConnell (barely excusable) and Montreat (completely inexcusable) and fell out of the Top 25 after spending the bulk of the season hovering around the twenty position. Midland and St. Ambrose aren’t in the equation.
That leaves Indiana Tech left to usurp the top ranked Eagles. While the Warriors certainly have the talent to pull the upset, I don’t see that happening. Wesleyan has lost only three games at home this season and I can’t imagine them dropping a pair this week - not with the juggernaut offense they have. The only way I could see OKWU not advancing is if they were to somehow drop their first game and then desperately struggle to regain their mojo as they overcompensate to make up for a bombshell loss.
Bellevue Bracket (Hosted by Bellevue)
1. Bellevue (NE) (49-9)
2. Science & Arts (OK) (42-15)
3. Davenport (MI) (41-16)
4. Antelope Valley (CA) (37-16)
5. Judson (IL) (37-19)
As the preseason number two team and current number six, the Bruins should be a no-brainer pick to move on, but I’ve got a feeling in my bones an upset may be brewing outside Omaha. Bellevue unexpectedly lost a pair of games in the NSAA Tournament and hasn't earned a win over a ranked team since early March; as such they’re not exactly headed into the postseason with a whole lot of steam. Fortunately for them Science and Arts and Davenport aren’t quite clicking on all cylinders either and have been rather meh of late as well.
If the Drovers or Davenport wins the title I’d be surprised, but not shocked. Even if Antelope Valley were able to pull off the upset I wouldn’t label it too much of a stupefaction of sorts. This is a pretty even bunch of clubs where a big play or inning could propel any one of them into the next round (well, except for Judson, that would take divine intervention).
Who to pick… I dunno… I dunno… I dunno…. Eenie meenie miney mo… Lets go with Science and Arts and add another Oklahoma team to the finals flavor.
Hattiesburg Bracket (Hosted by William Carey)
1. Southeastern (FL) (48-9)
2. Texas Wesleyan (45-14)
3. William Carey (MS) (38-17)
4. Lyon (AR) (35-22)
5. LSU Alexandria (33-23)
Another tricky pick with three teams I could see not just winning the region, but the whole enchilada. The Fire, Rams and Crusaders have each been the in Top 25 the entire season and are all currently situated in the top fifteen so we’re dealing with some gosh darn tootin’ good teams here.
The Crusaders get a boost for being the home team - that’s a pivotal point for top seed Southeastern who are traveling outside the Sunshine State for the first time since way back on February 11th. I’m a staunch believer in home field advantage, especially in tournament play, but I’m not sure if that’s going to be enough to make up for Southeastern’s moxie. Ultimately if the Fire had the ability to win The Sun Conference tournament, they should be able to win this bracket as well. Going to go with SEU to advance, but it will be interesting.
Hutchinson Bracket (Hosted by Tabor)
1. Clarke (IA) (45-12)
2. Missouri Baptist (42-14)
3. Tabor (KS) (41-16)
4. Jamestown (ND) (40-20)
5. Concordia (NE) (34-20)
Missouri Baptist started the season in the top five, but an uninspiring 12-9 start saw them temporarily removed from the rankings. Their 29-5 turnaround since then has propelled them back into the top ten and they once again look like a national title contender. The Spartans haven’t exactly rocked the most imposing schedule, but they do have wins over some more-than-decent teams which includes national tournament participants William Carey, Bryan, Campbellsville and Lyon.
One team MBU wasn’t able to defeat is Clarke who was awarded the number one seed in the bracket. The Spartans to have to avenge those losses if they’re going to make it to the final ten. The host team Tabor shouldn’t be overlooked either. They were able to take two of three from top ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan earlier this year. If they can win a series against the Eagles, Tabor can beat anybody. Nonetheless, I’m going with Baptist to advance.
Kingsport Bracket (Hosted by Kingsport CVB & Appalachian Athletic Conference)
1. Keiser (FL) (39-18)
2. Tennessee Wesleyan (39-19)
3. IU Southeast (IN) (46-13)
4. Talladega (AL) (36-23)
5. Marian (IN) (30-21)
Keiser was my preseason favorite and for sentiment’s sake I’m going to pick them to advance. Their starting pitching is absolutely phenomenal with Daniel Garmendia, Kyle Keatts and Miguel Castellanos combining for 257 strikeouts between them. Kevin Berges isn’t putting up the same video game numbers he’s had the past two seasons, but he still wields a mighty stick and can change the outcome of a game with one swing.
Tennessee Wesleyan’s Aaron Ford is the X-factor for the region. He may be NAIA’s top pitcher and can single handedly keep the Bulldogs in a game. Regardless though, one pitcher can only do so much in a tightly scheduled bracket.
Lawrenceville Bracket (Hosted by Georgia Gwinnett)
1. Georgia Gwinnett (38-19)
2. Webber International (FL) (39-15)
3. Central Methodist (MO) (42-16)
4. The Master's (CA) (36-21)
5. LSU Shreveport (LA) (38-20)
I’m not crazy about any of these teams. The Master’s and Gwinnett were ranked 11th and 12th to start the season, but each underperformed with the Mustangs quickly falling out of the rankings all together while the Grizzlies made a season-long slide to 19. Webber was white-hot heading into mid April, but their spark was extinguished quickly as they finished 3-6.
I’m declaring this one a coin-flip decision between GGC and TMU. Gwinnett has prepared for the postseason by facing one of the stiffest schedules in the NAIA, but the Mustangs went 20-4 to close the regular season with wins over Biola, Menlo, Vanguard and Hope International to catapult them into the postseason. Nevertheless, going to go with Gwinnett to win the bracket and finally make that trip to Lewiston which has eluded them.
Lima Bracket (Hosted by Northwestern Ohio)
1. Northwestern Ohio (44-10)
2. Middle Georgia State (43-15)
3. Hope International (CA) (33-15)
4. MidAmerica Nazarene (KS) (35-19)
5. Midway (KY) (28-29)
UNOH hasn’t lost since March 5th when they were upended on the road in extra innings to Georgia Gwinnett - that’s twenty-six wins in a row which included 10 shutouts and seventeen times in which they scored at least nine runs. Unless you’re related to or dating a player on the one of the other teams, you’re picking the Racers to advance.
Montgomery Bracket (Hosted by Faulkner)
1. Faulkner (AL) (47-10)
2. St. Thomas (FL) (35-17)
3. Huntington (IN) (33-11)
4. Cumberlands (KY) (42-16)
5. Truett McConnell (GA) (32-26)
This is another region where I can’t justify picking anyone other than the host and top seed. Faulkner has lost only ten games this season and seven of those were by a single run or in extra innings. Their Southern States Athletic Conference title run included 16-1 and 13-3 manhandlings of William Carey and a character creating come-from-behind championship victory over Middle Georgia State. Look for the Eagles to make it back to Lewiston for another deep title run.
Oklahoma City Bracket (Hosted by Oklahoma City)
1. Oklahoma City (45-8)
2. Mayville State (ND) (46-11)
3. Campbellsville (KY) (34-19)
4. Friends (KS) (32-20)
5. College of Idaho (24-29)
Elementary choice here. Oklahoma City has been ranked first or second for the bulk of the season while none of the other clubs in the bracket have been in the Top 25 at all - not even for quick one-week “howdy" at the tail-end. I’d bet the farm on this one.
The only team I could see maybe making an upset bid would be Friends who received quite a bit of bulletin board motivation material attacking their inclusion in the tournament. Nonetheless, it would take one heck of pep talk to inspire them to get past the Stars.
Lewiston Bracket (Hosted by Lewis-Clark State) 35-13
1. Lewis-Clark State (35-13)
2. Bye
3. Bye
4. Bye
5. Bye
The Warriors get a free pass into the final ten because they’re the host. The Abilene paradox of athletics. Insert eye roll.