Baseball Nabs No. 2 Seed in Kingsport Bracket for 2026 NAIA Opening Round

KANSAS CITY, Mo.- The teams that qualified for the 2026 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round were announced by the national office on Wednesday. The baseball program knew they had qualified for their 17th consecutive NAIA Opening Round after advancing to the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship game. The AAC Tournament Champions just did not know where they would be going as they tried to advance to the program's ninth Avista NAIA World Series. The team found out they are returning to site where they just won the AAC Tournament Title in Kingsport as the No. 2 seed in the Kingsport Bracket. 

The NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round features 46 teams: 30 automatic qualifiers, 15 at-large bids, and one host berth. The 17th annual event takes place May 11-14 at 10 host sites. Six of the sites will feature a five-team, double-elimination bracket; the final four brackets will sport only four squads in the double-elimination format. The winner of each opening round site will advance to the 69th annual Avista NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho on May 22-30. The Bulldogs have advanced to the Avista NAIA World Series eight times.

Since its inception, TWU has qualified for all 17 NAIA Opening Rounds, joining LSU Shreveport as the only other program to do so. 

The host of the Kingsport Bracket is Visit Kingsport. The site is one of the six five-team brackets, and joining the second-seeded Bulldogs at the Kingsport Bracket are the No. 1 seed Webber International University Warriors, No. 3 seed LSU Alexandria Generals, No. 4 seed Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats, and No. 5 seed William Woods University Owls. The path to the World Series for Tennessee Wesleyan begins on Monday against the No. 3 seed LSU Alexandria. The two teams are set to play at 2:30 p.m. 

All games at the Kingsport Bracket will have live stats and a live stream. Live statistics will be done through PrestoStats. All links for live video and live stats can be found at www.twbulldogs.com.

Here is the complete list of teams at the Kingsport Bracket:

No. 1 seed Webber International (37-17 overall); The Sun Conference; At-Large | Schedule | Roster
No. 2 seed Tennessee Wesleyan (40-14 overall); Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | Schedule | Roster
No. 3 seed LSU Alexandria (33-15 overall); Red River Athletic Conference; At-Large | Schedule | Roster
No. 4 seed Indiana Wesleyan (34-22 overall); Crossroads League Tournament Runner-up | Schedule | Roster
No. 5 seed William Woods (29-21 overall); Heart of America Conference Tournament Runner-ups | Schedule | Roster

The tournament schedule for the double-elimination tournament can be seen below (All times EST):

May 11
Game 1 - No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan vs. No. 5 William Woods- 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 3 LSU Alexandria vs. No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan- 2:30 p.m.
Game 3 - Game 1 winner vs. No. 1 Webber International- 6:00 p.m.

May 12
Game 4 - Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser- 11:00 a.m.
Game 5 - Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner- 2:30 p.m.
Game 6 - Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner- 6:00 p.m.

May 13
Game 7 - Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner- 11:00 a.m.
Game 8 - Game 5 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner- 2:30 p.m.

May 14
Game 9 - Game 8 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser (If Necessary)- TBD

*Times may be altered due to potential weather delays