By Chad Waller, Director of Communications and Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Brackets) The 2014 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round is set to play out from May 12 – 14 at 10 different locations. The format is a double-elimination, four-team tournament at each site. This is the second year for the Opening Round format with all 10 Opening Round champions advancing to the NAIA Softball World Series from May 23 – 29 in Columbus, Ga. The official World Series bracket will be announced late in the day on May 14 on NAIA.org.

On Monday, the No. 1 seed faces the No. 4 seed at each site while the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds battle it out. The second day features three games and the third and final day has the championship game and “if necessary” contest.

The 10 Opening Round hosts are: Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), Columbia (Mo.), Concordia (Calif.), Davenport (Mich.), College of Idaho, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Oklahoma City, Reinhardt (Ga.), St. Gregory's (Okla.) and William Carey (Miss.). For more information on the 10 host sites, click here.

Defending national champion and No. 1 seed in the Concordia bracket, Concordia is one of three repeat Opening Round hosts. The Eagles went 3-0 last year in winning their own Opening Round bracket. Concordia has won its last 12 games entering the Opening Round, including five of six in shutout fashion. With a 48-5 record, the Eagles have been ranked No. 1 in every Coaches’ Top 25 poll this year and 17-straight overall dating back to the start of the 2013 season.

Overall, 23 teams are back after a 2013 National Championship Opening Round appearance. There are three teams in this year's field with an undefeated Opening Round all-time record at 3-0: Auburn Montgomery, Cal State San Marcos and Concordia. Auburn Montgomery plays host as the No. 1 seed and faces No. 4 Bryan (Tenn.) on Monday. The Cougars are the No. 1 seed in the College of Idaho Bracket and takes on No. 4 Dickinson State (N.D.) on Monday.

The two other repeat hosts from last year are Lindsey Wilson and Oklahoma City. The Blue Raiders, who qualified as the Mid-South Conference regular-season champion, look to bounce back after falling at home in the 2013 Lindsey Wilson Opening Round bracket. Oklahoma City advanced out of its own Opening Round bracket in 2013 behind a 3-1 record.

Three qualifiers in the 2014 Opening Round have won at least one previous national championship: Oklahoma City (8), Concordia (1) and Oregon Tech (1). The Stars are looking to advance to their 23rd-straight and 29th overall NAIA World Series – both marks are the most all-time in NAIA history.

The Southern States Athletic Conference leads all conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups with four qualifiers in the National Championship field. Last year, the SSAC went a combined 13-3 in Opening Round play. The Association of Independent Institutions, Cascade Collegiate Conference and Sooner Athletic Conference each landed a trio of programs.

The 2013 Opening Round hosts recorded a 23-14 combined record with four host institutions winning their own brackets. Overall, the No. 1 Opening Round seeds in 2013 went a combined 30-7. Last year, nine No. 1 seeds won their respective Opening Rounds with No. 2 seed Spring Hill (Ala.) being the exception. The Badgers were crowned the USC Beaufort Bracket champion. This year, Spring Hill is the top seed in the Oklahoma City bracket and will battle No. 4 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) on Monday.

The other No. 1 seeds include LSU Alexandria (La.) in the Columbia Bracket, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) in the Davenport Bracket, Saint Xavier (Ill.) in the Lindsey Wilson Bracket, Reinhardt, St. Gregory’s and William Carey playing in their own Bracket.

The Opening Round field is comprised of 32 automatic qualifiers and eight at-large berths. Automatic qualification is given to conference regular-season champions, regular-season runners-up, tournament champions or tournament runners-up depending on the league. Conferences with 10 or more members earned two automatic qualifiers and conferences with less than 10 landed one auto berth. At-large teams were determined using the final regular-season Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released on May 6.

NeuLion, the NAIA’s official video-streaming company of 17 select NAIA national championship events, will be broadcasting all 18 games of the 2014 NAIA Softball World Series. Single day packages can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-World Series pass is available for $29.95. For more information, including how to test your computer and internet connection, click here.

For more information on the 2014 NAIA Softball National Championship, click here. 

Opening Round All-Time Records (by seeds)
No. 1 seeds: 30-7
No. 2 seeds: 19-19
No. 3 seeds: 14-20
No. 4 seeds: 3-20