USAO to Host NAIA Softball Opening Round for the Fourth Year in a Row

CHICKASHA, Okla. – On Wednesday, the NAIA announced that No. 6 ranked University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (40-7, 31-5 SAC) will once again be a host for the 2024 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round: presented by Roaster's Market. The national tournament appearance is the ninth in program history, including a current run of five consecutive appearances.

Selections of each site were made in part by the NAIA Softball National Championship Selection Committee. The committee is comprised of head coaches and administrators from around the nation. Selections take into account geography, facilities and host qualification. The application deadline was on April 15, 2024.

The full field of teams for the tournament will be announced in the NAIA Selection Show on Tuesday, May 7 at 4:00 PM CT on the NAIA's YouTube channel.

The 2024 NAIA Softball National Championship will feature an expanded field of 48 teams. There will be two opening round sites that will feature four teams and eight which will be five team brackets, each played in double elimination format. The winner of each will advance to the NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Ga., beginning on May 23, 2024.

The hosting bid is the fourth in a row for the Drovers, with Bethany College (Kan.) emerging victorious and advanced to the World Series in 2021, followed by USAO winning and advancing to the World Series in 2022 and 2023.

USAO Athletic Director Mike Ross said," We are very excited to be selected as a national host once again this year. After the success of this event over the last three years, record breaking attendance, record viewership on our live stream, and the support from the City of Chickasha and the Chamber of Commerce I knew we had a great chance to get to host again." Ross continued by saying," Hosting allows us to bring in various teams from around the country to our great city and also gives our softball team a chance to clinch a world series berth in front of our home crowd."

Host                                                 City                                                   Field

Central Methodist (Mo.)                     Fayette, Mo.                                      Cox Stadium Complex

Cumberlands (Ky.)                            Williamsburg, Ky.                               UC Softball Complex

Georgia Gwinnett                              Lawrenceville, Ga.                             Grizzly Softball Complex

Marian (Ind.)                                    Indianapolis, Ind.                              Marian Softball Diamond

Northwestern (Iowa)                         Sioux Center, Iowa                            Open Space Park

Oklahoma City                                  Oklahoma City, Okla.                        Ann Lacey Stadium

Oregon Tech                                     Klamath Falls, Ore.                            John & Lois Stilwell Stadium

Our Lady of the Lake                         San Antonio, Texas                           St. Mary's University Softball Field

USAO                                               Chickasha, Okla.                              Bill Smith Ballpark

William Carey (Miss.)                         Hattiesburg, Miss.                           Jospeh & Nancy Fail Field

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will begin the postseason on Thursday, May 2 as they host the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. USAO will be the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 OPSU on Thursday at 11:00 AM CT at Bill Smith Ballpark in Chickasha, Okla.

For more information about the SAC Tournament, CLICK HERE!

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS!!

• Chickasha Chamber of Commerce
• Chicken Express
• City of Chickasha
• Roaster's Market
• Standley Systems

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