The Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team has been selected as the No. 1 seed for the NAIA Opening Round Lawrenceville Bracket, a five-team, double-elimination tournament taking place May 13-16 at the Grizzly Baseball Complex. The winner will advance to the 2024 Avista NAIA World Series.
As the top-seeded team, the Grizzlies (47-6; ranked No. 2 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll) won't play until Monday, May 13, at 7 p.m., facing the winner of the 11 a.m. contest between No. 4 seed Bushnell University (Oregon) and No. 5 seed Louisiana Christian University. The other first-round game will have No. 2 seed Faulkner University (Alabama) facing No. 3 seed OUAZ (Arizona), starting at 3 p.m.
OPENING ROUND CENTRAL
Play will continue until the winner is determined on Thursday, May 16.
GGC is hosting a NAIA Opening Round tournament for the ninth time and has advanced to the World Series for five straight seasons, winning the 2021 national championship. The team captured the Continental Athletic Conference title on Monday and brings a 13-game winning streak into tournament play.
Faulkner (35-15; ranked No. 15 nationally) earned an at-large postseason bid from the Southern States Athletic Conference. The Eagles have made 13 NAIA World Series appearances, but missed Opening Round action in 2023.
The other three teams are playing in the NAIA Opening Round for the first time in program history.
OUAZ (34-17; receiving votes nationally) received an at-large bid to the Lawrenceville Bracket after having a 2-2 record in the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament.
Bushnell (29-24) captured the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament title after twice defeating perennial Avista NAIA World Series-host Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho).
Louisiana Christian (32-19) won the Red River Athletic Conference tournament title with a 9-7 victory against Texas A&M University-Texarkana in Monday's championship game.
The Lawrenceville Bracket champion will advance to the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, beginning on May 24.
Â
