KANSAS CITY, Mo.  (uj.edu)– The University of Jamestown reported Tuesday that the Jimmie softball team, ranked 11th in the final Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, are the No. 2 seed in the Dodge City (Kan.) Bracket, for the 2018 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round,which is comprised of top seed Science & Arts (Okla.), No. 3 seed Midland (Neb.), and No. 4 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan. Jamestown and Midland will play the first game of the bracket on Monday, May 14 at 11:00 a.m.

The UJ Athletics website reported that The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 40-team field and pairings

 (Opening Round Schedule) (Bracket Reveal Video) 

The sixth annual event will take place from May 14 – 16 at nine different locations. The format is a double-elimination, four-team tournament. For more information on the host sites, click here.

The 40-team field is comprised of 30 automatic qualifiers and 10 at-large berths. The 19 conferences receive one berth per six teams and two berths per ten teams. At-large teams were determined using the final regular-season Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released earlier today, which can be accessed here.

The champions from each of the 10 opening round tournaments advance to the 38th annual NAIA Softball World Series in Clermont, Fla., from May 25 – 31. These programs will participate in a double-elimination national championship at the Legends Way Ball Fields. Last year, Oklahoma City won its NAIA-record 10th championship – and second in-a-row – after a 4-1 victory over Corban (Ore.) on June 1.

The World Series bracket will be announced late in the day on May 16 on NAIA.org. Advanced World Series tickets may be purchased by clicking here.

For complete story and list of qualifiers, CLICK HERE.