Postseason play for small college spring sports begins today across the country, with first pitches already thrown in the opening rounds in both the baseball and softball tournaments in the NAIA. And there will be plenty of local schools competing for an NAIA title in these two events over the course of this month.

Two Nebraska schools have qualified for the field of 46 teams vying for a shot at the 2025 NAIA baseball national championship, which will once again be contested in Lewiston, Idaho, later this month. Some brackets feature four teams and others five, but either way, every field is double-elimination and action runs from Monday until Thursday, if necessary. 


With a record of 40-13, Bellevue won the regular season and tournament title in the North Star Athletic Association once again to earn a spot in the field for the 15th time. Only two schools in this year's field have qualified for the postseason more times than the Bruins have. This time around, Bellevue is a 2-seed in a bracket hosted by Taylor University, and the Bruins begin their postseason run against 3-seed Kansas Wesleyan Monday afternoon. Top-seeded Taylor faces 4-seed Grand View in the other matchup on Monday: the winners of Monday's games square off at 4 PM CT on Tuesday, while the losers will play in an elimination game at noon on Tuesday.

Concordia were the regular season champions in the GPAC with a record of 40-11, and, despite drawing in as a 2-seed, the Bulldogs are hosting a five-team field in Lincoln this week. Concordia's first game is against 3-seed Oklahoma Science and Arts at 3 PM CT Monday afternoon. Monday's first game in this bracket saw 4-seed Indiana Wesleyan defeat 5-seed Mount Mercy 3-0; IWU will now face Webber International, the bracket's top seed, at 7 PM Monday night.

GPAC tournament champs Briar Cliff (28-22) are the 5-seed in a bracket hosted by perennial frontrunners Southeastern in Lakeland, Florida. The Chargers face 4-seed Abraham Baldwin of Georgia Monday night at 6 PM - the winner will advance to face the top-seeded Fire at 1:30 PM CT on Tuesday, while the loser will play an elimination game on Tuesday night against whoever loses in the 2 vs. 3 matchup between Central Methodist and Arizona Christian.

On the softball side, there's only one school from Nebraska that qualified for the 48-team field that is chasing the red banner at the 2025 NAIA Softball national championship, to be contested in Columbus, Georgia later this month. There are a total of ten Opening Round sites, some which feature four teams and some which feature five; just like on the baseball side, all fields are double-elimination with action running from Monday to Thursday, if necessary. 

Midland is Nebraska's lone standard bearer in the softball field this year, earning an at-large bid with a record of 37-15 to qualify for the NAIA tournament for the seventh straight season. The Warriors are a 3-seed in a field hosted by Oregon Tech and begin their postseason against 2-seed Southeastern on Monday afternoon. The Klamath Falls bracket's first game saw 4-seed Jamestown defeat 5-seed Arizona Christian 10-6; the Jimmies will now face top-seeded Oregon Tech later on Monday.

Midland is in the field despite not winning their conference - Northwestern were the regular season and conference tournament champs in the GPAC this year, and Morningside earned the league's second auto bid by finishing second in the conference tournament. Northwestern's reward is to be the top seed and the hosts of a five-team bracket in Sioux Center this week; the Raiders will face 4-seed Baker on Monday evening in a field that also features (2) Marian, (3) Friends and (5) Northwestern Ohio. 

Showcasing the difference in fate for a conference tournament champ that has been in the national tournament picture all year versus a tournament runner-up that might have stolen a bid from another squad, Morningside is the 5-seed in a bracket hosted by frequent frontrunners Oklahoma City. But the Mustangs started their postseason with a 2-1 win over 4-seed Houston-Victoria on Monday afternoon, and will now face the top-seeded Stars on Monday night. (2) Missouri Baptist and (3) William Carey is the other matchup in this field. 

For details on how to watch and follow along to the Opening Round action from the 2025 NAIA Baseball and Softball National Championships, click the links in this story or go to the NAIA website.