NAIA
[Baseball] TICKET PUNCHED! Drovers Headed to Shreveport as No. 2 Seed
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Thursday afternoon, the NAIA announced that the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma would be a No. 2 seed for the 2022 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round in the Shreveport, La. Bracket.The NAIA has announced the 46-team field and pairings for the 2022 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round. The 13th annual event takes place May 16-19 at 10 host sites. Six of the sites will feature five-team, double-elimination tournament; the final four brackets will sport only four squads.The winners of all 10 opening round sites will head to Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) for the 65th annual Avista NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, May 27 – June 3.The field consists of 31 automatic qualifiers – given to conference regular-season champions, tournament champions or tournament runners-up – and 15 at-large teams. Conferences with 10-or-more members receive two automatic qualifiers, while leagues with less than 10 get one. At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Baseball National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, a member of the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association Executive Committee and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria. #1 LSU-SHREVEPORTThe Pilots automatically qualified as the Red River Athletic Conference regular season champions, and currently sit with a 47-5 record on the season, the most wins the program has had since the 2019 team finished the season with a 47-13 record. The 47 wins also set a new record for the most regular season wins in program history. The Pilots compiled a 31-2 record in Red River Athletic Conference play this season en route to clinching the seventh regular season championship in program history.RRAC Player of the Year: Austin McNicholasRRAC Pitcher of the Year: Kevin MirandaRRAC Newcomer of the Year: Bobby VathRRAC Coach of the Year: Brad NeffendorfAll-Conference First Team (12) : Austin McNicholas, Kevin Miranda, Bobby Vath, Josh Wunnenberg, Zyon Avery, JB Trees, Julian Flores, Ryan Major, Carlos Pineyro, Nathan Beyer, Chase Guitreau, Josh FortenberryAll-Conference Second Team (3) : Trevor Burkhart, Brad White, Alex Gonzalez #2 SCIENCE & ARTSThe Drovers earned an at-large bid to make their eighth appearance in the opening round, and their sixth appearance since 2016. This season, USAO finished second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season, and runner-up in the SAC Tournament. The Drovers owned a 35-13 overall record, as well as a 17-7 clip against conference opponents.All-Conference First Team (7) : Brock Henderson (JR/Chickasha, OK), Joey Pena (SR/Mustang, OK)All-Conference Second Team (3) : Drew Shaver (JR/Sante Fe, TX), Peyton McDowall (JR/Cibolo, TX), Luis Pelayo (SR/Santa Cruz, Aruba)Gold Glove (2): Brock Henderson (SS), Brandon Shumway (SR/Chickasha, OK) (OF) #3 LYON COLLEGEThe Scots earned an automatic bid as the champions of the American Midwest Conference Tournament. Lyon has put together an overall record of 36-20 and they went 16-5 against AMC opponents.AMC Pitcher of the Year: Alan WestAMC Dual Position Player of the Year: Alan WestAMC Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Clayton BurkeAMC Coach of the Year: Tony RoepckeAll-Conference First Team (3) : Alan West x2, Tony, Strack, All-Conference Second Team (3) : Clayton Burke, Chris Lara, Joe WeatherfordGold Glove (1): Kaden Doan #4 LOYOLA NEW ORLEANSThe Wolf Pack earned their way into the tournament with an at-large berth, going 33-22 overall, and 16-8 against opponents in the Southern States Conference. All-Conference First Team (3) : Allen Dennis, Luke Clement, Stephen StillAll-Conference Second Team (2) : Payton Alexander, Joshua OrrAll-Freshman Team (4) : Joshua Orr, Matthew Weil, Cameron Trosclair, Garrett Beadle Gold Glove (2) : Allen Dennis, Jake Mills #5 FISHER COLLEGEThe Falcons received an automatic bid as the runner-up of the Continental Athletic Conference Tournament. Fisher owns a 29-28 record overall, along with a 4-9 record against conference foes. UP NEXT:The Drovers will begin play at the Opening Round on Monday, May 16, when they battle No. 3 Lyon College in Shreveport, La. TOURNAMENT HYPE VIDEO–> CLICK HERE Stay up to date on all Science & Arts Athletics news by following us on our media platforms!Athletics Website: www.usaoathletics.comLive-stream: www.sacsportsnetwork.com/usao/YouTube: Drover AthleticsTwitter: @DroverAthleticsFacebook: @DroverAthleticsInstagram: @drover_athleticsGIPHY: www.giphy.com/USAODrovers