General

Players from NAIA schools taken in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft:

Schedule for the first two days of the 60^th NAIA Baseball National Championship, Friday-Saturday, May 27-28, Harris Field, Lewiston, ID (all times PDT):

9 AM: #7 seed Sterling (48-14) vs. #10 Point (33-25)

Sterling (Sterling, KS) is making their second appearance at the Baseball National Championship. Their previous appearance was in 2013, and they went 0-2. They won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
Nickname: Warriors
Rankings: #9 in coaches' poll, #21 in ISR. Strength of schedule: #14
Quality wins: 2-1 vs. Missouri Baptist, 5-2 vs. York
Top position players: 1B Andrew Dorado (.417, 15 HR, 53 RBI), 2B Beau Kallas (.415, 18 HR, 66 RBI), RF Kendall Radcliffe (.376, 19 HR, 64 RBI). Radcliffe was tied for seventh in the NAIA in home runs. Kallas was tied for ninth in home runs.
Top pitchers: LHP Kade Wagner (11-2, 1.53 ERA, 79 K), LHP Brad Williams (from Perth, Australia; 10-3, 2.09 ERA, 115 K), RHP Ryan Pope (3-1, 2.14 ERA, 59 K, 15 saves). Wagner has the sixth-lowest ERA in the NAIA.
Coach: Adrian Dinkel, fifth season
Outlook: The Warriors will win a game.

Point (West Point, GA) is making their first appearance at the Baseball National Championship.
Nickname: Skyhawks
Rankings: Unranked in coaches' poll, #33 in ISR. SoS: #11
Quality wins: Faulkner, 4-1 vs. Bryan, South Carolina-Beaufort, 2-1 vs. Campbellsville
Top position players: 3B Omar Smith (.341), C Juan Reyes (from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; .336, 7 HR, 25 RBI), CF Riliani Familia (also from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; .322, 10 HR, 44 RBI)
Top pitchers: RHP Payne Kosobucki (7-1, 2.39 ERA, 70 K), RHP Josh Nestlehutt (8-6, 3.14 ERA, 89 K), RHP Dylan Griffin (9-2, 4.09 ERA, 115 K)
Coach: Jeremy Christian, second season
Outlook: The Skyhawks did well to get this far, but they're in tough here.

#1 Georgia Gwinnett swept through the Association of Independent Institutions tournament, defeating Fisher 13-3, Mount Mercy 9-1, and Clarke 6-3 and 14-1. In the first game against Clarke, CF Josh Merrigan hit an RBI single for the winning run. RHP Nikolay Uherek got the win, pitched seven innings, allowed two earned runs on nine hits, struck out six. Story

Zac Rinehart is second in the NAIA in hitting with a .476 average. The Grizzlies are hosting an Opening Round bracket May 17-20. video

#2 Bellevue won the North Star Athletic Association tournament. They hit eight home runs in the final against Mayville State, and won 14-1. LF Joe Moran hit two of the home runs. RHP Ben McKendall had a shutout going into the eighth inning before giving up a home run by LF Aaron Miller. The Comets had to play an "if necessary" game to get to the final, and ran out of pitchers in the seventh inning, when the Bruins scored ten runs. Story None of the games the Bruins played in the tournament were close. RHP Todd Nicks and RHP John Timmins combined for an 11-0 shutout over Waldorf; Nicks struck out 14. Story

McKendall is now 11-1, 1.53 ERA (ninth-best in the NAIA), with 111 strikeouts (tied for sixth-best in the NAIA). The Bruins now wait to learn their Opening Round location.

#3 Lewis-Clark State won the NAIA West tournament, without giving up a single run. The defending champions defeated Corban 7-0, British Columbia 3-0, and C. of Idaho 5-0. RHP Kevin Hamann, RHP Noel Gonzalez (in relief), and RHP Connor Brogdon got the wins; Hamann went the distance. The game against British Columbia was probably the best of the three. It was scoreless until the eight inning, and a good pitching duel between RHP Curtis Taylor of the Thunderbirds (6 IP, 4 hits, 10 strikeouts, no walks) and RHP Quin Grogan of the Warriors (7 2/3 IP, 3 hits, seven strikeouts, three walks). The Warriors got the only run they needed on an RBI double by CF Logan Griffin, off reliever RHP Christian Botnick. LF Jacob Zanon completed the scoring with a solo home run. Story 1B Tyler McDowell went 4-for-4 with two triples and a stolen base in the game against C. of Idaho. Story

The Warriors are idle until the Baseball National Championship tournament May 27-June 3. Both the Thunderbirds (ISR #9, #1 in strength of schedule) and C. of Idaho (ISR #12) will be playing in the Opening Round.

NAIA coaches' poll for May 3, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

NAIA coaches' poll for April 26, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

NAIA coaches' poll for April 19, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

NAIA coaches' poll for April 5, 2016, with Boyd Nation's ISR. Recaps below.

Article by Chuck Curti at Black College Nines: Javion Randle of Jarvis Christian College: One of NAIA’s Best

Excerpt: “I feel like if Javion was playing at a Division I school, he’s probably a top-10 rounder. I think he’s a kid who you can plug into just about anyone’s team in the country. I don’t care what level it is, you’re not going to find any program in the country that has three better outfielders than this kid.” - Jarvis Christian Coach Michael Holochuck

NAIA coaches' poll for March 15, 2016. Recaps below.

The College of Idaho has started their season with four wins at Arizona Christian, and four wins at home against Division II Minot State. In one of the four games against Minot State, RHP Mason Stidham and LHP Kaleb Price combined for a no-hitter in a 13-0 win.

It was the Coyotes' first no-hitter since 1958. Stidham pitched six innings, struck out two, walked one. Price pitched three innings, struck out three, and walked two. Stidham is a transfer from Division I Seattle U. Price is a transfer from Big Bend CC, and was All-Northwest Athletic Conference in 2014. Story

The Coyotes' streak could go on for a while. They have eleven winnable games ahead of them prior to a series at home against defending champion and cross-state rival Lewis-Clark State. The eleven games include two at home against Division III Puget Sound, and two at non-NAIA Bethesda.