NAIA Round OF 32 Breakdown
Opening Round News and Notes
Leagues
- Teams Left: Crossroads (4), Cascade (3), Mid-South (3), GPAC (3), RSC (2), GSAC (2), KCAC (2), SAC (2), SUN (2), WHAC (2), AAC (1), AMC (1), CAC (1), Fontier (1), Heart (1), RRAC (1), SSAC (1)
- Crossroads League (4-1) had the most wins
- Cascade and Mid-South both had a 3-0 day
- AMC really had a good showing with a 1-1 day, but Central Baptist upsetting 3-seed, MidAmerica Nazarene, on the road and Columbia taking the 2-seed, Indiana Wesleyan, to 20T’s.
- WHAC and River States Conference both had 2-1 days
Other News and Notes
- (5) Games went into overtime, for a total of (7) OT periods.
- 13 games decided by 6pts or less.
- 9 double-digit seeds advanced.
- We had 3-host site teams go down.
- 10 of the 16 teams to make it to Kansas City, last year, are still alive.
- The Master’s vs St. Thomas is a rematch of the opening round game last year in which St. Thomas won.
- Evangel vs Baker is a battle between two old foes as Evangel left the Heart of America, for the KCAC, before this season.
- MACU vs OKWU is the battle of Oklahoma. The only game that features two teams from the same state faced up against one another.
Friday March 15th Schedule
ALL Times CT
1:30pm
Morningside
vs
Georgetown (KY)
3pm
Shawnee State
@
Madonna
4pm
Union @
Grace
UT Southern
@
Indiana Wesleyan
Freed-Hardeman
vs
Point Park
5pm
The Maser’s
@
St. Thomas (FL)
Florida College
@
Cumberlands
5:30pm
Evangel
vs
Baker
6pm
MACU
@
OKWU
Ave Maria
@
Langston
Oregon Tech
@
Northwestern (IA)
Bethel (IN)
vs
Central Baptist
6:30pm
Huntington
vs
Arizona Christian
7pm
Lewis-Clark State
vs
Montana Tech
8pm
Cornerstone
vs
College of Idaho
Quadrant Breakdown
NAISMITH QUADRANT
Players to Watch
Conference Award Winners
Elijah Malone – Crossroads League POY
Cobie Barnes – River States Conference POY
Vincent Miskiewicz – Sun Conference POY
Jaedon Bradley – Cascade Conference Newcomer of the Year
Jakob Gibbs – Crossroads League DPOY
Hayden Diekhans – Frontier Conference DPOY
Markello Sullivan – AAC DPOY
Calvin ‘Bobo’ Sirmans – Sun Conference Freshman of the Year
Alton Hamilton – Cascade Conference Freshman of the Year
Calleb Bellach- 2023 Frontier POY
Markelle Turner – 2021, 2022 and 2023 AAC Player of the Year
Alex Van Kalsbeek – 2x All-American
1st Team All-Conf/Others of Note:
Caleb Gibbs (Grace)
Jamison Guerra, Keegan Shivers and Kam Osborn (Oregon Tech)
Michael Ure and Asa Williams (Montana Tech)
Latavious Mitchell (Florida Memorial)
CJ Hall and Cortalnd Blake (SAGU)
Quentin Harvey and Noah Rigatuso (Baker)
Mohamed Bundu
Host: Grace (Ind.) | Winona Lake, Ind.
March 15-16
1. Grace (Ind.) | Crossroads Regular Season and Tournament Champions
8. Union (Ky.) | AAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions9. OUAZ (Ariz.) | At-Large
16. Washington Adventist (Md.) | CAC Tournament Runner-Up
Saturday, March 16th
4pm CT:
Union @
Grace
Host: Northwestern (Iowa) | Orange City, Iowa
March 15-16
4. Oregon Tech | Cascade Conference Tournament Champions
5. Northwestern (Iowa) | GPAC Regular Season Champions 12. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) | River States Conference Runner-Up
13. Keiser (Fla.) | AT-LARGE
Saturday, March 16th
6pm CT |
Oregon Tech
@
Northwestern (IA)
Host: Montana Tech | Butte, Mont.
March 15-16
3. Montana Tech | Frontier Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions6. Hope International (Calif.) | AT-LARGE11. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | AT-LARGE14. Wayland Baptist (Texas) | AT-LARGE
Saturday, March 16th
6:00pm CT |
Lewis-Clark State
vs
Montana Tech
Host: SAGU (Texas) | Waxahachie, Texas
March 15-16
2. Florida Memorial | AT-LARGE
7. SAGU (Texas) | AT-LARGE
10. Baker (Kan.) | AT-LARGE
15. Evangel (Mo.) | AT-LARGE
Saturday, March 16th
5:30pm CT |
Evangel
vs
Baker
CRAMER QUADRANT
Players to Watch
Conference Award Winners
Kaleb Lowery – GSAC POY
Kashee Natt – RRAC POY
Anthony Brown – Heart POY and DPOY
Reggie Thomas – GPAC POY
Najee Jones – RRAC Newcomer of the Year
DJ Talton Jr. – KCAC DPOY
Isaiah Howard – RRAC Freshman of the Year
Kyle Harding – AMC 6th Man of the Year
Eddie Smith – SAC 6th Man of the Year
1st Team All-Conf/Others of Note
Quan Lax and J.J Wheat
Jo Valrie (2023 RSC POY) and Jalen Stamps
Eden Holt
Josh Taylor, Cearius Warren and Milton Matthews
Bradley Bunch and Kyonte Thomas
Jadarrian Allen
Drew Lutz
Ed Wright and Caleb Jones-McCrary
Deshawn Corprew
Seth Hurd
Jaden Lietzke
David Wingett
Host: Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | Henderson, Tenn.
March 15-16
1. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | Mid-South Regular Season and Tournament Champions
8. Point Park (Pa.) | RSC Regular Season and Tournament Champions9. Texas College | RRAC 2nd Highest ARC
16. Loyola (La.) | SSAC Tournament Champions
Saturday, March 16th
4:00pm CT |
Freed-Hardeman
vs
Point Park
Host: St. Thomas (Fla.) | Miami Gardens, Fla.
March 15-16
4. St. Thomas (Fla.) | AT- LARGE
5. The Master’s (Calif.) | AT-LARGE12. Webber International (Fla.) | AT-LARGE
13. Pikeville (Ky.) | AAC RUNNER-UP
Saturday, March 16th
5:00pm CT |
The Maser’s
@
St. Thomas (FL)
Host: MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | Olathe, Kan.
March 15-16
3. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | Heart of America Regular Season Champion
6. LSU Alexandria (La.) | RRAC Regular Season and Tournament Champion
11. Bethel (Ind.) | AT-LARGE
14. Central Baptist (Ark.) | AMC Regular Season and Tournament Champion
Saturday, March 16th
6:00pm CT |
Bethel (IN)
vs
Central Baptist
Host: Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference & Friends University | Wichita, Kan.
March 15-16
2. Oklahoma Wesleyan | KCAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions7. Hastings (Neb.) | GPAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions10. Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | SAC Runner-Up15. Peru State (Neb.) | Heart Tournament Champions
Saturday, March 16th
6:00pm CT |
MACU
@
OKWU
DUER QUADRANT
Players to Watch
Conference Award Winners
Anthony Roy – Sooner Athletic Conference POY
Cevin Clark – KCAC POY and NAIA Leading Scorer
Michael Hayes – CalPac POY
Collin Parker – AMC POY
Dannie Smith – CCAC Newcomer of the Year
Xavier Cooper – CalPac Newcomer of the Year
Cortez Mosley – SAC DPOY
UGO EJIOFOR – NSAA DPOY
Mikah Blackwell -GSAC DPOY
Cameron Bontrager – Crossroads League Freshman of the Year
1st Team All-Conference/Others of Note
Toru Dean
Michael Klekas
Alex Littlejohn and Jun Murdock
CJ Carpernter
Noah Schutte and Tristan Smith
Arik Nichols
Zach Goodline (2023 CL POY) and Lane Sparks
Adarion Hudson
Javan Buchanan and Griffin Kliewer
Host: Langston (Okla.) | Langston, Okla.)
March 15-16
1. Langston (Okla.) | SAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions8. Southwestern (Kan.) | AT-LARGE9. Ave Maria (Fla.) | AT-LARGE16. Bellevue (Neb.) | NSAA Tournament Champions
Saturday, March 16th
6:00pm CT |
Ave Maria
@
Langston
Host: Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference & Kansas Wesleyan | Salina, Kan.
March 15-16
4. Concordia (Neb.) | AT-LARGE5. Kansas Wesleyan | KCAC Runner-Up12. LSU Shreveport (La.) | AT-LARGE13. Indiana Northwest | CCAC Tournament Champions
Saturday, March 16th
Host: Arizona Christian | Glendale, Ariz.
March 15-16
3. Arizona Christian | GSAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions6. Antelope Valley (Calif.) | CalPac Regular Season and Tournament Champions
11. Huntington (Ind.) | AT-LARGE14. Saint Katherine (Calif.) | CalPac Runner Up
Saturday, March 16th
6:30pm CT |
Huntington
vs
Arizona Christian
Host: Indiana Wesleyan | Marion, Ind.
March 15-16
2. Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League Runner-Up
7. Tennessee Southern | SSAC Regular Season Champions10. Tougaloo (Miss.) | GCAC Regular Season Champions
15. Columbia (Mo.) | At-Large
Saturday, March 16th
4:00pm CT |
UT Southern
@
Indiana Wesleyan
LISTON QUADRANT
Players to Watch
Conference Award Winners
Samaje Morgan – Cascade Conference POY
Andrew Cook – Frontier Conference POY
Jonathan Brown – Mid-South POY
Tyshon Judge – CAC POY
Tyler Schmidt – CCAC POY
Tajahri Cave – Mid-South DPOY
Jashavius Perdue – CAC DPOY
Straton Rodgers – Cascade Conference DPOY
Corey Ainsworth – WHAC DPOY
Shaunn Monroe – WHAC Newcomer of the Year
1st Team All-Conference/Others of Note
Johnny Radford, Jake O’Neil and Drew Wyman
Lucas Lorenzen
Maurice Commander
Rashad Bishop, Cam Brooks-Harris and Kyran Jones
Anthony Johnson and J.J. Ramey
Chaze Harris and Keith Germain
Ely Doble and Joey Skoff
Gus Etchison and Brody Whitaker
Isaac Anderson and Brendan Young
Luke Rowlinson
Jackie Harris and Joey Holifield
Host: College of Idaho | Caldwell, Idaho
March 15-16
WATCH LIVE$
1. College of Idaho | CCC Regular Season Champions
8. Cornerstone (Mich.) | WHAC Tournament Champions9. Carroll (Mont.) | AT-LARGE
16. Jessup (Calif.) | AT-LARGE
Saturday, March 16th
8:00pm CT |
Cornerstone
vs
College of Idaho
Host: Madonna (Mich.) | Livonia, Mich.
March 15-16
4. Roosevelt (Ill.) | CCAC Regular Season Champions5. Madonna (Mich.) | WHAC Regular Season Champions12. Dordt (Iowa) | AT-LARGE
13. Shawnee State (Ohio) | AT-LARGE
Saturday, March 16th
3:00pm CT |
Shawnee State
@
Madonna
Host: Morningside (Iowa) | Sioux City, Iowa
March 15-16
3. Morningside (Iowa) | AT-LARGE
6. Georgetown (Ky.) | AT-LARGE11. Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | AT-LARGE
14. Lourdes (Ohio) | AT-LARGE
Saturday, March 16th
1:30pm CT |
Morningside
vs
Georgetown (KY)
Host: Cumberlands (Ky.) | Williamsburg, Ky.
March 15-16
2. Cumberlands (Ky.) | AT-LARGE
7. Florida College | CAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS 10. Marian (Ind.) | AT-LARGE
15. Philander Smith (Ark.) | GCAC Tournament Champions
Saturday, March 16th
6:00pm CT |
Florida College
@
Cumberlands