INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time in league history, a trio of programs from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference have qualified for the NCAA Division II Softball Championship bracket in the Midwest Regional.
The NCAA Selection Show aired on Sunday night to reveal the field of 48 teams chosen for the bracket. Eight different regionals with six teams in each will assemble for double-elimination tournaments held May 19-22.
Twenty-one different programs earned AQ’s by virtue of representation as their conference champion. For the Great Midwest, that automatic qualifier was Ohio Dominican as the Panthers (28-16) completed a perfect postseason tournament at Marathon Diamonds in Findlay, Ohio.
Earning at-large selections determined the national committee from the Great Midwest was No. 4 seed Trevecca Nazarene and No. 5 Hillsdale. The Trojans were tournament runner-up with a 26-12 overall record while the Chargers, back-to-back conference champions in 2018 and 2019, carry a 31-17 overall record.
Even more exciting for the future was the announcement of incoming member institution Northwood University securing the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional. The Timberwolves were runner-up in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship tournament to Grand Valley State.
Grand Valley State and Allendale, Mich., will be the host for this year’s Midwest Regional.
The Great Midwest commonalities are going to be the theme for at least the opening-round matchups. No. 6 Ohio Dominican will face No. 3 Northwood 1:30 p.m. ET and No. 4 Trevecca Nazarene lines up for the first game against No. 5 Hillsdale at 11 a.m. ET.
The winner of TNU/HC will face No. 1 seed and tourney host GVSU on Thursday at 11 a.m. while the winner of Northwood/ODU will meet No. 2 seed UIndy that same day at 1:30 p.m.
The loser of TNU/HC would play the loser of Northwood/ODU also on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET for the right to keep their season alive.
The regional will begin this coming Wednesday, May 19, at the Lakers’ softball field.