2022 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Field Announced
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Bracket Reveal | Schedule] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the teams and pairings for the 2022 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship, Presented by Select Sport America. The 40-team event will be played on campuses across the nation from November 17-19.
Each bracket format features four teams with #1 vs. #4 and #2 vs. #3 on Thursday, November 17th. The winner of each contest will meet on Saturday for a spot at the final site in Decatur, Ala. The 64th Annual Men's Soccer National Championship will be played at Jack Allen Sports Complex from November 29-December 5 where one team will leave the pitch claiming the famous Red Banner.
This year’s opening round field includes 27 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship, or finished runner-up at the conference tournament. The at-large bids were determined by the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Selection Committee. This committee consists of one representative from each geographical area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, the president of the NAIA-Men’s Soccer Coaches Association, and four at-large representatives. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
The NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast all eight matches live at the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship final site in Decatur, Ala. with the championship game being shown on ESPN3. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-championship tournament package is available at $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, click HERE.
Qualifier Highlights
- Saint Mary (Kan.) and Williams Baptist (Ark.) are in the field for the first time in program history
- Of the teams that previously qualified, Corban (Ore.) had the longest delay since their last appearance in 2012
- The Heart of America and Southern States conference lead the way with four teams each; Cascade, Continental, Crossroads and Wolverine-Hoosier have three
- Twenty-six teams from the 2021 tournament are back in the mix this season
- All 10 of the bracket host instutions sit as the No. 1 team in the bracket with a combine record of 137-18-29
- The field features seven teams who have won the national championship, highlighted by Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) with nine
- Central Methodist (Mo.), Madonna (Mich.), and Warner Pacific (Ore.) have not suffered a defeat; They combine for 11 ties
- Bethel (Ind.) comes into the tournament with the most wins on the year (19)
- Last season's champion, Keiser (Fla.), and runnners-up, Mobile (Ala.) have returned to the 2022 field
- For a full look at all of the First & Second Round brackets and matchups, click HERE
2022 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Qualifiers
(Alphabetical Listing)
| Institution | Conference | Qualifying Method | Record | Berths | Last | Champ. Record | Titles |
| Bellevue (Neb.) | Continental Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion | 7-10-3 | 9 | 2021 | 7-8-0 | 0 |
| Bethel (Ind.) | Crossroads League | Tournament Champion | 19-1-1 | 11 | 2021 | 3-12-2 | 0 |
| Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | Regular Season Runner-Up | 13-6-1 | 6 | 2020 | 3-4-1 | 0 |
| Central Methodist (Mo.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 15-0-5 | 4 | 2021 | 16-2-0 | 2 |
| Columbia (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference | Tournament Champion | 14-3-3 | 11 | 2021 | 15-10-2 | 0 |
| Columbia International (S.C.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion | 12-3-4 | 1 | 2021 | 1-1-0 | 0 |
| Concordia (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion | 15-2-3 | 1 | 2015 | 1-1-0 | 0 |
| Corban (Ore.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large | 16-3-1 | 7 | 2012 | 1-7-1 | 0 |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference | At-Large | 10-4-4 | 3 | 2021 | 3-3-0 | 0 |
| Dalton State College (Ga.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | At-Large | 14-1-3 | 3 | 2021 | 1-3-0 | 0 |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | California Pacific Conference | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 16-3-1 | 4 | 2019 | 1-3-0 | 0 |
| Florida National (Fla.) | Continental Athletic Conference | Tournament Runner-Up | 10-2-3 | 1 | 2021 | 0-1-0 | 0 |
| Georgia Gwinnett (Ga.) | Continental Athletic Conference | At-Large | 12-2-2 | 8 | 2021 | 4-8-0 | 0 |
| Grace (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large | 11-2-6 | 3 | 2020 | 0-3-0 | 0 |
| Hastings (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | Regular Season Champion | 15-1-2 | 18 | 2021 | 21-11-5 | 2 |
| Indiana Tech (Ind.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion | 12-2-6 | 5 | 2021 | 6-5-0 | 0 |
| Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League | At-Large | 11-4-4 | 3 | 2015 | 2-2-2 | 0 |
| Keiser (Fla.) | The Sun Conference | Tournament Champion | 12-1-2 | 8 | 2021 | 10-4-3 | 1 |
| Life (Ga.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion | 14-2-1 | 4 | 2019 | 3-4-1 | 0 |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference | Tournament Champion | 10-6-3 | 29 | 2021 | 58-18-6 | 9 |
| LSU Shreveport (La.) | Red River Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion | 14-3-3 | 1 | 2019 | 0-1-0 | 0 |
| Madonna (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | Regular Season Champion | 15-0-5 | 6 | 2019 | 7-6-0 | 0 |
| Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | Sooner Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion | 17-1-2 | 3 | 2021 | 3-4-0 | - |
| MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | At-Large | 13-3-3 | 10 | 2021 | 13-10-3 | 0 |
| Milligan (Tenn.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Regular Season Champion | 10-2-7 | 4 | 2021 | 2-3-0 | 0 |
| Missouri Valley (Mo.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | At-Large | 13-4-1 | 11 | 2021 | 23-9-1 | 1 |
| Mobile (Ala.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | At-Large | 14-3-1 | 22 | 2021 | 33-20-4 | 1 |
| Oklahoma Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 14-5-2 | 12 | 2021 | 18-7-4 | 0 |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | Regular Season Champion | 16-1-3 | 9 | 2020 | 1-6-2 | 0 |
| Oregon Tech | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Tournament Runner-Up | 13-2-4 | 1 | 2021 | 0-1-0 | 0 |
| Rio Grande (Ohio) | River States Conference | Tournament Champion | 14-3-2 | 21 | 2021 | 25-17-3 | 2 |
| Saint Mary (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Tournament Runner-Up | 13-4-3 | - | - | - | - |
| St. Thomas (Fla.) | The Sun Conference | At-Large | 9-1-5 | 6 | 2021 | 5-5-1 | 0 |
| UC Merced (Calif.) | California Pacific Conference | Tournament Runner-Up | 12-2-5 | 4 | 2020 | 1-4-1 | 0 |
| Univ. of Northwestern Ohio | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | At-Large | 14-2-4 | 6 | 2020 | 8-6-1 | 0 |
| Vanguard (Calif.) | Golden State Athletic Conference | Tournament Champion | 11-3-3 | 8 | 2021 | 7-7-1 | 0 |
| Warner Pacific (Ore.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Regular Season/Tournament Champion | 18-0-3 | 6 | 2021 | 3-6-0 | 0 |
| William Carey (Miss.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | At-Large | 11-2-3 | 15 | 2021 | 18-17-4 | 0 |
| William Penn (Iowa) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Tournament Runner-Up | 11-6-3 | 4 | 2021 | 1-3-1 | 0 |
| Williams Baptist (Ark.) | American Midwest Conference | At-Large | 15-1-2 | - | - | - | - |
