2021 NAIA Men’s Tennis National Championship Qualifiers Released
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Bracket] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 24-team field for the 69th Annual NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship. The event will be held at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala., from May 18-22, for the 16th-consecutive year.
The field consists of 12 automatic berths, including one host berth, and 11 at-large selections. Automatic qualification is given to conference and unaffiliated grouping tournament champions. For the fourth consecutive year, at-large teams were determined by the NAIA Tennis National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area, a representative from the National Administrative Council (NAC) Rules and Ratings Committee, the president of the Tennis Coaches Association and two at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria. Mobile (Ala.) received the host berth.
Georgia Gwinnett is in pursuit of its seventh-consecutive national title in 2021. The Grizzlies are a perfect 24-0 all-time in the national tournament and lead all active NAIA programs in national championship titles with six. The Grizzlies are the only program in the 2021 field who not only have an undefeated record, but also to have a national championship in their history.
The Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) have the most tournament appearances of the field with 18. Keiser (Fla.) (14), Mobile (Ala.) (13), William Carey (Miss.) (10), and Xavier (La.) (12) are the only other schools in the field with 10 or more appearances.
The Appalachian Athletic Conference and Southern States Athletic Conference are tied for the lead with the most schools in the field with four apiece. The Sun Conference has the next highest total with three.
Seventeen of the 24 teams in the field are returning from 2019. St. Thomas (Fla.) is breaking the longest drought of the teams that have qualified previously. The Bobcats’ last time making an appearance at the final site was 2011.
Four teams will be making their first appearance in the NAIA Men’s Tennis National Championship. Blue Mountain (Miss.), Grace (Ind.), Montreat (N.C.) and Southeastern (Fla.) will all be making their first national championship appearance.
For more information on the 2021 NAIA Men’s Tennis National Championship, click HERE!
| Institution | Qualifying Method | 2021 Record | Appearances | Last Time | Championship Record | Titles |
| Asbury (Ky.) | River States Tournament Champion | 10-1 | 7 | 2019 | 1-6 | 0 |
| Blue Mountain (Miss.) | At-Large | 7-6 | 1 | N/A | 0-0 | 0 |
| Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) | Chicagoland Tournament Champion | 11-4 | 6 | 2019 | 4-5 | 0 |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) | At-Large | 17-3 | 4 | 2019 | 2-3 | 0 |
| Georgia Gwinnett | At-Large | 20-0 | 7 | 2019 | 24-0 | 6 |
| Grace (Ind.) | At-Large | 21-5 | 1 | N/A | 0-0 | 0 |
| Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads Tournament Champion | 31-3 | 7 | 2018 | 1-6 | 0 |
| Keiser (Fla.) | The Sun Tournament Champion | 15-1 | 14 | 2019 | 12-13 | 0 |
| Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | Mid-South Tournament Champion | 16-1 | 18 | 2019 | 15-17 | 0 |
| McPherson (Kan.) | KCAC Tournament Champion | 14-1 | 6 | 2019 | 2-5 | 0 |
| Middle Georgia | Southern States Tournament Champion | 9-2 | 4 | 2019 | 3-3 | 0 |
| Midland (Neb.) | GPAC Tournament Champion | 15-6 | 2 | 2019 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Mobile (Ala.) | Host Berth | 8-5 | 13 | 2019 | 2-12 | 0 |
| Montreat (N.C.) | At-Large | 4-11 | 1 | N/A | 0-0 | 0 |
| Northwestern Ohio | WHAC Tournament Champion | 19-4 | 8 | 2019 | 6-7 | 0 |
| Reinhardt (Ga.) | At-Large | 9-3 | 6 | 2019 | 5-5 | 0 |
| San Diego Christian (Calif.) | Golden State Tournament Champion | 11-3 | 4 | 2018 | 2-3 | 0 |
| Southeastern (Fla.) | At-Large | 8-6 | 1 | N/A | 0-0 | 0 |
| St. Thomas (Fla.) | At-Large | 11-4 | 3 | 2011 | 1-2 | 0 |
| Tennessee Wesleyan | Appalachian Tournament Champion | 17-3 | 5 | 2019 | 1-4 | 0 |
| Union (Ky.) | At-Large | 8-7 | 8 | 2019 | 7-7 | 0 |
| William Carey (Miss.) | At-Large | 9-3 | 10 | 2019 | 9-9 | 0 |
| William Woods (Mo.) | Unaffiliated AMC/Heart/Sooner Tournament Champion | 16-3 | 4 | 2019 | 5-3 | 0 |
| Xavier (La.) | At-Large | 13-10 | 12 | 2019 | 18-11 | 0 |
