Kansas City, MO – The Patriots earn the number three seed in the Williamsburg Bracket for the 2026 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Rounds, NAIA officials announced on Wednesday evening. The Pats will welcome Keiser University as the one seed and Saint Xavier University as the two. Benedictine College will represent the fourth seed and Oakland City University as the fifth to round out the five-team Williamsburg Bracket. 
 
There will be two Opening Round sites that will feature four teams while the remaining eight will host five team brackets, each playing double elimination format. The winner of each site will advance to the NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, GA May 21-27. 
 
UC enters as the three-seed after earning an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round as the host site in Williamsburg. The Patriots compiled a 36-18 overall record on the season while finishing 12-6 in MSC play. Cumberlands finished as the runner-up in both the Mid-South Conference Regular Season and Tournament and are currently ranked #17 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll. UC will take on second-seeded Saint Xavier in the Opening Round on Monday, May 11th at 2:30 PM ET. 

The second-seeded Cougars of Saint Xavier come to Williamsburg out of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference after putting together a 41-12 overall record and an impressive 26-1 mark in conference play. SXU claimed both the CCAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships for the third and sixth consecutive seasons, earning an automatic bid to the national tournament. The Cougars are ranked #21 in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 and will face off against No. 3 seed Cumberlands on Monday, May 11th at 2:30 PM ET. 

Keiser enters this year's Opening Round as the top seed in the Williamsburg bracket after compiling a 44-8 overall record and a 19-5 mark in Sun Conference play. The Seahawks captured their first Sun Conference Tournament Championship in program history to earn an automatic bid to the national tournament after finishing as the runner-up in the regular season. Keiser is currently ranked #9 in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 and will take on the winner of Benedictine and Oakland City on Monday, May 11th at 5:00 PM ET. 

The final two teams making the trip to Williamsburg for the Opening Round are Benedictine and Oakland City, who will square off in the opening game of the bracket. Benedictine, the four-seed, enters with a 33-18 overall record and went a perfect 19-0 in conference play, earning an at-large bid to the national tournament. Oakland City, the five-seed, comes in with a 36-16 record and a 30-6 mark in conference play after claiming both the River States Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships to earn an automatic bid. The Ravens and Mighty Oaks will play the first game of the opening round on Monday May 11th at 12:00 PM ET. 
 
Also representing the Mid-South Conference in the NAIA Opening Round are the Tigers of Campbellsville and the Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson. CU will make the trip to Mobile, AL as the third seed to take on No. Two seed Eastern Oregon. LWU recieved a bye as the one seed in the Columbia Bracket.  
 
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