Posted: May 07, 2025

The Field is Set as No. 1 USAO Hosts the 2025 NAIA Softball Opening Round

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Wednesday, the NAIA announced that the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (47-7, 33-3 SAC) would be a No. 1 seed for the 2025 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round. The Drovers will host an Opening Round site for the fifth season in a row and will welcome No. 2 seed Grand View University (Iowa), No. 3 Freed-Hardiman University, No. 4 Stillman College.

Site selections were made in part by the NAIA Softball National Championship Selection Committee. The committee is comprised of head coaches and administrators from around the nation, and the process takes into account geography, facilities and host qualification. The application deadline was on April 15, 2025.

The 2025 NAIA Softball National Championship will feature 48 teams, with two opening round sites of four teams and eight that are played in five-team brackets. Each opening round is played in a double elimination format. The winner of each will advance to the NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Ga., beginning on May 22, 2025.

In the last four years that USAO has hosted, Bethany College (Kan.) emerged victorious and advanced to the World Series in 2021, followed by USAO winning and advancing to the World Series in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

USAO has somewhat recent history with two of the three teams traveling to town for the Opening Round. The Drovers faced Freed-Hardeman at the 2022 NAIA World Series and came away with a 6-0 win, eliminating the Lions.

In 2021, Grand View made the trip to Chickasha for the Opening Round and defeated the Drovers 3-2. In the only other two previous meetings between GVU and USAO, the Drovers came away with the win (2008 & 2012).

Game one of this year's Opening Round will be USAO's first meeting against Stillman College.

#1 UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND ARTS OF OKLAHOMA – 47-7, 33-3 SAC

The Drovers earned an automatic bid to the tournament as the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season champions, followed by sweeping their way through the SAC Tournament. They were also ranked No. 1 in the final NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 poll of the season, released on April 30. In total, USAO is making its 12^th appearance in the national tournament, and they are aiming to advance to the NAIA World Series for the ninth time in program history.

USAO's success has not come easy this season, as they have faced one of the most difficult schedules in the country. The Drovers have played 14 games against opponents that are ranked in the top 25 poll and has put together an 8-6 record in those high-quality matchups. USAO has gone head-to-head with all four of the other teams in the top five, with wins against No. 3 Cumberlands and No. 5 OLLU, and loses against No. 2 Oregon tech and No. 4 Southern Oregon. The Drovers also own a 3-2 advantage against No. 7 Oklahoma City this season and split a double-header against No. 10 Northwestern (Iowa). USAO also owns wins against No. 16 Missouri Baptist and No. 20 Hope International (Calif.).

During USAO's current 16-game win streak, they have outscored opponents 119-23. Through 54 games this season, USAO has tallied 10 or more hits on 27 different occasions, and they have earned 19 wins via the run-rule. The pitching staff has also been terrific, producing a 1.86 earned run average with 290 strikeouts in 338.0 innings. Additionally, USAO has held opponents to a .209 batting average, while the Drovers offense owns a .360 average at the dish.

This morning (May 7), the Sooner Athletic Conference announced their annual softball awards, and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma was very well represented. Head Coach Jadyn Wallis was tabbed as the conference's coach of the year for the fifth time in her career, and Sophie Williams earned her third consecutive Pitcher of the Year award. It also marks the eighth year in a row that a Drover has claimed the award given to the conference's best pitcher, with Emily Cerny winning five of the awards followed by Williams' trio.

Furthermore, nine players earned spots on the All-Conference teams, and Malea McMurtrey claimed her third consecutive Gold Glove Award at shortstop.

In her 13 years at the helm for USAO, Wallis has produced a 556-157 record (.780), along with the 2018 NAIA National Championship, two SAC regular season crowns, and five SAC Tournament titles.

#2 GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY (Iowa) – record: 37-13, 20-4 HAAC

GVU qualifies for the tournament with an automatic bid as the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament champions for the first time since 2018. They are currently riding a nine-game win streak.

The Vikings are making their 10^th appearance in the tournament under the leadership of Head Coach Lou Yacinich, who is in his 23^rd season at Grand View and owns a 738-454 (.619) win-loss record.

#3 FREED-HARDEMAN UNIVERSITY (Tenn.) – record: 20-15, 12-6 MSC

FHU qualifies for the tournament with an at-large bid, after falling in the Mid-South Conference Tournament championship game.

Freed-Hardeman Lady Lion head coach Todd Humphry is in his 25th season with the program, having rebuilt the program from scratch since his arrival in 2000. He won his 300th game in 2014, making him the only coach in Freed-Hardeman history with 300 wins in two sports (softball and volleyball). In 2024, Coach Humphry recorded his 600th victory.

Humphry has taken his team to the NAIA National Tournament six out of the last seven seasons, making it to the World Series in Columbus, Georgia, in 2018 and 2022.

#4 STILLMAN COLLEGE (Ala.) - record: 33-11, 15-0 HBCUAC

For the first time in program history, the Stillman College softball team has won a postseason tournament as the Tigers defeated the Dillard University to win the HBCU Athletic Conference Championship last Friday.

Stillman completed a dominant 18-0 season against HBCUAC competition and has the conference auto bid into the national tournament.

Joel Penfield is in his eighth season as head coach of the Stillman College Softball program, and owns a 173-181 record at SC.

**MORE INFO**

SPECTATOR PARKING: Parking is FREE at Bill Smith Ballpark. Spectators can park in lot beyond the fence in left field.

SPECTATOR ENTRANCE: Gates will open to spectators one hour prior to the first game each day. The ONLY entrance for spectators will be the main entrance on the third base side of the stadium.

TICKETING:

Tickets will be available for purchase at the gate. Ticket prices are as follows:

Military, first responders, senior citizens: FREE

ADULTS: $10

18 AND UNDER: $5

12 AND UNDER: FREE

USAO FAC, STAFF, STUDENTS: FREE

LIVE VIDEO:

Live HD broadcast & play-by-play will be available on the SAC Sports Network, FREE of charge.

www.sacsportsnetwork.com/usao/

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS!!

Chickasha Chamber of Commerce