Play begins at the 2024 NAIA Opening Round, presented by Avista, on Monday with three contests between some of the nation’s best. Top-seeded LC State will play the winner of Monday’s first game at 6 p.m. at Harris Field.
Familiar faces scatter the tournament field including conference opponent British Columbia. Should UBC defeat Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) in the 11 a.m. contest, the Warriors will face the Thunderbirds for the 10th time this season. Oklahoma City and Arizona Christian round out the five-team bracket.
Tickets are on sale now for the tournament at lcwarriors.com/tickets. Live streaming and live stats will be available through lcwarriors.com and KOZE will carry all LC State games. A full schedule can be found on the tournament central page linked above.
No. 1 Seed – No. 5 Lewis-Clark State Warriors (37-11, 21-3)
The Warriors won the regular season title in the Cascade Conference and enter the national tournament as the top seed in the Lewiston bracket. LC State did not drop a game at home during the regular season (20-0) and could face some familiar foes during the tournament.
LC State is no stranger to fourth-seeded British Columbia and is 9-0 against the Thunderbirds this season. The Warriors are 21-6 against UBC since 2022, a year in which the NAIA’s lone Canadian program was assigned to Lewiston for the Opening Round as well. LC is 4-2 against third-seeded Arizona Christian, 8-6 against second-seeded Oklahoma City and has never faced Embry-Riddle (Ariz.).
Drake George and Shane Spencer were CCC Co-Pitchers of the Year along with Bronson Chapple of Oregon Tech. The duo led a pitching staff that was nearly a run better per game than any other team in the conference. The LC pitching staff posted a 4.25 ERA in the regular season and allowed a league-low 233 runs, 180 earned runs, 377 hits, 27 home runs and 90 extra base hits in 44 games.
George went 6-0 in the regular season with a 3.60 ERA. The junior struck out 69 batters while allowing only 55 hits in 60 innings pitched. Spencer was 5-1 on the season with a 3.42 ERA. The Las Vegas native struck out a team high 70 batters and hitters were only able to muster a .202 batting average against him.
Dominic Signorelli led the Cascade Conference with 15 home runs, and Brandon Cabrera used a strong final weekend where he hit three over the fence to finish the regular season with 13. Both players earned all-conference honors. Signorelli also earned a CCC Gold Glove award for his play in the infield this season.
Carter Booth led the CCC in runs scored (58) and doubles (22) to earn all-conference honors. Senior Nick Seamons rounded out honors for outfielders with a Gold Glove. Jake Gish averaged .346 with 39 RBI and 32 runs scored and was also named in the postseason awards.
In his sixth season with LC State, Jake Taylor was named the Cascade Conference Coach of the Year for the third time.
No. 2 Seed – Oklahoma City Stars (35-16, 17-7)
The Stars earned an at-large berth into the national tournament for their seventh straight appearance. OCU fell to No. 11 Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in the SSAC tournament title game.
Oklahoma City All-Southern States Athletic Conference award winners
No. 3 Seed – Arizona Christian (33-19, 14-10)
The Firestorm earned an at-large bid out of a strong Golden State Athletic Conference. Ottawa (Ariz.) defeated ACU 7-4 in the semifinal round of the GSAC tournament
Arizona Christian tournament preview
No. 4 Seed – British Columbia (31-19, 15-9)
The Thunderbirds have made Harris Field their second home over the last three seasons with 2024 being the second time in three years that UBC has been sent to Lewiston for the NAIA Opening Round. British Columbia earned an at-large bid out of the CCC after finishing third in the regular season.
British Columbia has a strong combination of an offense that is very efficient at the plate and a pitching staff that is good at missing bats. On offense, the Thunderbirds led the conference in average (.320), hits (554), doubles (118) and total bases (840).
Trent Lenihan led the CCC with 82 hits and finished the regular season with a .412 batting average. The junior led the team with 54 runs scored, 50 RBI and 10 home runs.
Mitchell Middlemiss was second on the team in average (.381), home runs (8) and RBI (49) trailing only Lenihan. Lenihan and Middlemiss were named to the all-conference team.
Sean Heppner had the most strikeouts in the conference with 89 to lead a UBC pitching staff that struck out a CCC-leading 435 batters. Heppner was named to the all-conference team with a 4-2 record and 5.40 ERA in a season in which he held batters to a .231 batting average.
Evan Hoegler was given season honors as the best reliever in the CCC after a regular season where the right-hander made 12 appearances and had a 2-1 record with four saves. Hoegler had a 1.91 ERA and struck out 22 batters in 28.1 innings pitched while only allowing 16 hits.
No. 5 Seed – Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) Eagles (29-18, 16-7)
The Eagles upset their way to a CalPac tournament title to earn an automatic bid into the national tournament. ERAU defeated Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) in back-to-back games to claim the program’s first title in school history.
