INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- It has been awhile since the ODAC was represented by just one team in the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, but that will be the case this season as the NCAA announced the 58-team field on Monday afternoon. Shenandoah University, winner of the ODAC title, will carry the conference banner the league's lone entry for the first time since 2012.
Like the Hornets, 40 schools won their conference tournaments, awarding them automatic qualification into the field. Two were allotted to true independent teams (or those playing in conference's without an AQ) in "Pool B," while the remaining 16 spots went to at-large selections in "Pool C."
As one would imagine, it takes a bit of creativity to work thru a 58-team bracket. Teams will play out of either one 13 four-team regional sites, or three two-team regional setups. Regional play is set for Friday-Sunday, May 17-19, with 16 best-of-three super regional series on tap for Friday-Saturday, May 24-25. Those eight winners will makeup the final field for the series at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on May 32 thru June 5.
RELATED: NCAA Release | Regional Brackets
Shenandoah (31-12) is located in the lower-right quadrant of the regional bracket makeup and will play in one of the four-team regionals. Kean University (29-14) will serve as hosts at its Jim Hynes Baseball Stadium in Union, N.J. The facility is nearly all turf with dirt on only the pitching mound and surrounding home plate.
The host Cougars are the second seed in the regional and will meet the third-seeded Hornets in their opener. Joining SU and KU will be top-seeded Ithaca College (31-7) and fourth-seeded Westfield State (27-14). They will square off in the other opener. Three of the four teams earned automatic bids by winning their league crowns. Kean is the lone at-large selection in this pod. Ithaca claimed the Empire 8 entry, while Westfield State earned its spot by winning the Massachusetts State Collegie Athletic Conference (MASCAC).
Game times and ticket information will be announced later this week. For more information, visit the websites of any of the participating schools. You can also visit the ODAC at www.odaconline.com or the NCAA at www.ncaa.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter.