Royals Earn No. 1 Seed in Salina Bracket, Return to NAIA Opening Round

For the second straight season, Johnson University baseball is headed back to the national stage.

The Royals officially earned a spot in the 2026 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, receiving an at-large bid and the No. 1 seed in the Salina Bracket hosted by Kansas Wesleyan University. Johnson will open tournament play on Monday, May 11, against No. 4 seed Our Lady of the Lake at Dean Evans Stadium in Salina, Kansas.

The bracket also features No. 2 Kansas Wesleyan and No. 3 Concordia (Neb.), who will meet in the opening game of the regional. The winner of the double-elimination bracket will advance to the 69th annual Avista NAIA Baseball World Series, set for May 22-30 in Lewiston, Idaho.

For a program that made its first NAIA Opening Round appearance just one season ago, earning a No. 1 seed marks another major step forward in Johnson's rise on the national baseball landscape. The Royals enter the Opening Round with a 37-12 overall record, a 20-6 mark in Appalachian Athletic Conference play and one of the strongest postseason resumes in the country.

Johnson was listed with the No. 7 RPI in the Salina Bracket preview and has spent much of the spring among the top teams in the NAIA national conversation. After climbing as high as No. 4 nationally late in the regular season, the Royals were ranked No. 6 in the April 29 NAIA Coaches' Poll and now head to Kansas with a chance to extend one of the best seasons in program history.

Head Coach Dave Serrano said the selection reflected the consistency and quality his team showed throughout the year.

"I'm so happy that the committee recognized the body of work our team accomplished over the course of the season," Serrano said. "To be a number one seed is such an honor and our guys deserved it. We know we will be competing in a very competitive opening round against very good teams. I'm just thrilled that I get to watch our guys continue to take big steps in moving this baseball program forward. We will be ready and excited for this challenge."

The Royals' return to the Opening Round continues a rapid climb under Serrano, who has helped transform Johnson into a national contender in just three seasons. When Serrano arrived, the program was coming off a five-win season. Since then, Johnson has made steady progress each year, culminating in back-to-back NAIA Tournament appearances and a 2026 season that placed the Royals firmly among the nation's best.

Johnson's success has been built on balance. Offensively, the Royals enter the national tournament hitting .298 as a team with a .415 on-base percentage, a .416 slugging percentage, 371 runs scored and 29 home runs. Luke Wilson, Travis Hobbensiefken and JJ Menesini have helped lead the lineup, giving Johnson consistent production near the top and middle of the order.

On the mound, the Royals have been just as important to the team's success. Johnson carries a 4.39 team ERA into Opening Round play, led by a strong rotation that includes Colby Reynolds, Tyler Barfield and Jacob Jacome. Reynolds has been one of the top arms in the country for Johnson, entering the national tournament with an 11-2 record and a 3.24 ERA across 91.2 innings pitched.

The Salina Bracket will present a challenging road. Our Lady of the Lake enters as the No. 4 seed out of the Red River Athletic Conference, while host Kansas Wesleyan brings one of the most dangerous offenses in the NAIA into the field. Concordia, the No. 3 seed, enters with national tournament experience and a pitching staff known for its ability to miss bats.

Still, Johnson enters the bracket with the résumé, experience and confidence of a team that belongs in the national conversation. After breaking through with the program's first NAIA Opening Round appearance last season, the Royals now return with a different kind of expectation — not just to be there, but to compete for a trip to Lewiston.

For Serrano and the Royals, the moment is another sign of how far the program has come. Johnson baseball has moved from an emerging story to a national contender, and the next chapter begins in Salina.

The Royals are back in the Opening Round, this time as a No. 1 seed, and they head to Kansas with a chance to take another historic step forward.