NCAA, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, North Coast Athletic Conference team up to make the NCAA Division III national baseball championships happen, May 30-June 5.

EASTLAKE, MAY 30 – Fans of small college baseball are flocking to Northeast Ohio to follow their favorite team in the NCAA Division III championship series, which begins at 10 a.m. with No. 4-ranked Endicott College opposing No. 5 Kean University. (The entire tournament bracket is below.) Also on the field today will be No. 8 Messiah vs. No. 1 John Hopkins, No. 7 Rowan vs. No. 2 Denison U, and No. 3 Univ. of Wisconsin-Whitewater against No. 6 Trinity (TX). All games will be played at the Lake County Captains’ Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake. (See below.)

There were 64 teams selected for the tournament, with eight teams emerging as champions in Super Regional Tournaments this past weekend. It could take up to 17 games to determine the 2025 national champion come Thursday, June 5.

But a year before this championship, the NCAA was working behind the scenes with both the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and the host conference, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), in planning and preparations for a smooth-running championship.

For the Sports Commission and the NCAC, this is the second NCAA Division III championship taking place in Northeast Ohio in a two-week period of time.  The Division III men’s and women’s track and field nationals were May 22-24 at the SPIRE Institute’s Outdoor Track & Field facility in Geneva. (Story continues below.)

HERE ARE LINKS TO STORIES AND THE WEBSITES OF THE EIGHT TEAMS COMPETING FOR A D3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN NORTHEAST OHIO, NOW THROUGH WEDNESDAY

https://d3baseball.com/playoffs/2025/world-series-program/index.

Denison – https://denisonbigred.com/sports/baseball?path=baseball

Endicott – http://www.ecgulls.com/sports/bsb/index

Johns Hopkins – https://hopkinssports.com/sports/baseball

Kean – https://keanathletics.com/sports/baseball?path=baseball

Messiah – http://www.gomessiah.com/index.aspx?tab=baseball&path=baseball

Rowan – http://www.rowanathletics.com/index.aspx?path=baseball

Trinity (Texas) – https://trinitytigers.com/sports/baseball?path=baseball

UW-Whitewater – https://uwwsports.com/index.aspx?path=baseball

NCAC WEBSITE, FILLED WITH INFO: https://northcoast.org/tournaments/?id=81

Here is the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission’s website, which includes ticket information: https://www.clevelandsports.org/events/2025/05/30/ncaa-division-iii-baseball-championship

“It has been extremely helpful to co-host (these events) with the North Coast Athletic Conference,” says Chris Lewis, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Sports Commission.  “It takes a large amount of coordination, especially with communications. It has been a year-long process and discussions from launching micro website, social media plans, press releases, issuing credentials, and coordinating press conferences.”

Keri Alexander Luchowski, Executive Director of the NCAC, echoes what Lewis says about the coordination and advance planning which goes into events such as the national baseball championship and the men’s and women’s track and field national championships.

“It’s an honor for us to invite Division III to our backyard and show off both our region and NCAC hospitality,” Luchowski says. “We take great pride in offering our colleagues a first-class experience. Seeing student athletes achieve something they’ve dreamed of and worked towards is very rewarding.”

Bill Gorman, who’s serving this year as chair of the 10-member NCAA Division III Baseball Committee and is also senior associate athletic director at Wentworth Institute of Technology, is quite pleased with the tournament thus far and with the collaboration the NCAA has received from both the Sports Commission and the NCAC.

“This has been a very well-run tournament so far. This is the first year using NPI (the NCAA’s Power Index) to select and seed the teams, and the top four teams as well as three others within the top 16 are among the Final Eight,” Gorman says. “We have a very deep field, and it should be a fun next few days.”

Gorman praises the up-front preparation and planning work which the Sports Commission and the NCAC have done for the baseball championship.

“Having all three groups – NCAA, host conference and host Sports Commission – working cohesively leads to a successful event for the student-athletes and spectators,” he adds. “As this is year two of the finals site being in Eastlake, we have taken feedback from last year and run with it to help ensure that this year is as good if not better than last year.

“(Our) Three groups (NCAA, NCAC, Sports Commission) have had numerous calls throughout the year to check in on things and make sure we are ready to go.”

BIG DEAL FOR ALL INVOLVED

Lewis points out that whether it’s an event that’s basking in the national media spotlight, such as the 2024 NCAA Division I women’s basketball Final Four held in Cleveland last year, or these Division III championships, all are important to the athletes and to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.

“To the athletes, coaches and families involved, their championship is the biggest event in the world,” he says. “Delivering a top-tier experience for them solidifies the Sports Commission’s reputation for prioritizing the athlete experience.

“Each event is a vital opportunity to reinforce our capabilities, strengthens relationship, drives economic impact, and builds upon Cleveland’s growing reputation ss a premier sports destination, he adds.

Luchowski, herself a former student athlete, knows advancing to a national championship tournament is great accomplishment for all student athletes, irrespective of Division I, II, or III.

“From a bigger picture perspective, we provide insider knowledge of Division III; we have been lucky enough to have teams participate in many NCAA championship events over the years and we are familiar with what makes a good experience for the student athletes,” Luchowski says. “That helps both in the planning and executing of a successful event.”

The NCAC is not a large-scale operation. Only three core people staff the conference. So Luchowski calls in help from the sports communications directors of various NCAC schools and nearby colleges to assist.

“Without the partnership of the Sports Commission, we’d have no chance at all to host anything of this caliber,” she adds. Their team is outstanding, and their pride in Cleveland and their high-quality work is a game changer for us. They are partners in the truest sense of the word.”

Gorman praises the work of both groups.

“There are NCAA guidelines that need to be followed, and working with the host conference, they know the guidelines and can assist if there are any issues,” he explains. “Keri and her staff have been tremendous to work with the past two years. They have a great group of volunteers who come in and assist with operations…”

The team assisting with the press box (scoreboard, public address, etc.) and media and communications for the tournament this year includes:

John Alfes, Hiram College
Ryan Griggs, Grove City College
Brent Harris, Wabash College
Geoff Henson, University of Olivet
Sarah Lodge, College of Wooster
Amanda Phillips, Oberlin College
Kevin Smith, College of Wooster

Harris, who’s director of athletic and wellness communications at Wabash, remembers handling media interviews at the 2024 national baseball championships. (Story continues below.)

MORE HELPFUL LINKS

Going to the tournament? Here’s a link to the ballpark, which includes a map: https://www.classicautogrouppark.com/

You can also watch the NCAA’s live video of the games here: https://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2025/05/30

“With a team that’s just had its season ended, you’re dealing with the last time that the group will be together. It is probably the final time the seniors will ever play organized baseball, but they also have an opportunity to reminisce (to the media) about their great season,” he says.

“Some coaches treat it very positively, as there are 100+ college teams that didn’t make it to the championship series,” he adds. “One team’s players talked more in the post-game conference about how they grew and bonded together, and how they all benefitted from their common experienced on their baseball team.”

COMING TOGETHER FOR A GREAT TOURNAMENT

Lewis points out that thousands of athletes, coaches, staff, families and fans have traveled to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio for the national track and field championships and this college baseball national title series.

“Hosting a well-organized and positive event provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the city’s attractions, venues, culture offerings, and hospitality,” he adds. “It’s important for the Sports Commission to ‘shine’ when hosting any national championship, regardless of division.”

For Luchowski, it’s also an opportunity for the NCAC to join with the NCAA and Sports Commission in running an important sports event.

“What’s important are the experiences that this (the baseball championship) provides to all who come to Cleveland to compete and celebrate the competitors’ accomplishments,” she points out. “Watching the joy of the student athletes as the move through the tournament, and their grace when their run ends, is definitely worth the work.”

Gorman, who’s in his fourth and final year on the Division III baseball committee, concurs with Lewis and Luchowski.

“There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to get ready for a national championship event, and a lot of that people don’t see,” Gorman says. “The days can be long … but there is nothing better than watching the last team standing hoist that national championship trophy.”

eyeoncleveland.com founder John Kerezy wrote this story. Special thanks to Brent Harris for his assistance.