ROCKLIN, Calif. – The Warriors are back in the NAIA Opening Round for the second time in three years, as they heard their name called during Tuesday's selection show. Jessup is off to Mississippi, as they drew the top seed in Hattiesburg.
 

 
Jessup, winners of the GSAC regular season championship, enter the national tournament with an overall record of 36-9. They are one of three GSAC programs to hear their names called, as Vanguard and Hope International will also extend their season.
 
Vanguard will be off to Klamath Falls, while HIU heads to San Antonio. Both the Lions and Royals drew two seeds.
 
Five teams will make their way to Hattiesburg next week. The host school is William Carey, who earned an automatic bid with the host site and finished as regular season and tournament champion of the Southern States Athletic Conference. William Carey is 38-12 on the season and will make their seventh appearance in the national tournament.
 
William Carey will square off with Reinhardt of Georgia, as they earned an automatic bid by winning the regular season and tournament championships in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. It's the fourth appearance for Reinhardt.
 
Jessup, as the top seed, has the luxury of waiting to find out their opponent, as the Warriors will not play until Tuesday, May 14. The Opening Round begins with two games on Monday, including the four-five matchup that will determine the Warriors' Tuesday opponent. Jessup will see either Indiana-Southeast or Stillman (Ala.).
 
The fourth seed of Indiana-Southeast comes into the tournament as regular season champions of the River States Conference. At 40-13, they are making their fourth trip to the Opening Round. Stillman earned an at-large thanks to their 35-13 record and will be appearing in their first national tournament contest.
 
It will be Jessup's second trip to the NAIA Opening Round, as GSAC Coach of the Year Brie Campbell's squad qualified in 2022 as champions of the GSAC Tournament. The Warriors lost the if-necessary game in Klamath Falls that year.
 
Jessup will bring to Mississippi a .334 batting average as a team, which is carried by the .583 season of GSAC Player of the Year, Sarah Giles. Madisyn Leffle (.416) and Maddy Ybarra (.381) are doing their part to boost the Jessup average, while Giles (17) and Ybarra (13) do the bulk of the damage in the home run category.
 
Pitching will see the veteran Katie Blankenheim take her 14-5 record back to the NAIA Opening Round. Serena Navarrete (3.07) and Terra Goetz (3.60) also earned starts at the conference tournament.
 
Jessup will be on the field in one week, as their first tournament game is slated for May 14. The official game time will be 11 a.m. (PST).
 
Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).