St. Thomas Leads D-II Tourney Bracket
ATLANTA – The defending Division II national champions St. Thomas have been installed as the top seed in the 2022 MCLA National Championship presented by New Balance, which will be held in Round Rock, Texas, starting on Monday, May 9.
With their stiff schedule and UMLC championship, the Tommies (13-3) were an easy choice for the top spot, and they’ll take on No. 16 Florida Atlantic (9-4) out of the SELC in the first round.
Despite losing in the PNCLL championship game, College of Idaho (10-1) was installed as the second seed, where they will face UNC-Charlotte (11-1), who won the inaugural ALC title.
No. 3 Kennesaw State (10-1), the SELC champ, will tangle with the winners of the SLC, Cal State San Marcos (8-3) on Monday evening. Grand Valley State (9-3), the runners-up in the UMLC, draws UC San Diego (11-2) in the No. 4-13 contest.
No. 5 Utah (9-3) will square off with No. 12 North Dakota State (7-7) while PNCLL champ Montana (14-5) draws Florida Gulf Coast (10-3) in the No. 6-11 matchup.
In its first visit to the tourney, No. 7 Rhode Island (9-2) faces a grizzled No. 10 Utah State (10-6) outfit, followed by the No. 8-9 matchup between Montana State (9-6) and Missouri State (10-6).
“I think we nailed this bracket,” said Gary Podesta, the MCLA’s director of competition. “We’re going to have some really good matchups in the first round and the rest of the tournament will take care of itself.”
The 2022 MCLA National Championship presented by New Balance will take place from May 9-14 at the Round Rock (Texas) Multipurpose Complex. The first round will take place on Monday, followed by the semifinals and finals on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
Advanced purchase of tickets and streaming package (with considerable early-bird savings) are available HERE.
2022 Division II MCLA National Championships
presented by New Balance
#16 Florida Atlantic (9-4) v. #1 St. Thomas (13-3)
#15 UNC-Charlotte (11-1) v. #2 College of Idaho (10-1)
#14 Cal State San Marcos (8-3) v. #3 Kennesaw State (10-0)
#13 UC San Diego (11-2) v. #4 Grand Valley State (9-3)
#12 North Dakota State (7-7) v. #5 Utah (9-3)
#11 Florida Gulf Coast (10-3) v. #6 Montana (14-5)
#10 Utah State (10-6) v. #7 Rhode Island (9-2)
#9 Missouri State (10-6) v. #8 Montana State (9-6)