SIOUX CITY, IOWA (KCAU) – The Buena Vista Beavers have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, returning for the first time since 2019.

The Beavers, who boast a 30-9 record, earned the #2 seed in the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse region after picking up the program’s second consecutive American Rivers Conference (ARC) regular season title.

BVU had ten players receive all-conference honors, headlined by ARC Pitcher of the Year Morgan Smith and ARC Coach of the Year Steve Eddie.

The team’s nucleus has been together for a while, gearing the Beavers toward the potential to make some noise in the tournament.

“I watched these guys and their development over the summer and through the fall and winter months. So, they’ve put the time in and they deserve to be where they’re at. Now, it’s just about enjoying the benefits of all the hard work coming together,” Buena Vista head coach Steve Eddie said.

“All of the guys coming together, working hard. As the season’s been moving forward, we just keep getting closer and closer. I think that’s really helped us a lot along the way,” BVU redshirt junior Jordan Mathewson added.

BVU’s first game will be against #3 Bethel University. The two teams faced off in a three-game series in February, with Buena Vista winning two of the three games. First pitch for the tournament game is on Friday at 2:30pm.