Hope International University, the Orange County school that competes in the Golden State Athletic Conference, is headed to Fayette, Missouri, on Monday, May 13 for the first round of the NAIA playoffs. Their first game will be against Northwestern Ohio.
HIU finished the 2024 regular season with a record of 37-14, including a stellar 19-4 conference campaign that gave them the regular season crown. However, they lost to Jessup in the championship final, giving their Northern California rivals the conference’s automatic bid to the NAIA postseason. But the selection committee rewarded HIU for an outstanding season with an at-large bid.
Subsequent games will be based on how HIU does against Northwestern Ohio in the opener.