VANCOUVER – The Thunderbirds will be in Santa Clarita, Calif., along with four other hopefuls on Monday to kick off a double elimination tournament at The Master's College, with the winner moving on to the 58th Avista-NAIA World Series.

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The T-Birds join Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference-winning Davenport, as well as San Diego Christian, Vanguard University and host The Master's College, all of whom earned berths out of the Golden State Athletic Conference.

As the bottom two seeds in the bracket, UBC and Vanguard will square off on May 12 to start the tournament, with the winner moving on to play top-seeded San Diego Christian, while Davenport and The Master's collide in the other group pairing. The tournament format is the same as the NAIA West tournament, with the winning teams moving forward and the losing teams needing to fight each other for survival to avoid that second loss.

There are nine different Opening Round brackets that will produce nine champions to move on and join Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho, for the Avista-NAIA World Series, running May 23-29.

No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds
32-11 overall, 20-8 conference
Won the NAIA West tournament (3-0)

The T-Birds are riding the biggest winning streak of any team in this group at eight games, and their pitching staff, which enters with a tournament-best 2.64 ERA, gives them a great chance to extend that.  It all starts with Conor Lillis-White on the mound, as the big lefty went 8-0 this season with an NAIA-best 0.50 earned run average, including four complete-game shutouts.

His opponent batting average of .153 pretty much tells the story - he's been really, really hard to hit this year. After starting off the season struggling somewhat with his control, he's been much more stingy with the walks over the last half of the season as well, and has been a threat to go the distance in just about every one of his starts over the last couple months. Continuing those trends against a completely different group of hitters and in a new ballpark is easier said than done, but Lillis-White hasn't given anyone a reason to doubt him in a long time.

Former NAIA West Pitcher of the Year Bryan Pawlina quietly had another stellar season behind Lillis-White in the rotation, earning a 5-1 record with a 1.88 ERA. He will pitch to contact much more than Lillis-White, and doesn't typically go as deep in games after spending most of last year as a reliever, but the T-Birds will be looking to him for at least five or six strong innings in this tournament. Sean Callegari, who led the staff with 74.0 innings pitched, gives UBC a third ace-calibre starter to lean on. He went 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA.

Offensively, first baseman Bruce Yari was the most steady contributor over the last half of the season. He leads the squad with a .361 average. Tyler Enns hit .344 and flashed some speed with a team-high four triples and eight stolen bases, though running wasn't a huge part of UBC's game this season compared to some of their competitors in this field. Kevin Biro rounds out a potent top three for the UBC offence, with a .339 average 32 runs batted in to lead the team.

No. 4 Vanguard University Lions
31-21 overall, 21-15 conference
Third in the GSAC tournament (1-2)

The Lions finished just two games off of first place in the GSAC regular season standings at 21-15, but that record was good for just a three-way tie for third in their highly-competitive conference, and their 6-9 record over their past 15 games doesn't inspire a ton of confidence as the competition level around them is about to get even tougher.

They don't have any hitters with gaudy individual stats, but the offensive lineup is an all-around solid group, with six starters either hitting over or just under .300. Taylor McKnight isn't one of those six, but he does provide most of the power as he leads the group with seven homers and 38 RBI.

The Lions pitching staff enter the tourney with a 4.21 team ERA, which is significantly higher than any other squad in this grouping. It's not a bad group either, with three starters that have sub-4.00 ERAs. Eddie Rivera is their top starter with real strikeout ability, holding a 6-3 record and 3.18 ERA in 93.1 innings, with 85 punch-outs.

No. 3 Davenport University Panthers
41-15 overall, 24-6 conference
Won the Wolverine-Hoosier tournament (3-0)

It's already been a milestone year for the Panthers, who now have their first 40-win season and first Opening Round appearance under their belts. They were on fire down the stretch, winning 15 of their last 16 games including the conference tournament. They also led the Wolverine-Hoosier conference with a 2.80 team ERA and .320 batting average.

That average makes them the top hitting team in this tournament. Seven of their primary starters are hitting over .300, as are another two part-time starters. In fact the Panthers have 11 players who have appeared in at least 25 games and hit .287 or better, giving them a multitude of roster options that should be beneficial in a condensed tournament format.

Their top hitter is Brendan Bender, with a .379 average, .493 on-base percentage and .531 slugging, with 51 RBIs. Patience at the dish is a highly-valued virtue at Davenport, where the team has a tournament-best .396 on-base percentage.

No. 2 The Master's College Mustangs
37-16 overall, 23-13 conference
Fourth in GSAC tournament (0-2)

Despite the comforts of home field advantage, the Mustangs have to be a little anxious to get going in this tournament, as they enter on a bit of a skid. It was a disappointing early exit for them in the GSAC tournament, and they have lost three straight overall going back to the regular season.

Fortunately for the hosts, they have the kind of pitching staff that can snap a team out of such a skid immediately. It's a very deep group, with eight different pitchers having thrown at least 30 innings this season, and six with at least five starts under their belts. The team ERA was tied for the best in the GSAC at 2.85, thanks in large part to a very reliable bullpen that features four reliable options, including a talented pair of brothers. Steve Karkenny led the group with a 1.14 ERA in 17 appearances out of the pen. Jason Karkenny had a 2.58 ERA in 20 appearances.

Steve Karkenny also happens to double as the team's top hitter, piling up a .380 average, .487 on-base percentage and .592 slugging with 45 RBIs so far this season. He even has a very dangerous set of wheels, with 27 stolen bases in 31 attempts. No such double duty exists for Jason, who didn't have any plate appearances for the Mustangs this year.

No. 1 San Diego Christian College Hawks
39-18 overall, 24-12 conference
Second in GSAC tournament (2-2)

The Hawks topped the GSAC in the regular season by one game over The Master's, and they appeared to have the conference tournament wrapped up to as they made it to the finals unbeaten, only for Westmont College to blow them out in back-to-back games by a combined score of 30-16 to take the crown. But things worked out pretty well for the Hawks anyway, as they still earned the top seed for the Opening Round, and they got to watch Westmont get shipped off to a different bracket.

The Hawks are led by the best hitter in this tournament statistically, Cade Gotta. He hit for a .417 average and his ridiculous .545 on-base percentage led the entire NAIA. He has plenty of power too, with 11 home runs and a .706 slugging percentage, and he strikes out less than once every 10 at-bats. Needless to say, he will be a load to deal with for any opposing pitcher in this tournament. And it doesn't end with Gotta for the Hawks, as he's just one of four players with an on-base percentage above .400, and the team as a whole is hitting .311 on the year.

The pitching staff doesn't have the same kind of dominant individual performers, but it's a deep group both in the starting rotation and the bullpen, making the Hawks a very worthy top seed in this tournament.