Dallas Baptist is joining the Western Athletic Conference in baseball starting in 2013.
The Patriots have twice made the NCAA tournament as an independent. As an affiliate member of the WAC, Dallas Baptist will compete for the conference championship and the league's automatic NCAA berth.
Next season, the Patriots will play a full Missouri Valley Conference schedule but won't be eligible for the conference tournament.
The Patriots have had at least two players taken in baseball's amateur draft the past six years, including eight in 2006.
With the addition of Dallas Baptist and Cal State Bakersfield, the WAC now has 10 baseball teams for 2013. The others are Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Sacramento State, San Jose State, Seattle, Texas-Arlington, Texas State and UTSA.
