The University of Oklahoma earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship as the 64-team field was announced today by the NCAA Division I Softball Committee. The Sooners will host the University of Maryland, Baltimore County an automatic qualifier from the America East.
Thirty-two conferences were awarded an automatic qualification, while the remaining 32 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites beginning this Thursday.
Team pairings were determined by geographic proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during regional competition.
The Southeastern Conference led all leagues with 13 teams selected to the championship tournament. The Big Ten Conference placed six teams in the championship tournament. Two teams are making their first appearance in the tournament: Detroit Mercy University and Seattle University.
Since the tournament began in 1982, only 13 schools have been crowned the NCAA Division I softball champion. 11 of the 13 teams will compete in this year’s bracket.
DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS: Norman Regional – May 17-19 at Norman, Oklahoma
*Indicates Host Institution No. 1 seed Oklahoma* (49-2) vs. UMBC (30-22)
Notre Dame (36-16) vs. Wisconsin (40-12)
Evanston Regional – May 17-19 at Evanston, Illinois
Southern Ill. (33-13) vs. Louisville (33-21)
Detroit Mercy (31-26) vs. No. 16 seed Northwestern* (43-10)
Austin Regional – May 17-19 at Austin, Texas
No. 9 seed Texas* (41-14) vs. Sam Houston St. (34-21)
Texas A&M (28-25) vs. Houston (37-17)
Tuscaloosa Regional – May 17-19 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Arizona St. (33-18) vs. Lipscomb (41-13-1)
Alabama St. (24-23) vs. No. 8 seed Alabama* (52-7)
Gainesville Regional – May 17-19 at Gainesville, Florida
No. 5 seed Florida* (44-15)) vs. Boston U. (37-18)
Stanford (32-18) vs. Boise St. (34-14)
Knoxville Regional – May 17-19 at Knoxville, Tennessee
North Carolina (35-18) vs. Ohio St. (34-16)
Longwood (37-20) vs. No. 12 seed Tennessee* (39-14)
Stillwater Regional – May 16-18 at Stillwater, Oklahoma
No. 13 seed Oklahoma St.* (39-14) vs. BYU (29-24)
Arkansas (38-18) vs. Tulsa (35-18)
Tallahassee Regional – May 17-19 at Tallahassee, Florida
South Carolina (36-17) vs. South Fla. (40-17)
Bethune-Cookman (26-29) vs. No. 4 seed Florida St.* (51-8)
Seattle Regional – May 17-19 at Seattle, Washington
No. 3 seed Washington* (45-7) vs. Fordham (29-24)
Mississippi St. (33-21) vs. Seattle U. (39-15)
Lexington Regional – May 17-19 at Lexington, Kentucky
Virginia Tech (45-9) vs. Illinois (32-23)
Toledo (29-26) vs. No. 14 seed Kentucky* (33-22)
Oxford Regional – May 17-19 at Oxford, Mississippi
No. 11 seed Ole Miss* (37-17) vs. Chattanooga (37-15)
Louisiana (50-4) vs. Southeast Mo. St. (45-16)
Tucson Regional – May 17-19 at Tucson, Arizona
Auburn (37-19) vs. Colorado St. (38-10)
Harvard (25-17) vs. No. 6 seed Arizona* (42-12)
Minneapolis Regional – May 17-19 at Minneapolis, Minnesota
No. 7 seed Minnesota* (41-12) vs. North Dakota St. (42-14)
Georgia (40-17) vs. Drake (42-14)
Baton Rouge Regional – May 17-19 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Texas Tech (39-14) vs. Louisiana Tech (44-14)
Monmouth (36-16) vs. No. 10 seed LSU* (40-16)
Ann Arbor Regional – May 17-19 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
No. 15 seed Michigan* (43-11) vs. Saint Francis (PA) (29-29)
James Madison (47-7) vs. DePaul (34-14)
Los Angeles Regional – May 17-19 at Los Angeles, California
Missouri (32-23) vs. Cal St. Fullerton (38-16)
Weber St. (26-19) vs. No. 2 seed UCLA* (46-5)
CHAMPIONSHIP STRUCTURE: The committee held selections on May 10-12. The 64-team field was selected from 296 NCAA Division I institutions sponsoring softball. Of the 64 teams, 32 teams received an automatic qualification with the remaining best 32 teams selected on an at-large basis.
Regionals will be held May 16-19 on 16 campus sites. At each campus site, a four-team, double-elimination tournament will be conducted, and the 16 winning teams advance to the Super Regionals.
Super Regionals for the championship will be held May 23-26 on eight campus sites. At each site, two teams play in a best-of-three tournament format. The winners from each site advance to the NCAA® Women’s College World Series (WCWS).
SEEDING/SITES: Teams were selected to the field of 64 teams. The top 16 teams were seeded in order, and the remaining teams are paired by geographic proximity, with the exception that teams within the same conference were not paired during regional competition.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES: 2018 Highlights: Florida State defeated Washington, 8-3, to win its first-ever WCWS title.
For complete championship details log on to www.ncaa.com.