OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JUNE 05: Grounds keepers water the infield prior to game two of the Division I Women's Softball Championship held at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium - OGE Energy Field on June 5, 2018 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Florida State defeated Washington 8-3 to win the national championship. (Photo by Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) The 2019 NCAA softball tournament bracket has been released and the stage is set for the best teams in the country to battle on the road to Oklahoma City and the Women’s College World Series. It’s officially time for the 2019 NCAA softball tournament! For those that haven’t been paying close attention, last night, during Selection Sunday, 64 teams were picked, seeded, and scheduled for the 2019 NCAA softball tournament. 16 different regionals were set up with four teams in each regional. Starting this Friday, the mayhem will begin as these teams will begin playing for a chance to advance on to the Super Regionals with the ultimate goal being the Women’s College World Series. Where is the toughest regional this year? There are three regionals that caught my eye when I started thinking about what the toughest regional might be this year. That’d be Oxford, Baton Rouge, and Minneapolis. Let’s start with Oxford. Ole Miss (37-17 overall record) is hosting a regional as the No. 11 overall seed this year. In that regional are Chattanooga (37-15 overall record), Southeast Missouri State (45-16 overall record), and Louisiana (50-4 overall record). The Ragin’ Cajuns are the kind of team that could really make things difficult for the Rebels. Louisiana has a better RPI ranking than Ole Miss and could potentially be one of the best teams in the country. Over in Baton Rouge, the No. 10 overall seed LSU Tigers (40-16 overall record) get to host Texas Tech (39-14 overall record), Louisiana Tech (44-14 overall record), and Monmouth (36-16 overall record). The Tigers will be hosting two conference champions in Monmouth and Louisiana Tech while Texas Tech is the No. 19 ranked team in RPI rankings. Finally, up in the Minneapolis regional, every single team competing has over 40 wins. The No. 7 overall seed Minnesota (41-12 overall record) will be hosting North Dakota State (42-14 overall record), Drake (42-14 overall record), and Georgia (40-17 overall record). The Golden Gophers will have their hands full with this slate. Who has the easiest path to the Women’s College World Series? It’d be fair to say that the Washington Huskies might have one of the easiest paths (if not the easiest path) to Oklahoma City this season. The Huskies are the No. 3 national seed this season and are hosting a regional featuring Mississippi State, Seattle U, and Fordham. The Huskies, by far, are the best team in this regional and should be able to come away from this round by advancing on and hosting a super regional. Mississippi State and Fordham both have to travel across the country to play the Huskies and while Seattle U gets to stay at home, there’s still a clear talent discrepancy between Washington and the Redhawks. Should Washington actually come out on top of its regional, the Huskies would then be paired up with whichever team wins in the Lexington regional. Assuming that the winner there is the host team, Kentucky, the Huskies and the Wildcats would then be matched up to play for a chance at competing in the Women’s College World Series. Kentucky is the 16th highest rated team in the latest RPI rankings while Washington is the 2nd. There’s a very real chance that Washington advances on to OKC with little issue in both the regional and super regional rounds of the 2019 NCAA softball tournament.<doc-sep>The Division I Softball Championship provides for a field of 64 teams to compete in the national tournament. Of the 64 teams, 32 teams will receive automatic qualification with the remaining best 32 teams selected on an at-large basis by the Division I Softball Committee. Sixteen teams will be seeded and each of the seeded teams will be placed at one of the regional sites. The 2019 NCAA Division I Softball Championship bracket will be announced Sunday, May 12. The official 64-team bracket will be revealed at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Sixteen teams will be seeded as the top team in the field and will be placed at the 16 regional sites. Florida State is expected to be a Top 8 national seed, which means they will be a host site for the Regionals and the Super Regionals, if they advance. They are currently No. 5 in the NFCA Coaches Poll, as well as the RPI. FSU, who is the defending national champion, is the automatic qualifier out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, with winning the ACC Tournament on Saturday. Here is a look at the full list of automatic qualifiers. Regionals for the NCAA Division I Softball Championship will be held May 17 - 19, 2019 on 16 campus sites. At each campus site, a four-team, double-elimination tournament will be conducted and the 16 winning teams advanced to the Super Regionals. Super Regionals for the NCAA Division I Softball Championship will be held May 23 - 26, 2019 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. The 2019 NCAA Women’s College World Series will be held at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium - OGE Energy Field in Oklahoma City, May 30 - June 5, 2019. The eight teams will compete in a double elimination bracket with the final two teams then competing in a best of three format. Game 1 : 12 p.m. Thursday, May 30 on ESPN : 12 p.m. Thursday, May 30 on ESPN Game 2 : 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30 on ESPN : 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30 on ESPN Game 3 : 7 p.m. Thursday, May 30 on ESPN2 : 7 p.m. Thursday, May 30 on ESPN2 Game 4 : 9:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30 on ESPN2 : 9:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30 on ESPN2 Game 5 (elimination game) : 7 p.m. Friday, May 31 on ESPN : 7 p.m. Friday, May 31 on ESPN Game 6 (elimination game) : 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 31 on ESPN : 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 31 on ESPN Game 7 (elimination game) : 12 p.m. Saturday, June 1 on ESPN : 12 p.m. Saturday, June 1 on ESPN Game 8 (elimination game) : 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1 on TBA : 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1 on TBA Game 9 : 7 p.m. Saturday, June 1 on TBA : 7 p.m. Saturday, June 1 on TBA Game 10 : 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1 on TBA : 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1 on TBA Game 11 : 1 p.m. Sunday, June 2 on ESPN : 1 p.m. Sunday, June 2 on ESPN Game 12 : 3:30 p.m. Sunday, June 2 on ESPN : 3:30 p.m. Sunday, June 2 on ESPN Game 13 (if necessary) : 7 p.m. Sunday, June 2 on ESPN2 : 7 p.m. Sunday, June 2 on ESPN2 Game 14 (if necessary) : 9:30 p.m. Sunday, June 2 on ESPN2 : 9:30 p.m. Sunday, June 2 on ESPN2 Championship Series Game 1 : 7 or 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 3 on ESPN : 7 or 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 3 on ESPN Championship Series Game 2 : 8 or 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4 on ESPN : 8 or 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4 on ESPN Championship Series Game 3 (if necessary): 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 5 on ESPN This is the 38th annual NCAA Division I Softball Championship and the 29th time that Oklahoma City and USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium - OGE Energy Field will host this premier college softball championship event.<doc-sep>Check out the amazing catches in this week's softball top plays Check out the amazing catches in this week's softball top plays The 2019 NCAA softball tournament will have 64 teams playing for a national championship. Of the 64 teams, 32 qualify automatically. Stay here for updated all week during conference tournaments. Four AQs will be awarded to the regular-season champions of the Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12 and West Coast. The rest will be tournament champions. In the table below, click on the conference to find the bracket from the most recently completed day of games. 2019 NCAA Softball: Conference tournament brackets, automatic qualifiers *The Big 12, A-10 and AAC softball tournaments were canceled due to inclement weather and field conditions. The Big 12's auto-bid to the NCAA tournament was awarded to Oklahoma, the regular season champs. The AAC auto-bid goes to USF, the highest remaining seed in the conference tournament. Fordham gets the A-10's auto-bid after winning the regular season championship. SHOP SOFTBALL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GEAR FROM FANATICS NCAA Softball Tournament: Schedule Selection Show Sunday, May 12: The 64-team bracket will be revealed Regionals Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19: 16 campus sites will have a four-team, double-elimination tournament. View the 2019 interactive bracket Super Regionals Thursday, May 23 through Sunday, May 26: Eight campus sites will have two teams play in a best-of-3 series. Women's College World Series Thursday, May 30 through Wednesday, June 5: Eight teams will play in a double-elimination bracket, with the final two teams playing a best-of-3 championship series. Games at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium - OGE Energy Field in Oklahoma City. Buy tickets and schedule your trip to the 2019 Women's College World Series NCAA Softball: Champions, Women's College World Series winners YEAR CHAMPION (RECORD) COACH SCORE RUNNER-UP SITE 2018 *Florida State (58-12) Lonni Alameda 8-3 Washington Oklahoma City 2017 *Oklahoma (61-9) Patty Gasso 5-4 Florida Oklahoma City 2016 Oklahoma (57-8) Patty Gasso 2-1 Auburn Oklahoma City 2015 Florida (60-7) Tim Walton 4-1 Michigan Oklahoma City 2014 *Florida (55-12) Tim Walton 6-3 Alabama Oklahoma City 2013 *Oklahoma (57-4) Patty Gasso 4-0 Tennessee Oklahoma City 2012 Alabama (60-8) Patrick Murphy 5-4 Oklahoma Oklahoma City 2011 *Arizona State (60-6) Clint Myers 7-2 Florida Oklahoma City 2010 *UCLA (50-11) Kelly Inouye-Perez 15-9 Arizona Oklahoma City 2009 Washington (51-12) Heather Tarr 3-2 Florida Oklahoma City 2008 *Arizona State (66-5) Clint Myers 11-0 Texas A&M Oklahoma City 2007 Arizona (50-14-1) Mike Candrea 5-0 Tennessee Oklahoma City 2006 Arizona (54-11) Mike Candrea 5-0 Northwestern Oklahoma City 2005 Michigan (65-7) Carol Hutchins 4-1 UCLA Oklahoma City 2004 UCLA (47-9) Sue Enquist 3-1 California Oklahoma City 2003 UCLA (54-7) Sue Enquist 1-0 California Oklahoma City 2002 California (56-19) Diane Ninemire 6-0 Arizona Oklahoma City 2001 *Arizona (65-4) Mike Candrea 1-0 UCLA Oklahoma City 2000 *Oklahoma (66-8) Patty Gasso 3-1 UCLA Oklahoma City 1999 *UCLA (63-6) Sue Enquist 3-2 Washington Oklahoma City 1998 Fresno State (52-11) Margie Wright 1-0 Arizona Oklahoma City 1997 Arizona (61-5) Mike Candrea 10-2 UCLA Oklahoma City 1996 *Arizona (58-9) Mike Candrea 6-4 Washington Columbus, Ga. 1995 *UCLA (50-6) Sharron Backus 4-2 Arizona Oklahoma City 1994 *Arizona (64-3) Mike Candrea 2-0 Cal State Northridge Oklahoma City 1993 Arizona (44-8) Mike Candrea 1-0 UCLA Oklahoma City 1992 *UCLA (54-2) Sharron Backus 2-0 Arizona Oklahoma City 1991 Arizona (56-16) Mike Candrea 5-1 UCLA Oklahoma City 1990 UCLA (62-7) Sharron Backus 2-0 Fresno State Oklahoma City 1989 *UCLA (48-4) Sharron Backus 1-0 Fresno State Sunnyvale, Calif. 1988 UCLA (53-8) Sharron Backus 3-0 Fresno State Sunnyvale, Calif. 1987 Texas A&M (56-8) Bob Brock 4-1 UCLA Omaha, Neb. 1986 *Cal State Fullerton (57-9-1) Judi Garman 3-0 Texas A&M Omaha, Neb. 1985 UCLA (41-9) Sharron Backus 2-1 Nebraska Omaha, Neb. 1984 UCLA (45-6-1) Sharron Backus 1-0 Texas A&M Omaha, Neb. 1983 Texas A&M (41-11) Bob Brock 2-0 Cal State Fullerton Omaha, Neb. 1982 *UCLA (33-7-2) Sharron Backus 2-0 Fresno State Omaha, Neb. *Indicates undefeated teams in final series.<doc-sep>This will get you excited for this year's WCWS This will get you excited for this year's WCWS The bracket is out and the stage is set. Each NCAA softball team can now see their path to reaching the Women’s College World Series. Sunday night, the 64-team field for the 2019 NCAA Division I softball tournament was announced. Oklahoma is the No. 1 overall seed and they’ll face America East champs UMBC to start the tournament. The Sooners’ regional in Norman also includes Notre Dame and Wisconsin. 2019 BRACKET: Oklahoma claims No. 1 seed in regionals | View the 2019 bracket UCLA and Washington are the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, Detroit Mercy and Seattle are appearing in the tournament for the first time, and the SEC overflowed the field with 13 teams. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get into a few reactions from the bracket. THE LATEST: Scoreboard | Stats Tucson could be decided by the long ball If home runs are your thing, the Tucson regional will be the one you want to keep an eye on. There will be dingers galore. The regional will feature three of the nation’s top 12 home run hitters in Arizona’s Jessie Harper (25) and Dejah Mulipola (21), and Auburn’s Kendall Veach (20). Auburn’s Tannon Snow also has double-digit homers, slapping 13 over the fence this year. SCHEDULE: Dates and times for the 2019 Women's College World Series Also in this region is Colorado State, which is 18th in the nation in team home runs per-game, driving 1.27 balls long per contest. The Rams have three players who have hit double-digit home runs this season, with Tara Shadowen leading the way with 14. Harvard isn’t one of the top hitting teams in the country, but freshman Teagan Shaw has shown potential to go yard, hitting six homers this year. Minneapolis regional looks tough Out of all the regions, it’s hard to pick a favorite from Minneapolis. The regional features three teams ranked in the top 25 in the latest USA Today and NFCA Coaches Poll in No. 12 Minnesota, No. 13 Georgia, No. 25 Drake. Rounding out the field is North Dakota State, winners of 42 games and the Summit League champs. There’s a case to be made for each team. Minnesota has one of the country’s top pitching staffs, ranking 10th in the nation in ERA with a 1.72 mark. The Gophers are also 12th in home runs per-game (1.28) and seventh in fielding percentage (.978). BY THE NUMBERS: These are the three best pitchers in college softball Georgia is 19th in home runs per-game (1.25), 19th in slugging percentage (.517), and has two of the most patient batters at the plate in Alyssa DiCarlo and Lacey Fincher. DiCarlo is seventh in the country in walks, drawing 0.88 per-game, while Fincher is 13th with a .82 mark. 🐟 Kylie Bass set the tone in the circle for the Dawgs early today. #Team23 | #GoDawgs | #SECSB pic.twitter.com/Ad8FP64snZ — Georgia Softball (@UGASoftball) May 9, 2019 Drake is armed with arguably the best arm in college softball in Nicole Newman, who recently tossed her fifth perfect game of the season. Newman is among the top three in the country on leaderboards for ERA, hits allowed per seven innings, shutouts, strikeout to walk ratio and total strikeouts. Drake also notched regular season wins over tournament teams in Toledo, Southeastern Missouri State and Southern Illinois. North Dakota State is 12th in country in fielding percentage (.976) and 25th in batting average (.309). PERFECT: Nicole Newman tosses fifth perfect game of the season for Drake Watch out for an upset in Ann Arbor One region that definitely has potential for one of the seeded teams to get upset is in Ann Arbor. The Michigan Wolverines were awarded the No. 15 seed and are hosting the regional after winning the Big Ten title. Michigan is legit, having been ranked No. 21 in the latest USA Today and NFCA Coaches Poll. The Wolverines are 17th in the nation in batting average (.319), 24th in ERA (2.08), 28th in slugging (.494) and 13th in on-base percentage (.408). SOFTBALL STORIES: 16 year-old with cerebral palsy joins Pitt | Mo'ne Davis to play at Hampton But also nestled in this regional are the James Madison Dukes, ranked No. 16 in the latest national poll and recently crowned CAA champs, winning each of its three conference tournament games by way of the mercy rule. The Dukes won 47 games this season and notched wins over tournament bound teams in Tennessee, Drake, Longwood, Virginia Tech and Michigan, beating the Wolverines 3-0 in nine innings on March 7. Five home runs. Fifth conference title. This is JMU softball!#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/1cv9u3gLmn — JMU Softball (@JMUSoftball) May 11, 2019 James Madison is arguably one of the most well-rounded teams in the country, ranking second in the nation in batting average (.349) and sixth in ERA (1.67). The Dukes are second in the country in on-base percentage (.443), third in home runs per-game (1.72), 21st in shutouts (15) and second in slugging (.617). Leading James Madison on offense is Kate Gordon, who is 17th in the nation in hits with 74 and 15th in home runs with 18. Sophomore Sara Jubas is 16th in the nation in RBIs with 58. The Dukes not only have a chance to win the Ann Arbor regional, but have the resume to potentially make a run to the World Series. Mitchell Northam is a graduate of Salisbury University. His work has been featured at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Orlando Sentinel, SB Nation, FanSided, USA Today and the Delmarva Daily Times. He grew up on Maryland's Eastern Shore and is now based in Durham, N.C.<doc-sep>
This will get you excited for this year's WCWS This will get you excited for this year's WCWS INDIANAPOLIS—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. FULL BRACKET: View the 2019 interactive bracket | Schedule and teams 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. CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON: Buy tickets and schedule your trip to the 2019 Women's College World Series DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS: *Indicates Host Institution Norman Regional – May 17-19 at Norman, Oklahoma 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) What better way to get career win 💯 than with a strikeout in the @SECSBTourney championship game? #NCAASoftball (via @GatorsSB) pic.twitter.com/mzf0qMGF5J — NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 12, 2019 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 State (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) This Selection Show Sunday wait has us feeling all sorts of ways... pic.twitter.com/D47Pid5ZkW — Minnesota Softball (@GopherSoftball) May 12, 2019 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. Full list of automatic qualifiers: *The Big 12, A-10 and AAC softball tournaments were canceled due to inclement weather and field conditions. The Big 12's auto-bid to the NCAA tournament was awarded to Oklahoma, the regular season champs. The AAC auto-bid goes to USF, the highest remaining seed in the conference tournament.