The NCAA Softball Tournament bracket was officially announced during the NCAA Tournament bracket reveal on Sunday, May 10. The path to Oklahoma City is now set for 64 Division I softball teams — a list comprised of 31 automatic qualifier bids and 33 at-large bids.
The Alabama Crimson Tide earned the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket over the Texas Longhorns despite the latter’s win over the former in the SEC Tournament championship game on Saturday.
Speaking of which, the SEC has the most schools named among Power Four conferences, with 13 teams in the field and nine teams among the top-16 national seeds — including six of the top-eight teams. Among them was the Florida Gators, who are seeded sixth and will face the Florida A&M Rattlers on Friday.
Behind the SEC, the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 all had seven teams apiece included in the field.
A notable change in this year’s bracket reveal was how the NCAA Tournament selection committee arranged the contestants. Instead of seeding just the top 16, the committees seeded the top 32 teams in the field this year; bracket seedings remain 1 through 16 still.
Play begins on Friday, May 15, with double-elimination, regional round play, followed by the best-of-three super regionals from May 21-24. The Women’s College World Series starts on Thursday, May 28, with the best-of-three national championship series set to begin Wednesday, June 3.
Division I softball bracket
Note: Number in parentheses to the left of a team’s name is their national overall seeding; to the right is their overall record. All games are set for Friday, May 15.
Tuscaloosa Regional
- (1) Alabama (49-7) vs. USC Upstate (36-21) | 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network (Fubo)
- Southeast Louisiana (46-14) vs. Belmont (40-11) | 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Baton Rouge Regional
- (16) LSU (37-17) vs. Akron (34-23) | 6;30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
- Virginia Tech (46-10) vs. South Alabama (32-25) | 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Tuscaloosa Regional winner will play Baton Rouge Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Austin Regional
- (2) Texas (42-10) vs. Wagner (22-26) | 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+
- Baylor (28-26) vs. Wisconsin (32-19) | 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
College Station Regional
- (15) Texas A&M (36-17) vs. UConn (31-26) | 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2 (Fubo)
- Arizona State (41-16) vs. McNeese (40-20) | 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Austin Regional winner will play College Station Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Norman Regional
- (3) Oklahoma (48-8) vs. Binghamton (20-25) | 3:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network (Fubo)
- Michigan (34-20) vs. Kansas (35-19) | 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU (Fubo)
Eugene Regional
- (14) Oregon (40-12) vs. Idaho State (37-18) | 10 p.m. ET on ESPNU (Fubo)
- Mississippi State (38-18) vs. Saint Mary’s (40-14) | 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Norman Regional winner will play Eugene Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Lincoln Regional
- (4) Nebraska (46-6) vs. South Dakota (20-34-1) | 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
- Grand Canyon (52-8) vs. Louisville (44-12) | 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU (Fubo)
Stillwater Regional
- (13) Oklahoma State (38-15) vs. Eastern Illinois (36-21) | 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
- Stanford (37-13) vs. Princeton (33-13) | 2 p.m. ET on ACC Network (Fubo)
Lincoln Regional winner will play Stillwater Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Fayetteville Regional
- (5) Arkansas (42-11) vs. Fordham (27-26) | 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
- South Florida (42-15) vs. Washington (36-18) | 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU (Fubo)
Durham Regional
- (12) Duke (39-14) vs. Howard (28-17) | Noon ET on ACC Network (Fubo)
- Arizona (35-16) vs. Marshall (37-17) | 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Fayetteville Regional winner will play Durham Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Gainesville Regional
- (6) Florida (48-10) vs. Florida A&M (32-20) | 11 a.m. ET on SEC Network (Fubo)
- Texas State (38-20) vs. Georgia Tech (30-27) | 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Lubbock Regional
- (11) Texas Tech (52-6) vs. Marist (37-19) | 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
- Mississippi (34-24) vs. Boston University (46-13) | 2 p.m. ET on ESPNU (Fubo)
Gainesville Regional winner will play Lubbock Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Knoxville Regional
- (7) Tennessee (42-10) vs. Northern Kentucky (26-23) | 5:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network (Fubo)
- Virginia (38-13) vs. Indiana (42-14) | 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 (Fubo)
Athens Regional
- (10) Georgia (38-18) vs. Charleston (30-28) | 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
- Clemson (32-20) vs. UNC Greensboro (42-17) | 4:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network (Fubo)
Knoxville Regional winner will play Athens Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Los Angeles Regional
- (8) UCLA (47-8) vs. Cal Baptist (43-17) | 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 (Fubo)
- South Carolina (30-26) vs. Cal State Fullerton (40-13) | 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Tallahassee Regional
- (9) Florida State (49-8) vs. Stetson (36-20) | Noon ET on ESPNU (Fubo)
- Central Florida (38-16-1) vs. Jacksonville State (45-14) | 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Los Angeles Regional winner will play Tallahassee Regional winner in the Super Regionals
NCAA Softball Tournament regional sites
Here’s a full look at which teams are hosting the regional round of the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament:
Note: Regional hosts are rewarded based on the NCAA tournament selection committee’s ranking of the top-16 teams.
- Alabama (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
- Texas (Austin, Texas)
- Oklahoma (Norman, Oklahoma)
- Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska)
- Arkansas (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
- Florida (Gainesville, Florida)
- Tennessee (Knoxville, Tennessee)
- UCLA (Los Angeles)
- Florida State (Tallahassee, Florida)
- Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
- Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas)
- Duke (Durham, North Carolina)
- Oklahoma State (Stillwater, Oklahoma)
- Oregon (Eugene, Oregon)
- Texas A&M (College Station, Texas)
- LSU (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: NCAA softball bracket: Matchups, regional sites 2026 NCAA Tournament