The field is set. The 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament is here and the road to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City begins on Friday with regionals.
Despite losing to Texas in the SEC Tournament title game, Alabama is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA field. The Crimson Tide ranked third in RPI and had a 15-5 record in Quad 1 games. They’re also second nationally in ERA with a 1.60 mark.
Being the top seed comes with its own sort of pressure, and Alabama will certainly feel the weight of those expectations. But there are a few teams with even more at stake.
Here’s five teams under the most pressure ahead of the start of the tournament.
Texas Tech
The Red Raiders pushed Texas to a decisive Game 3 in last year’s Women’s College World Series but fell short of capturing the national title in its first trip ever to Oklahoma City. Not only did Texas Tech bring back NiJaree Canady and her million dollar arm for a second crack at winning it all, but they also secured prized transfers in UCLA’s Kaitlyn Terry, Tennessee’s Taylor Pannell, Ohio State’s Jazzy Burns and Florida’s Mia Williams.
On paper, it looks like the most talented team in the sport, but the selection committee didn’t think the Red Raiders were worthy of a top-eight seed — meaning if they make the super regional round, they’ll likely have to play on the road.
Canady has played in the World Series in each of the past three seasons, twice with Stanford and once with Texas Tech. Winning a national championship is really all that’s left for her to accomplish.
UCLA
Similar to the UCLA’s women’s basketball team, time is running out for this particular group of Bruins to accomplish something great together. This is the last time they’ll have Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery anchoring their offense and ace Taylor Tinsley leading the pitching staff. All three were drafted by AUSL teams last week.
UCLA fell short of winning the Big Ten championship this season, but bigger goals await. The Bruins will likely go as far as the bats of Grant and Woolery can take them — which is good news considering they’ve combined for 71 home runs this season.
It would be a disappointment if the Bruins fail to return to Oklahoma City.
Texas
Only four programs in the history of Division I college softball have won consecutive national championships: Oklahoma, Florida, UCLA and Arizona. The Longhorns have the opportunity to join that exclusive group.
Led by Reese Atwood, Texas has the pieces to make it back to Oklahoma City. And its path to returning to the World Series is manageable. At first glance, Baylor, Wisconsin and Wagner don’t look like teams that will be able to keep pace with Texas, and neither do the teams in the College Station Regional — Texas A&M, Arizona State, UConn and McNeese.
It would be arguably the biggest upset of the tournament if Texas is sent home during the first two rounds.
Oklahoma
Since the turn of the century, coach Patty Gasso’s Sooners have become arguably the most iconic and recognizable brand in college softball. Between 2013 and 2024, Oklahoma ripped off seven national championships. A season ago, they swept the SEC’s regular season and tournament titles, but their run of national championships came to an end with a loss to Texas Tech.
Can the Sooners return to their perch atop the sport this postseason?
They certainly have the offense to do it, ranking first in batting average at .389. Leading that Oklahoma lineup is freshman catcher Kendall Wells, who has blasted 36 homers this season.
Belmont
Belmont’s pressure is different from the other teams on this list. Few expect the Bruins to compete for a national championship, but for the past three seasons they’ve been led by one of the best pitchers in the sport — Maya Johnson — and have had little national success to show for it.
Johnson, who was the third overall pick in the AUSL Draft, leads the nation in ERA this season with a 0.66 mark. But during her time at Belmont, the Bruins have never advanced to a super regional. She hasn’t had her signature postseason moment as we’ve seen from mid-major stars in other sports — think Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne leading the Blue Hens to the Sweet 16 in 2013.
Unfortunately, Belmont got one of the toughest draws in the tournament. They were placed in No. 1 overall seed Alabama’s regional and will face a strong Southeast Louisiana team to open the postseason.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Five teams under the most pressure as the NCAA Softball Tournament begins
