INDIANAPOLIS — The University of Oregon earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship today when the NCAA Division I Softball Committee announced the 64-team field. The Ducks will host Albany (NY) an automatic qualifier from the America East Conference.
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.
BRACKETS: View the interactive bracket | Printable
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 Pac-12 Conference placed seven teams in the championship tournament. Four teams are making their first appearance in the tournament: Boise State University, Kennesaw State University, Monmouth University, and Prairie View A&M University.
RELATED: Schedule, times, infomation to know about the 2018 softball championship
Only 12 schools have been crowned the NCAA Division I softball champion since the tournament started in 1982, 11 of the 12 will compete in this year’s bracket.
Automatic Qualifiers
| Conference | School |
|---|---|
| American Athletic | Tulsa |
| America East | Albany (N.Y.) |
| ACC | Florida State |
| Atlantic Sun | Kennesaw State |
| Atlantic 10 | Fordham |
| Big East | DePaul |
| Big 12 | Oklahoma |
| Big Sky | Sacramento State |
| Big South | Liberty |
| Big Ten | Minnesota |
| Big West | Cal State Fullerton |
| Colonial | Hofstra |
| Conference USA | Middle Tennessee |
| Horizon | Illinois Chicago |
| Ivy | Harvard |
| Metro Atlantic | Monmouth |
| Mid-American | Ohio |
| MEAC | Bethune-Cookman |
| Missouri Valley | Drake |
| Mountain West | Boise State |
| Northeast | Saint Francis (PA) |
| Ohio Valley | Jacksonville State |
| Patriot | Boston University |
| Pac-12 | Oregon |
| SEC | Florida |
| Southern | UNC-Greensboro |
| Southland | McNeese |
| Sun Belt | Texas State |
| Summit | North Dakota State |
| SWAC | Prairie View |
| West Coast | BYU |
| Western Athletic | New Mexico State |
At-Large Qualifiers
| School | Conference |
|---|---|
| Alabama | SEC |
| Arizona | Pac-12 |
| Arizona State | Pac-12 |
| Arkansas | SEC |
| Auburn | SEC |
| Baylor | Big 12 |
| California | Pac-12 |
| Georgia | SEC |
| Houston | American Athletic |
| James Madison | Colonial |
| Kentucky | SEC |
| Louisiana | Sun Belt |
| LSU | SEC |
| Long Beach State | Big West |
| Michigan | Big Ten |
| Mississippi State | SEC |
| Missouri | SEC |
| Northwestern | Big Ten |
| Notre Dame | ACC |
| Ohio State | Big Ten |
| Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| Ole Miss | SEC |
| Oregon State | Pac-12 |
| South Carolina | SEC |
| South Florida | American Athletic |
| Tennessee | SEC |
| Texas | Big 12 |
| Texas A&M | SEC |
| UCLA | Pac-12 |
| Washington | Pac-12 |
| Wichita State | American Athletic |
| Wisconsin | Big Ten |
Dates/Sites/Pairings:
*Indicates Host Institution
Eugene Regional – May 17-19 at Eugene, Oregon
No. 1 seed Oregon* (47-7) vs. Albany (NY) (32-14)
BYU (35-20) vs. Drake (43-10)
Lexington Regional – May 18-20 at Lexington, Kentucky
Michigan (43-11) vs. Notre Dame (32-21)
Ill.-Chicago (33-19) vs. No. 16 seed Kentucky* (31-19)
Columbia Regional – May 18-20 at Columbia, South Carolina
No. 9 seed South Carolina* (45-14) vs. UNCG (46-11)
Liberty (47-12) vs. Hofstra (40-12)
Tempe Regional – May 18-20 at Tempe, Arizona
Long Beach St. (42-12) vs. Ole Miss (30-23)
New Mexico St. (29-22) vs. No. 8 seed Arizona St.* (43-11)
Seattle Regional – May 18-20 at Seattle, Washington
No. 5 seed Washington* (44-8) vs. Boise St. (40-14)
Texas (32-24) vs. Minnesota (39-15)
Tuscaloosa Regional – May 18-20 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Oregon St. (28-26) vs. Wisconsin (28-21)
Middle Tenn. (39-20) vs. No. 12 seed Alabama* (33-18)
Fayetteville Regional – May 18-20 at Fayetteville, Arkansas
No. 13 seed Arkansas* (39-15) vs. DePaul (35-15)
Wichita St. (30-21) vs. Oklahoma St. (38-20)
Norman Regional – May 18-20 at Norman, Oklahoma
Missouri (28-27) vs. Tulsa (33-23)
Boston U. (39-18) vs. No. 4 seed Oklahoma* (50-3)
Los Angeles Regional – May 18-20 at Los Angeles, California
No. 3 seed UCLA* (50-4) vs. Sacramento St. (31-18)
Cal St. Fullerton (33-23) vs. Texas St. (42-14)
Tucson Regional – May 18-20 at Tucson, Arizona
Mississippi St. (36-21) vs. North Dakota St. (33-17)
St. Francis (PA) (39-17) vs. No. 14 seed Arizona* (40-14)
Baton Rouge Regional – May 18-20 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
No. 11 seed LSU* (41-14) vs. Fordham (33-21)
Houston (36-20) vs. Louisiana (38-14)
Tallahassee Regional – May 18-20 at Tallahassee, Florida
Auburn (40-15) vs. Kennesaw St. (39-15)
Jacksonville St. (33-23) vs. No. 6 seed Florida St.* (47-10)
Athens Regional – May 18-20 at Athens, Georgia
No. 7 seed Georgia* (43-11) vs. Harvard (23-16)
Northwestern (36-17) vs. California (34-19)
Knoxville Regional – May 18-20 at Knoxville, Tennessee
James Madison (42-12) vs. Ohio (38-15)
Monmouth (32-14) vs. No. 10 seed Tennessee* (45-12)
College Station Regional – May 18-20 at College Station, Texas
No. 15 seed Texas A&M* (40-16) vs. Prairie View (20-21)
McNeese (40-19) vs. Baylor (36-16)
Gainesville Regional – May 18-20 at Gainesville, Florida
Ohio St. (34-14) vs. South Fla. (38-21)
Bethune-Cookman (31-24) vs. No. 2 seed Florida* (50-8)
Championship structure: The committee held selections on May 11-13. The 64-team field was selected from 297 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 17-20 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 24-27 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: 2017 Highlights: Oklahoma defeated Florida, 5-4, to win their fourth softball championship title.
For complete championship details log on to www.ncaa.com.