The NCAA DII softball championship is heading to Denver, Colorado. Eight teams fought through regionals and Super Regionals and are heading to the Regency Athletic Complex in Denver, Colorado to play for the DII softball national championship. Here's your first look at the 2019 NCAA Division II softball championship bracket. You can print your three brackets here for:
TRACKER: We tracked every game of the regionals and Super Regionals. Here are the results.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2019 DII softball championship.
2019 important dates
| Event | Date | Time (ET) | How to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| First regional rankings | April 17 | TBD | View on NCAA.com |
| Selection show | May 6 | 10 a.m. | Stream live on NCAA.com |
| Regional play | May 9-11 | TBD | Stream live on NCAA.com |
| Super Regional play | May 16-17 | TBD | Stream live on NCAA.com |
| Finals | May 23-27 | TBD | Stream live on NCAA.com |
How the selection process works
The 2019 DII softball tournament will head back to Denver for the first time since 2016, but we'll get to that in just a bit. First, we need to know how the 64 teams get selected into the tournament.
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Beginning on Wednesday, April 17, the DII softball selection committee will begin releasing its first of three weekly regional rankings. These will reveal the top teams in each of the eight regions. While this gives you some insight on to who the final 64 teams may be, nothing is decided until the conference tournaments are completed before the selection show on Monday, May 6.
Of the 64 teams, the 24 conference tournament champions will receive an automatic bid to the tournament. That leaves the selection committee the unenviable task of picking the remaining 40 teams to fill out the bracket. How do they make these selections? They take a look at a wide array of aspects, including, but not limited to:
- Availability of student-athletes
- DII winning percentage
- DII strength of schedule
- DII head-to-head competition
- Results versus common and ranked DII opponents
- In-Region RPI
Come selection Monday, the field is set. And that's when the fun begins.
How the tournament works
The 2019 DII softball championship operates like the Division I tournament and Women's College World Series beginning with Regional play, then moving onto Super Regional play, and then concluding with eight teams in the finals. Once the 64 teams are selected, four teams will participate in 16 different regional sites, with the top seed earning host privileges. You can click here for a look at what that bracket will look like.
Here's the exciting part. Once the 16 teams advance, they will move on to the Super Regionals. You can get a first look at what that bracket will look like by clicking here. There will be eight Super Regional series, pitting two teams against each other in a best-of-three battle at one host site.
The eight winners will head to The Regency Athletic Complex at MSU Denver for the DII softball championship finals. The eight teams that advance will earn a seed and begin a double elimination tournament in which the final two teams standing will play a best-of-three series to determine the 2019 national champion.
History
Southern Indiana is your defending national champions. The Screaming Eagles entered the 2018 DII softball championship finals as the eight seed, and behind one of the best pitching performances in recent history, Jennifer Leonhardt and company captured the program's first title.
ALL-TIME WINNERS: Here's a list of the DII programs with the most titles
The 2019 DII softball championship returns to Denver for the second time in the past four seasons. The first — and previously only — time was in the 2016 DII Spring Festival where North Alabama defeated Humboldt State for the championship. Here's a look at how every national championship series has ended.
| YEAR | CHAMPION (RECORD) | COACH | SCORE | RUNNER-UP | SITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | *Southern Indiana (40-23) | Sue Kunkle | 8-3 | Saint Anselm | Salem, Va. |
| 2017 | *Minnesota State (64-7) | Lori Meyer | 5-1 | Angelo State | Salem, Va. |
| 2016 | North Alabama (60-7) | Ashley Cozart | 4-1 | Humboldt State | Denver |
| 2015 | North Georgia (54-8) | Mike Davenport | 5-0 | Dixie State | Oklahoma City |
| 2014 | *West Texas A&M (60-7) | Kevin Blaskowski | 3-2 | Valdosta State | Salem, Va. |
| 2013 | *Central Oklahoma (51-11) | Genny Stidham | 5-2 | Kutztown | Salem, Va. |
| 2012 | Valdosta State (58-5) | Thomas Macera | 4-1 | UC San Diego | Louisville, Ky. |
| 2011 | UC San Diego | Patti Gerckens | 10-3 | Alabama-Huntsville | Salem, Va. |
| 2010 | *Hawaii Pacific (50-8) | Bryan Nakasone | 4-3 | Valdosta State | Saint Joesph, Mo. |
| 2009 | Lock Haven (51-6) | Kelly Green | 8-0 | Alabama-Huntsville | Salem, Va. |
| 2008 | *Humboldt State (57-18) | Frank Cheek | 1-0 | Emporia State | Houston |
| 2007 | *SIU Edwardsville (49-8) | Sandy Montgomery | 3-2 | Lock Haven | Akron, Ohio |
| 2006 | *Lock Haven (56-4) | Kelly Green | 3-0 | Emporia State | Salem, Va. |
| 2005 | * **Lynn (54-7) | Thomas Macera | 5-3 | Kennesaw State | Salem, Va. |
| 2004 | Angelo State (47-11 | Travis Scott | 7-3 | Florida Southern | Altamonte Springs, Fla. |
| 2003 | *UC Davis (53-15) | Kathy DeYoung | 7-0 | Georgia College | Salem, Ore. |
| 2002 | St. Mary's (Texas) (58-11) | Donna Fields | 4-0 | Grand Valley State | Salem, Va. |
| 2001 | Nebraska-Omaha (54-6) | Jeanne Tostenson | 4-0 | Lewis | Salem, Va. |
| 2000 | North Dakota State (68-10) | Mitch Hanson | 3-1 | Kennesaw State | Columbus, Ga. |
| 1999 | Humboldt State (55-7-1) | Frank Cheek | 7-2 | Nebraska-Kearney | Salem, Va. |
| 1998 | California (Pa.) (49-7) | Rick Bertagnolli | 2-1 | Barry | Pensacola, Fla. |
| 1997 | *California (Pa.) (53-5) | Rick Bertagnolli | 2-1 | Wisconsin-Parkside | Salem, Va. |
| 1996 | Kennesaw State (49-8) | Scott Whitlock | 6-4 | Nebraska-Omaha | Emporia, Kan. |
| 1995 | Kennesaw State (53-5) | Scott Whitlock | 3-2 | Bloomsburg | Salem, Va. |
| 1994 | Merrimack (45-4) | Michele Myslinski | 6-2 | Humboldt State | Shawnee, Kan. |
| 1993 | Florida Southern (45-11) | Chris Bellotto | 11-5 | Augustana (S.D.) | Shawnee, Kan. |
| 1992 | Missouri Southern State (50-7) | Pat Lipira | 1-0 | Cal State East Bay | Shawnee, Kan. |
| 1991 | *Augustana (SD) (61-4-1) | Sandy Jerstad | 3-2 | Bloomsburg | Midland, Mich. |
| 1990 | Cal State Bakersfield (44-11) | Kathy Welter | 6-2 | Cal State Northridge | Midland, Mich. |
| 1989 | Cal State Bakersfield (38-23) | Kathy Welter | 8-5 | Sacramento State | Sacramento, Calif. |
| 1988 | Cal State Bakersfield (54-9-1) | Kathy Welter | 4-3 | Lock Haven | Sacramento, Calif. |
| 1987 | Cal State Northridge (58-7) | Gary Torgeson | 4-0 | Florida Southern | Quincy, Ill. |
| 1986 | *Stephen F. Austin (38-15-1) | Dianne Baker | 1-0 | Cal State Northridge | Akron, Ohio |
| 1985 | *Cal State Northridge (62-19) | Gary Torgeson | 2-1 | Akron | Northridge, Calif. |
| 1984 | *Cal State Northridge (51-12-2) | Gary Torgeson | 1-0 | Akron | Sioux Falls, S.D. |
| 1983 | *Cal State Northridge (35-20-2) | Gary Torgeson | 1-0 | Sam Houston State | Orange, Calif. |
| 1982 | Sam Houston State (40-6) | Wayne Daigle | 3-2 | Cal State Northridge | Stratford, Conn. |
*Indicates undefeated teams in finals series
** Lynn’s participation in the 2005 tournament vacated by NCAA Committee on Infractions.
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