The 2022 NCAA softball bracket has been unveiled, and the 64 teams are set to compete. Regional competition begins this Friday, May 20. Here's at least one thing to know about every team in the championship field.
We will go by region, starting with the top left side of the bracket where the Norman Regional will hosted by the No. 1 seed, Oklahoma.
FOLLOW ALONG: The bracket, schedule and more for the DI softball tournament
No. 1 Oklahoma: Limiting this to just one, or even a few facts about the Oklahoma Sooners feels pretty impossible. The Sooners have one of the most prolific offenses in the history of softball and one of the best pitching staffs in the nation this season led by freshman Jordy Bahl. The pitching staff sports a gaudy .75 ERA, which leads the NCAA by a landslide, and they lead in most offensive categories as well. Jocelyn Alo, the NCAA softball home run leader, leads a star-studded offensive lineup that has smashed 125 home runs this season. This team is 49-2 on the year with 35 run-rule victories. (Yes, you read that number correctly).
Prairie View A&M: The Panthers (20-28) pulled off an incredible comeback after starting the 2022 Southwestern Athletic season with an 0-19 record, and then finishing as the SWAC Champions. Biviana Figueroa leads this offense as just a sophomore with a .457 average that is the third best in the NCAA.
Texas A&M: The Aggies won the series over then-No. 2 Alabama this season, including a 9-1 run-rule win. It marked the first time in program history that Texas A&M won a series against Alabama, and on top of that, it was in front of a record-breaking crowd at their home stadium. The Aggies make their 20th-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament and head to the Norman regional for the second consecutive season. Haley Lee leads the 29-26 Aggies with a .410 batting average.
Minnesota: The Gophers pulled off two run-rule victories over Northwestern, the No. 9 seed in the tournament, to clinch the series this season. Natalie DenHartog has smashed 18 homers for the Gophers this season.
Orlando Regional
FOR THE FIRST TIME‼️
— UCF Softball (@UCF_Softball) May 15, 2022
📍 Orlando, Fla. pic.twitter.com/rtHYwc9FiC
No. 16 seed UCF: The UCF Golden Knights will host their first-ever NCAA regional and will look to advance out of the regional for the first time in program history. The Knights earned a top-16 seed after playing a tough schedule this season, and will now get to play at home, where they had a 26-5 record. UCF won the series against Wichita State this season, took a game from Virginia Tech, beat Nebraska, Texas and Georgia.
Villanova: The Wildcats won three straight games without allowing a SINGLE run in the Big East conference tournament to repeat as champions, after winning their first conference title just last season. Paige Rauch, their graduate pitcher, won Most Outstanding Player for the second year in a row as well. Rauch has 166 strikeouts.
Michigan: The Wolverines entered the season with high expectations in the Big Ten with two incredible pitchers in Alex Storako and Meghan Beaubien. Storako ranks in the top 10 in the NCAA in strikeouts with 284 Ks on the year. She also boasts a 1.69 ERA, so this team's strongest asset is in the circle. They ended up finishing fourth in the Big Ten standings behind Northwestern, Nebraska and Illinois, but this is still a strong tournament team heading into Regionals.
South Dakota St.: The Jackrabbits secured not one but two wins over Nebraska in the regular season. They won an automatic berth to the tournament with a 5-0 win in the Summit League championship. Rozelyn Carrillo leads the team with a .405 average and 11 homers on the year and three players in the lineup have upwards of 10 homers on the year. Cylie Halvorson leads with 15 bombs.
Evanston Regional
No. 9 seed Northwestern: The Wildcats had a terrific season in 2022, winning the Big Ten regular season championship. They are led in the circle by one of the best pitchers in the country, Danielle Williams. She has a 1.53 ERA with 287 strikeouts which ranks in the top 10 in the NCAA. Rachel Lewis has 20 homers on the season and won Big Ten Player of the Year this season. Williams also took home Big Ten Pitcher and head coach Kate Drohan won Big Ten Coach of the Year.This marks the fifth time Northwestern will host an NCAA Regional, but its No. 9 seeding is the highest since 2007.
Oakland: Oakland University won the Horizon League conference tournament for the first time since 2015 with a 5-4 comeback win off three runs in the bottom of the sixth to clinch an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
The moment @OaklandSoftball secured the 🏆 and punched its ticket to the @NCAASoftball Championship! pic.twitter.com/hmyIF9apci
— Horizon League (@HorizonLeague) May 14, 2022
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish finished the season with just 10 losses following its opening-round loss to Clemson in the ACC tournament. Katrina Gaskins leads the Irish with a . 434 average with 13 homers to go along with it and an .822 slugging percentage. That batting average ranks in the top 20 nationally.
McNeese: The Cowgirls are making their eighth NCAA tournament appearance and it will be the second meeting against the Fighting Irish. The first matchup came in 2003. McNeese defended its Southland conference title for an automatic berth in the tournament, and this trip to the regionals is the fourth under sixth-year head coach James Landreneau.
Tempe Regional
No. 8 seed Arizona State: The Sun Devils finished the season 39-9 and won the Pac-12 tournament with series wins over UCLA and Washington to put the cherry on top of a fantastic season. They hit three bombs off of Washington's Gabbie Plan, included Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Cydney Sanders' 19th and 20th homers of the season. Sanders has been phenomenal all season long for the Sun Devils, leading them at the plate with a .417 average. ASU went on a 20-game winning streak this season, and during that time Sanders smashed nine home runs. This was the first Pac-12 Championship for the program since 2011.
Cal State Fullerton: Cal State Fullerton is back in the postseason for the first time in the last three seasons, making its 30th overall appearance. This is the second time Fullerton has played a regional in Tempe. In 2009, the Titans traveled to Tempe and, coincidentally, the other teams in the regional that year were also ASU, San Diego State, and LSU. The Titans lost the first game to LSU 3-2, won the game against SDSU 8-2, before falling to ASU 7-0. The Titans played San Diego State earlier this season at the Mary Nutter Classic where they defeated them 7-3.
LSU: The LSU Tigers are one of 12 SEC teams to make the tournament this season, and will make for a tough regional for the eighth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils. Despite 20 losses on the season, the Tigers have some big-time wins with a series win over Alabama and Georgia, a six-inning win over Oklahoma State, and more. Taylor Pleasants, Georgia Clark and Shelbi Sunseri are three powerful sluggers on the roster with double-digit home runs.
San Diego State: San Diego State is back in the NCAA softball tournament for the first time since 2015 for its 12th overall appearance. The Aztecs won the Mountain West regular-season title with a 20-4 record. Mac Barbara is not just a name to know on San Diego State, but she is a name to know in the entire sport of softball. Barbara burst on to the scene this year in her freshman season and has been named a finalist for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award. She was already named the Mountain West Player of the Year, and is batting .395 on the season with 15 home runs, 56 RBIs, 29 runs, 14 doubles, 33 walks and six stolen bases for a .783 slugging percentage. She and the Aztecs are just another reason why this is such a tough regional in Tempe.
Los Angeles Regional
No. 5 seed UCLA: The Bruins will make their tournament-record 37th appearance and they have now hosted seven consecutive regionals dating back to 2014. They finished the season with a 43-8 overall record and 19-5 record in Pac-12 play, finishing second in the Pac-12 regular-season standings. The Bruins have an experienced roster, with all but one freshman, Savannah Pola, having played in the WCWS last season. A lot of them even won the 2019 national title following Kinsley Washington's walk-off hit to seal the deal. Briana Perez, one of the 2019 national champions, was named 2022 Pac-12 Softball Defensive Player of the Year. Offensively, she became just the fourth Bruin to join the 300 hits club and is also UCLA's career runs scored leader and sports a .397 average with 10 homers. In the circle the Bruins are led by Megan Faraimo, who missed out on the WCWS last season due to injury. She has 252 strikeouts with a 1.75 ERA.
Grand Canyon: Grand Canyon is headed to the NCAA postseason for the first time in history. GCU has won 22 of its last 28 games and ranks seventh nationally with .333 team batting average. GCU won the WAC championship under first-year Lopes head coach Shanon Hays.
🏆 𝐋𝐄𝐓’𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄!!! 🏆
— GCU Softball (@GCU_Softball) May 14, 2022
For the first time in program history, the Lopes are WAC Tournament Champions and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament! pic.twitter.com/l4QIqO5SAu
Ole Miss: Ole Miss is in the tournament for the sixth consecutive season this year and is in the midst of one of their best seasons in program history as they chase 40 wins for only the fourth time ever as a program. The Rebels pulled off a series sweep over Missouri this season, and won two out of three against Tennessee and Georgia.
Loyola Marymount University: (36-15) LMU will play in the NCAA tournament for the third time in program history. Andrea Gonzalez was just named WCC Co-Player of the Week after leading LMU to the conference title with a great performance. She posted a 1.143 slugging percentage after hitting 4-for-7 with a home run and a double in the series.
Durham Regional
No. 12 seed Duke: Duke received the No. 12 seed in the tournament to host a regional after earning a national seed last year, but playing in Athens at UGA for the regional and not advancing to the super regionals. This year they will host the regional in Durham, and the Bulldogs will travel to them instead. The Blue Devils have had a fantastic season in the ACC with a 41-8 overall record. Peyton St. George is an important name to know in the circle. She anchors their pitching staff with a 2.02 ERA and 171 strikeouts.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County: If there is one thing to know about UMBC, it's Courtney Coopersmith. Coopersmith ranks second in the NCAA with a 0.26 ERA. Kya Matter is in the top 10 as well with a .98 ERA. The two pitchers split time and have 107 innings pitched a piece this season.
Georgia: The Bulldogs hosted last year's regional instead of Duke, and ended up advancing to the WCWS as an unseeded team. This will be Tony Baldwin's first NCAA tournament as head coach of the Bulldogs and his ninth with the program. The Dawgs are led offensively by Sara Mosely who has a .430 average and 17 home runs this season. This Georgia team has a lot of power at the plate to watch out for ... SIX players have double-digit homers heading into the postseason.
Liberty: Liberty will head to Duke for the NCAA Regional, which is fitting since the Blue Devils were Liberty's best win of the season. The Flames beat the Blue Devils 8-3 on April 20, and Mary Claire Wilson went three-for-three in the win.
Seattle Regional
No. 13 seed Washington: Pac-12 Player of the Year Baylee Klingler leads the Huskies. She has had a monster season for the Huskies, hitting .433 with 22 home runs, 65 RBI and a .955 slugging percentage. On top of that, Gabbie Plain's in the circle and has been one of the best pitchers in the NCAA for the past few years. Plain sports a 2.02 ERA but has been on fire late in the season.
Lehigh: The Mountain Hawks just won their 15th Patriot League conference title to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. They will be looking to defeat a Pac-12 team for the first time in 12 tries. A player to watch out for in the regionals is Gabriella Nori who was named tournament MVP after allowing one run over 13 innings against Boston University and a five-hit shutout in the first game.
Texas: The Texas Longhorns were right on the verge of a seeding to host a regional this season. The first thing to know about the Longhorns is that they were the first, (and just one of two) to beat the Oklahoma Sooners this season. The Sooners were undefeated and in the midst of a historical start when the Longhorns defeated them on April 16. This shows just what they are capable of when it all comes together. Hailey Dolcini is the name to know in the circle. She has been so clutch this season and in the win over OU, she limited the Sooners to just two hits, marking the fewest hits for the nation's No. 1-ranked offense this season.
Weber State: The Wildcats won the Big Sky Conference tournament without allowing a single run to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament. They are the third seed in the regional, marking the first time a team in the Big Sky Conference has been ranked that high. On top of that, they had a record-setting conference tournament. The Wildcats won 8-0 in the championship game and won the Big Sky with a cumulative score of 27-0 in just 15 innings of play. They were 16-1 against Big Sky Conference opponents this season, and they tied the school record for most wins in WSU history (38). The Wildcats also set a conference record for best overall and conference winning percentage for a whole season.
Fayetteville Regional
No. 4 seed Arkansas: Surprisingly enough, when you think about just how good Arkansas is, its No. 4 seed is the highest in school history. The Razorbacks have been on the rise for the past few seasons, and have made their mark as one of the best softball programs in the SEC. The Razorbacks backed up their regular-season crown with the program’s first-ever SEC tournament title on Saturday afternoon with a 4-0 win over Missouri at KSP Stadium. There are a lot of players to know when watching the Razorbacks, too. Chenise Delce is their ace, who also won SEC Pitcher of the Year. KB Sides took home SEC Player of the Year after hitting . 453 this season with 10 bombs. Danielle Gibson and Linnie Malkin are two more names to know — 10 homers apiece — and then you can't forget they have the SEC Coach of the Year Courtney Diefel too.
Princeton: The Ive league champions have won three of the last five awarded conference titles and will play in their 11th NCAA tournament. Ivy League Pitcher of the Year Alexis Laudenslager leads the Tigers pitching staff with a 1.93 ERA.
Alexis Laudenslager throws a no-hitter! She strikes out 10 batters as Princeton blanks Brown in the first of two games today! pic.twitter.com/zOLwEmEHD5
— Princeton Softball (@PUSoftball) March 20, 2022
Oregon: The Ducks went 31-17 overall and finished fifth in the Pac-12 at 10-14. One important thing to note though is that the Ducks played the second-toughest schedule in the nation, according to the latest NCAA RPI report. Terra McGowan was named to the Pac-12 first team and has a .400 average currently heading into the postseason.
Wichita State: The biggest thing to note about the Wichita State Shockers is their strong offense. Sydney McKinney leads the entire NCAA in batting average, hitting .511 at the plate this season. She also pairs that with 13 home run. Then, there is Addison Barnard, who also leads the entire NCAA in homers with 32 bombs on the season. And on top of that, she is hitting .409 — which is a really impressive average if not compared to her teammate's NCAA best average. Lauren Lucas is also hitting above .400 with double-digit homers. This is a potent offensive team that you should watch out for in the tournament.
Blacksburg Regional
👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/GfalN8qj2R
— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) May 16, 2022
No. 3 seed Virginia Tech: The Virginia Tech Hokies are set to host an NCAA Regional as the No. 3 seed for the first time in program history. The Hokies are in the midst of a phenomenal season led by Keely Rochard in the circle. Rochard has 293 strikeouts, which ranks in the top five in the NCAA, and a 1.73 ERA. This year she got the help of freshman Emma Lemley, who sports a 1.72 ERA. Offensively, Emma Ritter leads the way with a .406 average.
Saint Francis (Pennsylvania): Saint Francis earned an automatic bid with its 9-0 victory over LIU in the Northeast Conference Championship. The win was Saint Francis' fifth straight NEC title, which set a conference record. Mekenzie Saban is hitting over .400 and Rachel Marsden has 13 homers this season.
Kentucky: The Kentucky Wildcats are set to play in the NCAA tournament for the 13th consecutive year. There are at least two big names you should know: Kayla Kowalik and Erin Coffel. Both are having monster seasons at the plate, hitting above .400. Coffel has smashed 17 homers.
Miami (OH): The RedHawks won their third consecutive regular-season Mid-American Conference championship and the MAC tournament to clinch a spot in the tournament. Coincidentally, they have already played two teams in the regional — Virginia Tech and Kentucky. They fell to the Hokies, but pulled off a big-time upset over the Wildcats, 7-5, on March 16. Another thing to know about Miami is Karli Spaid. She is second in the nation with 27 home runs.
Gainesville Regional
No. 14 seed Florida: The Florida Gators have hosted a regional for 17 consecutive tournaments, but this is the first time history that they will do it as the No. 14 seed. Kendra Falby has stood out for the Gators this season as just a freshman. Hannah Adams, one of the leaders on the team, was out for a little while due to injury, but is back in the lineup for the Gators.
Canisius: Canisius has won the past 12 straight games, including the MAAC championship, ahead of the NCAA tournament. The 12-game win streak is the longest in program history since 1999. The Griffs will play in the tournament for the first time since 2009.
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets have advanced to the first NCAA tournament in more than a decade. Georgia Tech was selected as an at-large bid after going 37-16 in the regular season. Sandra Beth Pritchett has been a key component of their lineup, hitting .423 heading into the tournament.
Wisconsin: The Badgers secured some big wins this season, with a series win over Nebraska and an eight-inning win over Clemson. They took down Minnesota before they lost to Northwestern in the Big Ten conference tournament. A name to know on the Badgers is Kayla Konwent. She won 2019 Big Ten Player of the Year leads the offense with a .377 average and 10 home runs.
Knoxville Regional
No. 11 seed Tennessee: The Volunteers are not only in the tournament for the 17th consecutive season, but they are hosting a regional for the 17th consecutive year. Tennessee finished the season with a 39-16 overall record and a 15-8 mark in conference play, which resulted in a third-place finish in the SEC. Even more impressive though, the Vols have the No. 12 RPI from what was a really tough schedule this season. They played FSU, Washington, Clemson, UCLA, UCF and UCLA outside of the SEC.
Campbell: Campbell won the Big South tournament championship, marking back-to-back seasons the program has won both the conference regular season and tournament titles. The Camels won their second NCAA tournament victory with a 7-1 win over Boston last season.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes are 35-15 on the season. They won the series against Nebraska but then fell to the Huskers in the Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes still received an at-large big to the tournament. Sam Hackenbracht and Niki Carver lead this offense. Hackenbracht has a .377 batting average and 15 bombs and Carver was awarded first-team All Big Ten after hitting .350 in 50 games with 10 home runs and 32 RBI.
Oregon State: The Beavers actually took down Tennessee, the host of this regional, at the Mary Nutter Classic earlier in the season. Mariah Mazon led the way in the 5-2 win. She threw the complete game and surrendered just five hits and struck out 11 against the nationally-ranked Vols and OSU had an undefeated weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic. At one point during the season, they were on a 17-game win streak. But the Beavers struggled late in the season against UCLA, Washington and Oregon.
Tuscaloosa Regional
No. 6 seed Alabama: The Crimson Tide are led by Montana Fouts — a name that college softball fans have come to know. Fouts threw a perfect game at the WCWS last season, and leads Bama this year with a 1.93 ERA and 259 Ks. The Tide were consistently highly ranked all season before losing a few key series to drop in the rankings. But, this is very much a dangerous team at the No 6 seed. The Tide have gotten great production out of the freshmen in their lineup this season, especially from Dallis Goodnight and Megan Bloodwirth.
Chattanooga: Chattanooga won a thrilling come-from-behind title game of the Southern Conference Championship to defeat top-seeded UNCG. The win clinched an automatic berth into the tournament. The Mocs came back from a 7-2 deficit with a five-run seventh and then won it in the eighth to claim a 9-7 final. Reagan Armour was three-for-five in the win with five RBI.
Big thanks to @parrottbrooke, @reagan_armour, and @coltharp_emily for popping into the studio yesterday to talk about their amazing run to a SoCon title.@GoMocsSB are now NCAA Tournament bound as they take on Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Region on Friday at 4 p.m. pic.twitter.com/wtb8b7NEU4
— Ben Bobick (@BenBobickLocal3) May 16, 2022
Stanford: The Cardinal are headed to an SEC host for the third season. They finished fourth in the Pac-12, which is its highest finish within the conference since 2013. On top of that, they have won six games against national seeds this season, including five against teams in the top eight.
Murray State: Murray State will compete in its first-ever NCAA tournament. The Racers are in the midst of a historic season all across the board. They won 40 games, marking their most successful season to date. They won both the OVC regular-season and tournament championship this season, the first in program history for each. And they have Hannah James and Kara Amundson, who were named as Pitcher and Coach of the Year. James has racked up 226 strikeouts in the circle this season.
Stillwater Regional
✨ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 ✨@CowgirlSB x #Big12SB pic.twitter.com/ttof6Cxtpw
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) May 14, 2022
No. 7 seed Oklahoma State: The Oklahoma State Cowgirls have something that only one other team in the tournament has ... a win over Oklahoma. After getting swept by the Sooners in the Bedlam series, they took down OU for the Big 12 title. It was the Cowgirls first Big 12 title in program history. Two more thing to know about OSU. They have Kelly Maxwell and Miranda Elish in the circle. Maxwell sports a 1.32 ERA and has struck out over 200 this season. Secondly, this team hits for power. Sydney Pennington, Julia Cottril and Cheyenne Factor have 10 homers apiece.
Fordham: Rachel Hubertus has smashed 17 homers this season for Fordham. But, Bailey Enoch was named the Championship's Most Outstanding Player for leading the offense with a ridiculous .556/.733/.889 slash line with five hits, one home run, five walks, three RBIs, two runs, and a stolen base. She also made two relief appearances in the conference tournament that secured Fordham's spot in the NCAA tournament.
Nebraska: The Huskers won the 2022 Big Ten conference championship with a win over Michigan in eight innings. The win marked the Huskers first Big Ten Tournament title since joining the conference. Billie Andrews has hit 19 balls over the fence this season for the Huskers.
North Texas: The Mean Green received an automatic bid after winning the CUSA Tournament. This marks North Texas' first NCAA Championship appearance in program history. Three players in the lineup have 10 or more home runs and Lexi Cobb leads the charge at the plate, hitting .414 this season.
Clemson Regional
No. 10 seed Clemson: Clemson will host a regional for the first time in program history and have worked their way to being a national power in college softball in just two seasons. The Tigers were the ACC tournament runner-up dropping the title game, 8-6, to the No. 2 national seed Florida State Seminoles. They are one of six ACC teams in the tournament this season. Watch out for Valerie Cagle, she is a two-way player for the Tigers and a good one at that.
UNCW: The Seahawks are also making their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. UNCW won its first conference title for a spot in the regionals behind the arms of freshmen Emily Winstead and Kara Hammock, who recorded every out of UNCW's thrilling tournament run. Winstead was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer after striking out 25 batters in 12.2 innings. The Seahawks are known for their small ball — relying heavily all season long on the short game and stolen bases. They were nine-for-nine in stolen bases in the conference tournament.
Auburn: One thing to know, or player to know, is Bri Ellis. The standout freshman won SEC Freshman of the Year after blasting 18 home runs in the regular season, slugging .757, and knocking in 45 runs all while hitting .300.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette: I asked D1Softball's Tara Henry to pick one surprise team to make it to the WCWS after seeing the bracket and she picked Louisiana. The Ragin Cajuns won their conference title while launching four home runs in a six-run fifth inning that put Texas State away in the 7-1 championship game. This offense has the second best batting average in the nation as a team. On top of that, they are heading into the tournament on a hot streak. They are in the midst of a 13-game winning streak and they have won 22 of the past 23 games since April 8.
Columbia Regional
Dancing.#OwnIt🐯🥎 pic.twitter.com/irdU3Vyf6R
— Mizzou Softball (@MizzouSoftball) May 16, 2022
No. 15 seed Missouri: The Tigers host a regional for the second consecutive year. There were high expectations for the Tigers this season, but they had somewhat of a rocky start before going on a hot streak to close out the season. The Tigers took down Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee in the SEC tournament before falling to Arkansas in the championship.
Missouri State: This is Missouri State's first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2011, which was also the last time the Bears hosted and won the MVC tournament. They finished 27-18 on the season.
Illinois: The Illini finished the regular season with an overall record of 34-20 and finished in third place in the Big Ten Conference standings. They are in Missouri's regional, and will be looking for some redemption after losing two games to the Tigers this season. Sydney Sickels leads in the circle with a 1.93 ERA and 186 strikeouts.
Arizona: This postseason appearance marks Arizona's 35th straight selection. They picked up an at-large bid from the NCAA committee with a 33-20 regular-season record this year under first-year head coach Caitlin Lowe. Sophomore Allie Skaggs is the Pac-12's co-leader in home runs with 22 homers this season. This offense ranks in the top 10 in batting average as a team, as well.
Tallahassee Regional
No. 2 seed Florida State: FSU earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament this year and will look to make it back to the championship series at the Women's College World Series after finishing runner up in 2021. They have a ridiculous record of 52-5 this season, led by Kathryn Sandercock in the circle. This team is notorious for finding a way to win. They get it done on big stages against top-ranked competition. Their offense performs from the top to the bottom of the lineup, and they pull some power from Kalei Harding and Michaela Edinfield. They have been consistent all season long and are a heavy favorite for the WCWS this year.
Howard: Howard took down reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champion top seeded Morgan State in a winner-take-all bout to capture the league title for the second time in program history and clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament. Analise De La Roca showed out in the tournament, tossing a full-game shutout to bring her team to the title game and then securing the championship in the circle. The Bisons are led offensively by Alyssa Vasquez.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs earned their 17th NCAA tournament bid this season. Mia Davidson is a big name to know for Mississippi State. She is the SEC career home run leader and leads this team offensively with a .390 average and 21 bombs this season.
South Florida: When it comes to South Florida, there is one thing to know. Georgina Corrick. That name will go down in not only USF but NCAA softball history books as one of the most dominant pitchers. She leads the NCAA with 407 strikeouts. That is 50 MORE than the next pitcher. To put it into perspective, Keely Rochard is fourth in strikeouts with 293, and we thought that was high. The four-time AAC Pitcher of the Year tossed two perfect games and no-hitter this season.
