Fresno State earned a spot in its 24th NCAA Softball Championship as the WAC's regular season champion. The Bulldogs are the only team to have reached all 24 championships. Fresno State will host the four team regional. The Bulldogs will face Long Beach State in their first game. No. 2 California, Long Beach State and BYU will travel to Fresno, May 19-21 looking to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals. This is the first year that the softball tournament will mirror the baseball championship.
Hosting Region 2, Fresno State (41-10) is the second seed in its region and will kick the tournament off against No. 3 seed Long Beach State (39-14) at 6:00 p.m. on Thur., May 19.As the No. 2 seed overall in the championship field, California (46-11) comes in as the top seed in Region 2. The Golden Bears will square off against No. 4 seed BYU (44-12) that evening at 8:30 p.m.
Fresno State is serving as host to a NCAA Regional for the 19th time in 24 years. In its last two hosts, the eventual NCAA Champion came out of Fresno in California (2002) and UCLA (2003).
Team pairings were determined by geographical proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during regional competition, when possible.
The Pacific 10 and Big 12 led all conferences with eight teams in the championship, while the Southeastern Conference placed six teams. Fresno State remains the only team to be selected to all 24 championships. Eight teams are making their initial appearances in the tournament: Albany (New York), Central Florida, College of Charleston, Loyola Marymount, Miami (Ohio), Robert Morris, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Only seven schools have been crowned champion, all of which are in this years bracket, including two-time defending champion UCLA.
DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS:
* Indicates host institution
Regional No. 1 - May 20-22 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
*No. 1 Michigan (55-4) vs. Canisius (22-17)
North Carolina (36-27) vs. Seton Hall (33-13)
Regional No. 2 - May 19-21 at Fresno, California
*Fresno State (41-10) vs. Long Beach State (39-14)
Brigham Young (44-12) vs. No. 2 California (46-11)
Regional No. 3 - May 20-22 at Tucson, Arizona
*No. 3 Arizona (39-10) vs. Lehigh (41-8)
Princeton (35-18) vs. Oklahoma State (33-22)
Regional No. 4 - May 20-22 at Austin, Texas
Mississippi State (33-29) vs. Texas A & M-Corpus Christi (41-9)
Massachusetts (37-14-1) vs. *No. 4 Texas (42-11)
Regional No. 5 - May 20-22 at College Station, Texas
*No. 5 Texas A & M (44-8) vs. McNeese State (33-33)
Centenary (Louisiana) (31-26) vs. Penn State (34-21)
Regional No. 6 - May 20-22 at Columbia, Missouri
*Missouri (42-13) vs. Southern Illinois (46-12)
Robert Morris (29-20-1) vs. No. 6 Stanford (40-14)
Regional No. 7 - May 20-22 at Los Angeles
*No. 7 UCLA (30-16) vs. Loyola Marymount (34-18)
Cal State Fullerton (28-19) vs. UNLV (43-17)
Regional No. 8 - May 20-22 at Madison, Wisconsin
DePaul (39-18) vs. *Wisconsin (31-22)
Wisconsin-Green Bay (26-16) vs. No. 8 Oregon State (40-14)
Regional No. 9 - May 20-22 at South Bend, Indiana
No. 9 Northwestern (38-15) vs. Albany (New York) (35-12)
Louisville (42-18) vs. *Notre Dame (44-13)
Regional No. 10 - May 20-22 at Athens, Georgia
Kansas (30-22) vs. Virginia Tech (43-23)
Tennessee Tech (35-26) vs. *No. 10 Georgia (51-13)
Regional No. 11 - May 20-22 at Knoxville, Tennessee
*No. 11 Tennessee (59-13) vs. Miami (Ohio) (33-24)
College of Charleston (51-16) vs. Georgia Tech (49-12)
Regional No. 12 - May 20-22 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Arizona State (29-24) vs. Hofstra (40-8-1)
Mississippi Valley (34-29) vs. *No. 12 Alabama (57-13)
Regional No. 13 - May 20-22 at Gainesville, Florida
*No. 13 Florida (41-21) vs. Bethune-Cookman (47-17)
South Florida (40-25) vs. Central Florida (41-26-1)
Regional No. 14 - May 20-22 at Norman, Oklahoma
Oregon (34-23) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (50-8)
Wichita State (45-15) vs. *No. 14 Oklahoma (47-15)
Regional No. 15 - May 20-22 at Auburn, Alabama
No. 15 Baylor (47-12) vs. Florida A & M (37-31)
Florida State (33-26) vs. *Auburn (49-16)
Regional No 16 - May 20-22 at Lincoln, Nebraska
Iowa (48-12) vs. *Nebraska (35-21)
Creighton (44-11) vs. No. 16 Washington (31-20)
NCAA Softball Tournament Bracket