Crimson Tide softball keeps streak of NCAA berths alive; SEC sends 14 teams to tourney
Alabama will continue its string of consecutive berths in the NCAA national tournament, earning the 15th seed in this year’s bracket. The Crimson Tide has made all of the tournaments in its current form since 1999. (Courtesy Unv Alabama Athletics)
By GRAHAM DUNN
Alabama will continue its run as a host of a regional tournament later this week.
The Crimson Tide earned the No. 15 overall seed and will host Virginia Tech, Belmont and Jackson State beginning Friday at Rhodes Stadium in the NCAA Division I Softball championship.
This continues a streak of 26 consecutive tournaments, which is still an NCAA record. Bama has been in every tournament since its inception in 1999. The Tide has been a host in 21 of those tournaments.
Alabama is one of 14 SEC teams to earn a bid in the tournament (only 15 of the 16 schools have a softball team). With the addition of Texas and Oklahoma in the league this season, the SEC reset the NCAA record for most teams from a single conference participating in the championship. The Conference previously set the record back in 2017 with 13 teams and tied that mark three more times in 2018, 2019 and 2024.
The SEC also tied its own record from 2018 with nine national seeds for this year’s tournament, including seven of the top eight. Texas A&M (46-10) earned the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history, and Oklahoma (45-7), the four-time defending national champion, secured the No. 2 seed.
Florida (43-14) received the No. 3 seed, while Arkansas (40-12) garnered the No. 4 seed. The No. 6 seed was awarded to Texas (46-10), and the No. 7 was given to Tennessee (40-14). South Carolina (40-15) was tabbed the No. 8 seed, and LSU (41-14) captured the No. 10 seed.
Regionals will be held May 16-18 with each site hosting a four-team, double-elimination tournament. The 16 winning teams advance to the super regionals, which will be held May 22-25 on eight campus sites.
At each site, two teams play in a best-of-three tournament format. The winners from each super regional advance to the NCAA Women’s College World Series from May 29-June 5/6 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Alabama will open against Jackson State on Friday at 5 p.m. following Belmont and Virginia Tech, set to begin at 2:30 p.m. CDT. Auburn will open against South Florida in Tallahassee, Fla.
Georgia (31-20) will be a part the Durham Regional. Kentucky (29-26) earned a spot at the Clemson Regional, while Ole Miss (37-17) is slated to compete at the Tucson Regional. Mississippi State (37-17) will participate at the Lubbock Regional.