The NCAA softball 64-team tournament bracket is set

May 15, 2023
With conference tourney crowns awarded and the NCAA bracket booked, 64 Division I teams now know their path to June’s Women’s College World Series.
CollegeSoftball
The NCAA softball 64-team tournament bracket is set
SOURCE: UTAH_SOFTBALL/TWITTER

The GIST: With conference tourney crowns awarded and the NCAA bracket booked, 64 Division I teams now know their path to June’s Women’s College World Series. Rubber, meet the road to Oklahoma City.

The automatic qualifiers: Thirty-two squads punched their tickets by hoisting conference trophies this weekend. Unsurprisingly, three-peat hopefuls Oklahoma earned the No. 1 overall seed and regional hosting rights, along with the 15 other seeded teams.

The at-large selectees: The selection committee raised a few eyebrows during last night’s bracket drop, particularly regarding seeding. For instance, No. 13 Alabama was awarded the No. 5 seed despite dropping four of their last eight regular-season games and being ousted in the SEC semis. Meanwhile, No. 7 Texas and No. 10 Clemson are less than impressed with their respective 13th and 16th seeds.

What’s next: Friday opens up a veritable softball tsunami, with a possible 112 weekend games. Hosted by the 16 seeded squads, each three-day regional pits four teams against one another in double-elimination action. Only four more sleeps…