Jim Gazzolo column: NCAA should give SLC softball second look
McNeese State second baseman Reese Reyna reaches to field a ground ball during an NCAA Tournament game against host Northwestern Saturday in the Evanston (Ill.) Regional. (Phillip Mitchell / Special to the American Press)
It is time for the NCAA to take a closer look at what is happening in the Southland Conference regarding softball.
When it comes to the postseason, NCAA committees often find it easy to overlook the SLC.
I get that. You need big wins to establish your league as a contender, and you do that in the postseason.
However, softball has left a mark on the last few tournaments, taking out some big names. That should turn more than a few heads on the selection committee.
Since 2022, the Southland champs have had a winning record in regional play at 9-8. All of those games have been wins against teams from power conferences.
During that time, the Southland entry reached a regional final each year. This season, Southeastern Louisiana did it again, going 2-2 in last weekend's Baton Rouge Regional.
The Lions, who finished second in the SLC and beat McNeese State in a dramatic title game in walk-off fashion in Lake Charles, toppled No. 10 LSU not once but twice on the Tigers' home field.
They lost twice to Nebraska, but it was still an impressive run for a No. 4 regional seed.
It was the second consecutive season SELA has gone 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament. You would think a club that went to a regional final the season before would be more than a four seed the following season, but respect takes time for a conference.
Two seasons before that, it was McNeese that made consecutive runs at a regional title.
In fact, in 2023, the Cowgirls came within a couple of times of becoming the first Southland team to reach a super regional.
After years of playing top teams in the nation both home and away, McNeese had closed the gap as it played No. 7 Washington in Seattle. A late collapse saw the Cowgirls falter at the end, losing 3-2 in the regional.
That season, the Cowgirls won four games against Top 25 opponents, more than proving they were worthy of a spot in the NCAA Tournament if they had not won the Southland's automatic bid.
Just to make the NCAAs, McNeese needed an extra-inning home run by Reese Reyna to beat Southeastern for the SLC title. SELA likely deserved a spot in the big tournament but was overlooked because the league's rating was not high enough.
The year before, McNeese served notice that it was a surging program with two tournament wins over No. 21 Notre Dame, the second knocking the Irish out of the Evanston (Ill.) Regional hosted by Northwestern.
The softball tournament committee might not be looking closely at the Southland, but it should. The league has improved, and teams are much more competitive.
While it is likely the big-name schools will continue to dominate the bids, the Southland is finding itself at least raising eyebrows once it makes the party
It deserves a second invitation, some years, to be taken seriously.
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Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@yahoo.com
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