2025 NCAA Softball Tournament bracket, field, schedule revealed
NCAA softball has exploded in popularity over the last few years. So much so that the television ratings have surpassed those of the College Baseball World Series in recent seasons. The game is faster than its male counterpart and folks are taking notice.
To that end, the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament field was announced on Sunday, so we got our first look at the 64 teams that made the bracket and the top 16 teams that will host regional play beginning this weekend. Of course, we are interested in Ohio State's fate and path -- which just so happens to be a very difficult one -- but we're here to bring you the entire bracket and schedule that will all kick off this weekend in places like Knoxville, Tallahassee, Gainesville, and College Station.
2025 NCAA Softball Tournament Bracket
College Station, Texas Regional(1) Texas A&M (45-9) vs. Saint Francis (26-24)Marist (47-7-1) vs. Liberty (47-12)Eugene, Oregon Regional(16) Oregon (47-7) vs. Weber State (28-30)Binghamton (36-12) vs. Stanford (40-11)College Station Regional winner will play Eugene Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Advertisement
Columbia, South Carolina Regional(8) South Carolina (40-15) vs. Elon (33-19)North Florida (45-13) vs. Virginia (37-17)
Los Angeles Regional(9) UCLA (49-10) vs. UC Santa Barbara (34-24)San Diego State (37-17) vs. Arizona State (35-19)Columbia Regional winner will play Los Angeles Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Fayetteville, Arkansas Regional(4) Arkansas (40-12) vs. Saint Louis (34-22)Indiana (33-18) vs. Oklahoma State (33-18)
Tucson, Arizona Regional(13) Arizona (45-11) vs. Santa Clara (32-20)Grand Canyon (46-6) vs. Ole Miss (37-17)Fayetteville Regional winner will play Tucson Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Advertisement
Tallahassee, Florida Regional(5) Florida State (46-9) vs. Robert Morris (30-16)Auburn (32-22) vs. South Florida (43-14-1)
Lubbock, Texas Regional(12) Texas Tech (45-12) vs. Brown (33-15)Washington (34-17) vs. Mississippi State (37-17)Tallahassee Regional winner will play Lubbock Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Gainesville, Florida Regional(3) Florida (43-14) vs. Mercer (38-24)Georgia Tech (27-22) vs. Florida Atlantic (44-10)
Durham, North Carolina Regional(14) Duke (38-16) vs. Howard (31-18)Coastal Carolina (41-17) vs. Georgia (31-20)Gainesville Regional winner will play Durham Regional winner in the Super RegionalsAustin, Texas Regional(6) Texas (46-10) vs. Eastern Illinois (34-20)Michigan (38-19) vs. UCF (33-22-1)
Advertisement
Clemson, South Carolina Regional(11) Clemson (44-12) vs. USC Upstate (39-14)Northwestern (29-18-1) vs. Kentucky (29-26)Austin Regional winner will play Clemson Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Knoxville, Tennessee Regional(7) Tennessee (40-14) vs. Miami (Ohio) (35-24)North Carolina (40-15) vs. Ohio State (43-12-1)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Regional(10) LSU (41-14) vs. Southeastern Louisiana (48-14)UConn (35-17) vs. Nebraska (39-13)Knoxville Regional winner will play Baton Rouge Regional winner in the Super Regionals
Norman, Oklahoma Regional(2) Oklahoma (45-7) vs. Boston University (38-17)Omaha (39-11) vs. Cal (35-19)Tuscaloosa, Alabama Regional(15) Alabama (37-21) vs. Jackson State (28-23)Belmont (40-14) vs. Virginia Tech (41-11)Norman Regional winner will play Tuscaloosa Regional winner in the Super Regionals
2025 NCAA Softball Tournament format
If you aren't used to how the NCAA Softball Tournament works, it's an interesting format. Each of the top 16 seeds hosts a mini, four-team double-elimination tournament. The winner of each of those then advances to eight different Super Regional, where two of the regional champions participate in a best-of-three series for the right to advance to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. Those eight teams will participate in another double-elimination tournament to crown a champion.
Dates of the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament
2025 NCAA Softball Regionals : Friday, May 16 through Sunday, May 18
2025 NCAA Softball Super Regionals : Thursday, May 22 through Sunday, May 25
2025 Women's College World Series: Thursday, May 29 through Saturday or Sunday, June 5 or 6
Advertisement
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament field, bracket, schedule announced
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
US Open underway with high expectations for Scheffler and a tough test for all
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — The first shot of the 125th U.S. Open on Thursday embodied so much of what this championship is about. Matt Vogt, an Indiana dentist who went through 54 holes of qualifying, sent his tee shot soaring into the rough at Oakmont. Vogt, who once caddied at Oakmont before moving on to root canals, managed to use the severe slope of the first fairway for his ball to tumble onto the green for a par. There are high expectations everywhere at the major known as the toughest test in golf — for Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1; for Bryson DeChambeau, the defending champion; and for everyone to face an Oakmont course reputed to be the toughest in the land. 'Oakmont is relentless,' said John Bodenhamer, the chief championships officer at the USGA who sets up the course. 'There's no let up. It's a grind. That's the U.S. Open.' The USGA is particularly fond of Oakmont, a big reason why the U.S. Open returns to his course for a record 10th time. It has been on the minds of all 156 players — from Scheffler and Masters champion Rory McIlroy to the 15 amateurs, and for the 16 players, like Vogt, who had to make it through 18 holes of local qualifying and then 36 holes. Zac Blair had the first birdie of this championship, holing a putt from nearly 45 feet on the 10th hole after starting his round on the back nine. Alistair Docherty suffered the first of what figures to be plenty of crashes. From just short of the 10th green, it took him two hacks to get it out of the cabbage-like rough, the second chip rolling and rolling some 12 feet by the hole. That's what Oakmont does — thick, gnarly rough and some of the fastest putting surfaces around. The USGA pointed out on the eve of the championship that only 27 of the 1,385 players who have competed in a major championship at Oakmont finished under par. ___ AP golf:
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Panthers can move to the verge of winning the Stanley Cup again if they beat the Oilers in Game 4
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Leading the Stanley Cup Final 2-1, the Florida Panthers can move to the verge of a second consecutive championship if they beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 at home Thursday night. The Panthers were upbeat and relaxed at their final full practice before the potential swing game, with players downplaying the gravity of the situation.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Larry Nassar victims' lead attorney criticizes USA Gymnastics trans athlete policy handling
The Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal became a sudden talking point amid the backlash against Simone Biles for defending trans athletes in women's sports. Some critics, including Biles' target in her social media rant Riley Gaines, pointed to the abuse perpetrated by Nassar while criticizing Biles' stance on trans athletes. Then on Wednesday, a USA Gymnastics spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the organization's transgender eligibility policy and resources pages were deleted from its website in May, to "assess compliance with the current legal landscape." The lead attorney for the U.S. women's gymnasts who were affected by Nassar, John Manly, weighed in on the comparisons between the Nassar abuse and biological male inclusion in women's sports. "Larry Nassar was sexually assaulting children, that's fundamentally different," Manly told Fox News Digital. However, Manly believes that the leadership at USA Gymnastics and its method of deciding to allow trans athletes in the women's category is the same type of leadership method that allowed the Nassar scandal to occur. "I think that's precisely right," Manly said. "[Female gymnasts] are in that position with that trans athlete in the locker room because of the organizations that create policies. … In that same token, Larry Nassar was created and allowed to flourish because they didn't have policies preventing precisely what he was doing. He was treating little girls in their hotels rooms alone on their beds, during the Olympics, there's no policy against it." Manly added, "Athletes are not first in this sytem, they're not. Money and medals are, and the people who run it are first." President Donald Trump signed his "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order in February, but the order only applies to institutions that receive federal funding, while USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) are private entities. As a lawyer, Manly questioned the validity of the organization's recent excuse of "compliance with the current legal landscape" for deleting the policy pages. "That's a bunch of nonsense," Manly said. "That's corporate speak for 'we're concerned that the political winds have shifted and people are taking a dim view of the policy' and they don't want to become Bud Light. "The reason Larry Nassar happened, one, is because they didn't put athletes first, and two, because they slithered around and tried to cover it up, and [it's] the same thing here. Make a decision, stand out and defend it." Still, unlike Nassar, Manly believes that blame does not always fall on the trans athletes themselves, especially those who are underage. Manly, who has known Biles for several years, believes the gymnast was trying to make a similar point in her recent controversial social media rant, but it was "misunderstood." "I think it's a misunderstanding. I think what I suspect what Simone was trying to say is 'we shouldn't blame children, child athletes, for competing when these organizations allow it. But I haven't spoken to her about it… I respect Riley Gaines and obviously I respect and love Simone, and I wish it hadn't happen, but I can't speak to that," Manly said. In December 2021, Manly helped Biles and fellow U.S. women's gymnasts Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichol secure a $380 million settlement from USA Gymnastics and USOPC over the Nassar abuse. Since then, the attorney has followed the issue's impact on the legal landscape, with an eye on Gaines' lawsuit against the NCAA for the inclusion of biological male Lia "Will" Thomas in the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championship. "I think it's really important," Manly said of Gaines' lawsuit's impact on women's sports history. "How that plays out is going to determine whether women's sports is going to continue as we know it or if it's going to change… the fact that the NCAA hasn't just owned up to it and come to a settlement with her is shocking to me." Manly says he would consider filing his own lawsuit against the USOPC if any American Olympians came to him with a legitimate case. "I'd file them to protect women, to protect female athletes, but I shouldn't have to file those cases, what should happen is the USOPC should step in and say 'were going to protect our athletes and we're going to have clarity," he said. While Manly hopes that the policies will be clear and allow fair competition in time for the Los Angeles Olympics, he says he has "no confidence," the policies will be at that point in summer 2028 if the current USOPC leadership remains in power. "I don't have any hope for anything with this board," he said. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
