NCAA softball tournament winners, losers, snubs from 2025 selection show
Sixty-four teams will begin their road to a potential appearance in the Women's College World Series at the end of May and beginning of June in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The teams included in the field are the 31 automatic qualifiers for conference champions and 33 at-large teams.
REQUIRED READING: NCAA softball tournament format: How bracket works in 2025
Starting on May 16, these teams will play in 16 regionals across the country, hosted by the 16 national seeds. The winner of each region will advance to play in a best-of-three super regional round, with the eight remaining teams advancing to Oklahoma City for the WCWS. The last two teams standing will play in a best-of-three series to determine the national champion.
However, just like every year, there will be a handful of teams shaking their heads following the NCAA softball selection show. Some teams will feel they should have been a regional host, while some will feel they were poorly ranked and got a bad shake of which regional they have to travel for. Of course, several teams felt like they were unfairly left out of the tournament.
Here's a look at the winners, losers and snubs from the 2025 NCAA women's college softball field:
The SEC had an NCAA Tournament record-14 teams, including seven of the top eight national seeds and nine of the top 15, capping off a great season. That means if chalk holds through the regional round, only one non-SEC team will host a super regional: No. 5 seed Florida State.
The Aggies are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA softball tournament for the first time in program history. The Aggies edged out the four-time defending champion Oklahoma due to their No. 1 ranking in the RPI at the end of the season. Texas A&M did not have a chance to defeat the Sooners in the SEC softball tournament championship game, but could face the Sooners in Oklahoma City.
Belmont, Mercer, North Florida, Saint Louis and Santa Clara are first-timers reaching the NCAA softball tournament this season. The Bruins defeated Southern Illinois in the MVC Championship game to earn their first-ever berth, while Mercer was crowned the Southern Conference champions.
The Ospreys earned their first ASUN Tournament title in program history, while the Billikens secured the 2025 Atlantic 10 Softball Championship title with a walk-off win. The Broncos earned their first West Coast Conference championship to automatically qualify.
Seeding matters when it comes to the NCAA softball tournament, and a single seed line can make a huge difference. The Gamecocks edged out No. 9 UCLA for the final top-eight seed. That means they'll be set to host the Bruins at home in the super regional, if both teams advance.
REQUIRED READING: NCAA softball bracket: Matchups, top seeds, regional sites for 2025 NCAA Tournament
The Bruins ended the season with an RPI of No. 4 and were the runners-up to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament. However, none of that was enough for UCLA to clinch the last top-eight seed to earn a hosting bid. Instead, if the No. 9 seed Bruins advance to the super regional, they'll have to travel to Columbia to take on South Carolina on the road.
The Hokies had an impressive season but fell apart during the sixth inning of the ACC tournament championship game against eventual champion Clemson. For its trouble, Virginia Tech has to travel to No. 15 seed Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional, where the Hokies and Crimson Tide split two games during the Easton Bama Bash in February.
The Ducks won the regular season Big Ten championship in their first year in the conference. They also took two out of three games against UCLA during the regular season, but are ranked as the last nationally seeded team at No. 16. The Ducks also had wins over No. 5 seed Florida State (2-0) and No. 7 seed Tennessee (1-0) in nonconference play.
REQUIRED READING: When does 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament start? Regional schedules, venues
The Wolf Pack posted a 41-14 record playing against a top-70 strength of schedule. It also finished with an RPI of 36 but, after losing in the Mountain West Tournament, was excluded from the tournament.
It's hard to say the No. 2 overall seed was snubbed in any way — but as the four-time defending champs, the Sooners had a real argument as the No. 1 seed after winning the regular season SEC championship in the toughest conference in the country.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NCAA softball tournament bracket winners, losers and snubs
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