NCAA Division I softball tournament

Last updated
NCAA Division I softball tournament
Current season, competition or edition:
Sports current event.svg 2025 NCAA Division I softball tournament
Sport College softball
Founded1982
No. of teams64
Most recent
champion(s)
Texas (1)
Most titles UCLA (12)
Broadcaster(s) ESPN
ESPN2
Official website NCAA.com

The NCAA Division I softball tournament is held annually in May/June and features 64 college softball teams in the United States, culminating in the Women's College World Series (WCWS), which is played in Oklahoma City.

Contents

Tournament play and team selection

The tournament is different from many college tournaments in that it features four tiers of competition and a loss does not necessarily eliminate a team from contention. In fact, throughout the entire tournament a team can lose as many as four games and still be crowned champions.

A total of 64 teams compete in the tournament. 32 teams gain automatic entry into the tournament while the other 32 are selected by the Division I Softball committee. From this field of 64, 16 teams will be given "national seeds" and placed at one of the assigned regional sites, often the home field of each national seed. [1]

The first round of the tournament, called "regionals", consists of 16 locations that include four teams competing in a double elimination bracket. The winner of each regional moves on to the second round, the "super regionals."

For the super regionals, the regional containing overall #1 seed will be matched up with the regional containing the overall #16 seed, the #2 seed regional will be matched up with the #15 seed regional, and so on. The higher seed of the two teams usually hosts the best-of-three series, with the winner moving on to the Women's College World Series.

The final eight teams meet at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City in the Women's College World Series. The WCWS is further divided into two sections. The first part resembles the regional round, as teams are broken in two groups of four to play in a double-elimination bracket. The winners of each bracket then meet in a championship series similar to the super regional tier in that it is a best-of-three series. The winner of the WCWS is crowned national champion.

Team titles

Usa edcp relief location map.png
ButtonYellow.svg
឴឴឵UCLA
ButtonBlue.svg
Arizona
ButtonBlue.svg
Oklahoma
ButtonGray.svg
Arizona State
ButtonGray.svg
Florida
ButtonWhite.svg
Texas
ButtonGray.svg
Texas
A&M
ButtonWhite.svg
Alabama
ButtonWhite.svg
Cal State Fullerton
ButtonWhite.svg
California
ButtonWhite.svg
Florida
State
ButtonWhite.svg
Fresno
State
ButtonWhite.svg
Michigan
ButtonWhite.svg
Washington
Schools that have won the NCAA Championship
ButtonYellow.svg 12, ButtonBlue.svg 8, ButtonGray.svg 2, ButtonWhite.svg 1
TeamNo.Years
UCLA 12 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995 , 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2019
Arizona 8 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007
Oklahoma 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Florida 2 2014, 2015
Arizona State 2008, 2011
Texas A&M 1983, 1987
Texas 1 2025
Florida State 2018
Alabama 2012
Washington 2009
Michigan 2005
California 2002
Fresno State 1998
Cal State Fullerton 1986

Appearances by team

Total Columns

Table Entries

Starting in 2003, the NCAA seeded the top 8 teams, which are shown in double underline. Starting in 2005, the next 8 seeds are shown with single underline. These seeded teams are not always the host of the Regional, but in recent years, the list of hosts aligns very closely to the list of top seeds.

SchoolConference#16WSCH 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25

UCLA Big Ten 40353312CHW3CHCHRUCHCHCHRUCHRUW3CHW3RUCHRURUW5CHCHRUW3R3W5SRCHR2RR2SRW5W7W5W3CHW5W3RW5W5
Arizona Big 12 3835258R2R2W3W3W7CHRUCHCHRUCHCHRUW5W3CHRUW3R3W5CHCHW7W7RUSRSRR3SRSRSRSRSRW5W7W5SRR2
Oklahoma SEC 3127188R2R2R2R3R2RCHW5W7W5W5SRR2SRSRR3SRW7RUCHW5SRCHCHW3RUCHCHCHCHW3
Florida SEC 2516132RR3RRRRR3SRW3RUW5RUR2W5CHCHSRRUW5W7SRW5R2W3W7
Arizona State Big 12 3220122W3R2W7R2R2R2R2R3R3W7R2R3W3RR3W5W7CHW5SRCHW3W7R2R2R2R3W7R2R3SRR
Texas A&M SEC 351882CHRUR2RUCHW5R3R2R2RRRR2R2RSRR3W7RUR3R2SRR2SRR2R2R2W7SRRR3R2R2SRR2
Washington Big Ten 3124151R3R2RUW3W3RUW5R2R3W5W7SRSRW3R2CHW7SRSRW3SRR2SRW3RUW3SRR2W5R3R3
Alabama SEC 2622151RW5R3RW7R2W5W7SRW3W3SRW3CHSRRUW5W7SRSRW3W3R2W7W5SR
Florida State ACC 3724121R2W7R3R3W3W5W7W7RR2R2RR2R2W3RW5R2SRRR3R3R3R2R3SRW7SRW3SRCHSRRUR2RUSRSR
California ACC 3624121R2W3R2R2R2R2R2W5R2R3R3W5R2R3W3W7W5CHRURUW7SRR3SRSRSRW5W3R2R3R2R2R3R2R3R2
Michigan Big Ten 3021121R2R2W7W7W5W5RR2W7W7W7CHSRSRSRW5SRR2SRW5SRRUW5R2R3R2R2R2R2R3
Fresno State Mountain West 3419121RUR2W5R2R2W5RURURUW3W3R2W5R2R2W3CHW5R2RRR3RR2R2R3R2R2R2R3RR3R3R3
Texas SEC 251281W7RRRW3W3W5R2R3R2R3R3SRW3R2R3R3R2R3SRSRRUSRRUCH
Cal State Fullerton Big West 321861W3RUR2W3CHW3R2R2R2R2R2R2R2W5R2R3RR2R2RR2R3SRRR3R2R2R2RR3R3R2
Oklahoma State Big 12 271812-W7R2R2W3W3R2R2W4W3R3R2R2W3R3R2R2R3W7R2R2R3W5W5W3W5W7R2
Tennessee SEC 23149-RRRW3W3RUR2R2W3R2W7RUSRW7R2SRSRSRR3R2W3SRW3
Oregon Big Ten 25167-W5R3R2R2R3R3R2R2R2R2R2SRSRW5SRW3W7SRW3W5R2R2SRR2W5
Nebraska Big Ten 27137-W5W3RUW3W5R3R3R2W5R2R2R3W5R3R2R3R2RR3R3R2W7SRR3R2R3R2SR
Louisiana Sun Belt 33196-R2R3R2W3R2W5W5R2R2RR2RW7R2R3R2RW5R2SRR2SRSRW7SRSRR2R2R2R2R2SRR2
Missouri SEC 27156-R2W7W5W7RRR2RRR2R2SRW7W7W5SRSRR2SRSRRR2R2SRR2R3SR
LSU SEC 26156-R2R3R2W3R2RW3SRSRR2R2R3R2W5R2R2W3W3W5SRSRSRRR2SRR3
Northwestern Big Ten 23116-W3W5W7R2R3RRSRRUW3SRRR2R2RR3R2SRR3W7SRR2R3
Georgia SEC 23155-R3RR2SRR2R2SRW3W3SRSRR2SRSRW5R2W7R2W7R2SRSRSR
Long Beach State Big West 2685-W5R2R2R2W5W4W5W7R3R3R3R3RRR3RR3R3R3R3R3R3R3R3RR
Stanford ACC 22114-R2RRW3R3RW3SRSRR2SRSRR3SRR2R2R3R2SRW3W3R2
Utah Big 12 17104-R2W7R2W7R2W5RR3R2RRR2R2SRSRW7R3
Cal Poly Pomona D2884-R2R2W7W4R2R2W3W5
DePaul Big East 2174-RRR2R2W3W7R3R2R3RW7W5R2R2R3R2R3R2RRR3
Baylor Big 12 1674-R3SRR2W5SRW3R3R2W3R2R2W7R2RR3SR
Iowa Big Ten 1664-R3R2R3W3W3W5R3R3W7RR2RR2RR2R
South Carolina SEC 25103-R2W4R2W7R3R3R2W7R3R3RR2R3RSRR2R3R3R2R2SRR2R2R2SR
Louisiana Tech CUSA 1173-W5R2W7W7R2R2R2RR2R3R3
UMass Atlantic 10 2163-R2R3R2W3RR3W7W7R3RR3R3R3RRSRR2R2R2RR
Adelphi D2663-R2W5W5R2W7R2
UNLV Mountain West 953-W5W7R3R2R2W3RR3R
Oregon State West Coast 1562-R2R2RR3R2R2R2W7R2R2R3RRR2W7
Creighton Big East 1252-W7W5R2R2R2RRR3RR3RR
Cal State Northridge Big West 1442-R2W5RUR2R3RRRRRRRRR
Indiana Big Ten 1042-W7R2W3R2R3R3RR2RR3
Auburn SEC 2032-RRR3R2R3R3R3R3RR2W3RUSRR3R2RR3R2R2R2
Princeton Ivy League 1222-R3W7W7RRR3RRRRRR3
Southern Miss Sun Belt 422-W7W3RR
Kentucky SEC 1681-R2R3SRR3SRW5SRR2SRSRSRSRR2R3R3R2
Pacific West Coast 1371-R2W5R2R2R2R2RR2RRRR2R
Central Michigan MAC 1461-R2R2R2W5R2RR3R2RR3RRRR
Kansas Big 12 1261-R2R2R2W7R2R3R2R3R3R2R3R2
Hawaii Mountain West 1151-R2R2R3R2RR3SRR2W5RR2
South Florida American 1841-R3R3R2R2RR3R2SRRW7R2R2R3R3R3R2R3R3
UConn Big East 941-R2R3R3R2W5R2RRR
Minnesota Big Ten 1731-R3R3RR2R3R3RR3SRR2R2R2R2W7R2R3R3
Virginia Tech ACC 1431-R3R3R3W7R2R2R3RR2SRSRR2R3R2
James Madison Sun Belt 931-RR3R3R3SRR2R3SRW3
Ole Miss SEC 931-R2SRR2SRR2R2R2RW7
Duke ACC 531-R2SRSRW7R2
Texas Tech Big 12 721-R2RR2R2R3R2RU
Western Michigan MAC 421-W5R2RR
Utah State Mountain West 421-W7R3R3R2
UIC Missouri Valley 1211-W7R3R3R3R3RRR3RR3RR
Kent State MAC 411-W7R3R2R3
Toledo MAC 311-W7R3R
Northern Illinois MAC 211-W7R3
Arkansas SEC 144--RR3R3RR2R2RSRRSRSRR2R3SR
Notre Dame ACC 273--R3R2RRRR2R2RRR2R2R3R3R2R2R3R2RR2R2R2R3R2R3R2R3R3
Ohio State Big Ten 133--R2R2RR3R2SRR2R3RR2R3R3R2
Clemson ACC 53--R2SRSRR3SR
Hofstra CAA 182--R3R3RRRRR2R2R3R3R2R2SRR2R3R3R3R
San Diego State Mountain West 152--R2RR2R3RR3R2R2R3R3R2R2SRRR3
Georgia Tech ACC 132--R2RR3R2R2R3R3SRR2R3R3R3R
Penn State Big Ten 112--R2R2RRRRR2R2RR2R3
Houston Big 12 92--RR2SRSRR3R3R3R3R2
Michigan State Big Ten 42--R3R2R2R
Mississippi State SEC 191--R3RRRR2R3R3RRR3R3R3RR2R2R2SRR3R2
BYU Big 12 171--RR3R3R2R2R3SRR2R2RR3R3R3R2R3R3R2
Boston University Patriot 141--R2RRR2R3R3R3RRRRR3R3R
Texas State Sun Belt 121--RR3R2R3RR3R3R3R3R3R3R2
UCF Big 12 121--R3R2R3RR2R2R2R2SRR3R3R2
Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 111--R3R2R3R3R3R3RR3RRR2
Bethune–Cookman SWAC 101--RRRRSRRRRRR
North Dakota State Summit 101--SRRRR3R3R2R3R3R3R
Illinois State Missouri Valley 91--R2R3RRR3R2RR3R2
Jacksonville State CUSA 91--RR2SRRR3RR2R3R2
Liberty CUSA 81--RRR2R2R3R2R2SR
Illinois Big Ten 81--RR2RR2R3R2R3R
Missouri State Missouri Valley 71--R2RRR3RR3R3
Wichita State American 71--R2RR3R2R2R3R3
NC State ACC 51--R3R3R2R2SR
UAB American 51--R3R3RSRR3
Bowling Green MAC 41--R2R3R3R
San Jose State Mountain West 41--R3R2RR3
Maryland Big Ten 41--R2R3R3R
Northern Iowa Missouri Valley 31--R2R3R3
Nicholls Southland 31--R3R2R
Colorado State Mountain West 31--R2RR3
Rutgers Big Ten 21--R2R
Wyoming defunct11--R2
New Mexico Mountain West 11--R2
Rhode Island Atlantic 10 11--R2
North Carolina ACC 16---RRRR2RR3RR2R2R2R3R3R3R2R2R
Louisville ACC 15---RR3R2R3R3R3R2R2R2R3RRRR2R3
Chattanooga Southern 13---RRR3RRRRR2RRRR3
Florida Atlantic American 11---R3RR3RRRR2R2R3RR3
Lehigh Patriot 11---RRRR2R3R2RRR3RR3
Tulsa American 11---RRR2R2R3RR2RR2R3R2
LIU NEC 10---RRRRR3RR2RRR
Fordham Atlantic 10 10---R2R3R3RR2RR3RRR
Canisius MAAC 9---R3RRRRRR3RR
McNeese Southland 9---RR3RR3R3R3R3R2R2
Wisconsin Big Ten 9---R3RRR2R2R2R3R2R2
Miami (OH) MAC 9---RR3R3R3RR3R2R3R3
Harvard Ivy League 8---R3RRRR2RRR
Florida A&M SWAC 8---RRR3RRRRR
Mississippi Valley State SWAC 8---RRRRRR3RR
Albany America East 8---RRR2RR3RRR
USC Upstate Big South 7---R3R3R3R3R3RR
Saint Francis (PA) NEC 7---R3RRRRR3R
Campbell CAA 6---RR3RR3RR3
Coastal Carolina Sun Belt 6---RR3RRR3R3
UMBC America East 6---RRRRRR
Portland State Big Sky 6---R3RRR3RR
South Alabama Sun Belt 6---R2R2R2R2R3R2
Northwestern State Southland 5---RRRRR
Cornell Ivy League 5---RRRRR
Marist MAAC 5---RRRRR3
Longwood Big South 5---RR3R2R2R
Weber State Big Sky 5---RRR3RR3
Western Illinois Ohio Valley 4---R3RRR3
Sacramento State Big Sky 4---R3RRR
Drake Missouri Valley 4---RRR2R3
UNC Greensboro Southern 4---RRRR
East Carolina American 4---RR3R2R2
Seton Hall Big East 4---RRR3R
Oakland Horizon 4---RRRR
Wright State defunct4---RRRR3
UC Santa Barbara Big West 4---RRRR2
Loyola Marymount West Coast 4---RR2R3R3
Tennessee Tech Ohio Valley 4---RRR2R3
Iona MAAC 4---RRRR
New Mexico State CUSA 4---R3R3RR
Grand Canyon WAC 4---RR3R2R3
Maine America East 3---RRR
Ohio MAC 3---RRR2
Boston College ACC 3---R3RR
Cleveland State Horizon 3---RRR
Ball State MAC 3---RRR3
Colgate Patriot 3---RRR
Southeast Missouri State Ohio Valley 3---RR3R
Army Patriot 3---RRR
Middle Tennessee CUSA 3---RRR2
Eastern Kentucky ASUN 3---RRR
FIU CUSA 3---RR2R3
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Southland 3---RRR3
Georgia Southern Sun Belt 3---R3RR3
Nevada Mountain West 3---RR2R3
Southern Utah WAC 3---RR3R
Howard MEAC 3---RRR
Lipscomb ASUN 3---R2R2R3
Syracuse ACC 3---RR3R2
Virginia ACC 3---R3R2R3
Jackson State SWAC 3---RRR
Valparaiso Missouri Valley 3---RR3R
Western Kentucky CUSA 3---R2R2R3
Texas Southern SWAC 3---RRR
Alabama State SWAC 3---RRR
Prairie View A&M SWAC 3---RRR
Villanova Big East 3---R3RR2
Omaha Summit 3---R3R2R3
Iowa State Big 12 2---R3R2
Georgia State Sun Belt 2---RR
Troy Sun Belt 2---RR3
Brown Ivy League 2---RR
Rider MAAC 2---RR
Manhattan MAAC 2---RR
Southern SWAC 2---RR
Centenary D32---RR
UTSA American 2---RR
Green Bay Horizon 2---R3R
Robert Morris Horizon 2---RR
Cal Poly Big West 2---RR2
Sam Houston CUSA 2---R3R3
Stetson ASUN 2---RR3
Winthrop Big South 2---R2R
Purdue Big Ten 2---R3R2
Stony Brook CAA 2---RR
Bradley Missouri Valley 2---R3R
Radford Big South 2---R3R2
Sacred Heart MAAC 2---R3R
UT Martin Ohio Valley 2---RR
Elon CAA 2---RR
Saint Mary's West Coast 2---RR
Florida Gulf Coast ASUN 2---R3R3
Central Connecticut NEC 2---R3R
Marshall Sun Belt 2---R3R3
Dartmouth Ivy League 2---RR
Binghamton America East 2---RR
Central Arkansas ASUN 2---RR3
Fairfield MAAC 2---RR
Boise State Mountain West 2---RR2
Kennesaw State CUSA 2---RR3
Monmouth CAA 2---RR
Seattle WAC 2---R3R3
Morgan State MEAC 2---RR
South Dakota State Summit 2---R3R3
UNC Wilmington CAA 2---RR
Charlotte American 2---R2R3
Eastern Illinois Ohio Valley 2---RR
Northern Colorado Big Sky 2---RR
Southeastern Louisiana Southland 2---R2R2
Providence Big East 1---R3
Louisiana–Monroe Sun Belt 1---R3
Niagara MAAC 1---R
Saint Peter's MAAC 1---R
Evansville Missouri Valley 1---R
UT Arlington WAC 1---R3
Charleston CAA 1---R2
Youngstown State Horizon 1---R
Eastern Michigan defunct1---R
Furman Southern 1---R
Delaware State MEAC 1---R
Stephen F. Austin Southland 1---R
Alcorn State SWAC 1---R
Bucknell Patriot 1---R
UC Davis Big West 1---R
Jacksonville ASUN 1---R3
Memphis American 1---R3
Hampton CAA 1---R
Penn Ivy League 1---R
Purdue Fort Wayne Horizon 1---R
Bryant America East 1---R
Charleston Southern Big South 1---R
SIU Edwardsville Ohio Valley 1---R
Utah Valley WAC 1---R
Indiana State Missouri Valley 1---R3
Pittsburgh ACC 1---R2
St. John's Big East 1---R
Butler Big East 1---R
Cal State Bakersfield Big West 1---R
Samford Southern 1---R
East Tennessee State Southern 1---R
Montana Big Sky 1---R
Detroit Mercy Horizon 1---R
George Washington Atlantic 10 1---R
Murray State Missouri Valley 1---R
North Texas American 1---R2
George Mason Atlantic 10 1---R
North Carolina Central MEAC 1---R
Northern Kentucky Horizon 1---R
Dayton Atlantic 10 1---R
Siena MAAC 1---R
Belmont Missouri Valley 1---R3
Mercer Southern 1---R2
North Florida ASUN 1---R2
Saint Louis Atlantic 10 1---R
Santa Clara WCC 1---R

See also

References

  1. "Road to the Championship | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-03-31.