INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Defending national champion Florida was named the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship on Sunday when the NCAA Division I Softball Committee announced the 64-team field. The Gators (50-6) will host Florida A&M, an automatic qualifier from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Thirty-two conference champions were awarded an automatic qualification, while the remaining 32 slots were filled at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites this weekend.
Interactive Bracket | Printable Bracket
Team pairings were determined by geographic proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during region competition. The Southeastern Conference led all leagues with 11 teams selected to the championship tournament. The Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast Conference placed seven teams in the field. Seven programs are making their appearance in the tournament- Binghamton, Central Arkansas, Fairfield, Indiana State, Pittsburgh, St. John’s and Weber State.
2015 Automatic Qualifiers
Binghamton (America East), UCF (American Athletic), Fordham (Atlantic-10), Florida State (ACC), USC Upstate (Atlantic Sun), Oklahoma (Big 12), St. John’s (BIG EAST), Michigan (Big Ten), Weber State (Big Sky), Longwood (Big South), Cal State Northridge (Big West), Hofstra (CAA), Western Kentucky (Conference USA), Oakland (Horizon), Dartmouth (Ivy), Ball State (MAC), Fairfield (MAAC), Florida A&M (MEAC), Indiana State (Missouri Valley), Fresno State (Mountain West), Central Connecticut State (Northeast), Tennessee Tech (Ohio Valley), Oregon (Pac-12), Lehigh (Patriot League), Auburn (SEC), Chattanooga (Southern), Central Arkansas (Southland), Texas Southern (SWAC), North Dakota State (Summit League), South Alabama (Sun Belt), BYU (WAC).
DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS: * Indicates host institution
Gainesville Regional – May 15-17 at Gainesville, Fla.
No. 1 seed Florida* (50-6) vs. Florida A&M (18-37)
Florida Atlantic (37-17-1) vs. Hofstra (37-12-1)
South Bend Regional – May 15-17 at Notre Dame, Ind.
Kentucky (29-24) vs. Northwestern (28-21)
Ball State (33-23) vs. No. 16 seed Notre Dame* (40-13)
Tallahassee Regional – May 15-17 at Tallahassee, Fla.
No. 9 seed Florida St.* (45-12) vs. Dartmouth (25-16)
South Carolina (37-20) vs. UCF (48-7)
Knoxville Regional – May 15-17 at Knoxville, Tenn.
Utah (34-17) vs. Virginia Tech (34-21)
Longwood (33-23) vs. No. 8 seed Tennessee* (42-14)
Baton Rouge Regional – May 15-17 at Baton Rouge, La.
No. 5 seed LSU* (44-11) vs. Texas Southern (25-16)
Nebraska (34-21) vs. Arizona St. (34-20)
Tucson Regional – May 15-17 at Tucson, Ariz.
Minnesota (46-9) vs. New Mexico St. (46-14)
St. John’s (NY) (28-17) vs. No. 12 seed Arizona* (38-17)
Lafayette Regional – May 15-17 at Lafayette, La.
No. 13 seed La.-Lafayette* (39-9) vs. Weber St. (38-17)
Mississippi St. (35-19) vs. Baylor (38-14)
Auburn Regional – May 15-17 at Auburn, Ala.
South Ala. (38-11) vs. Chattanooga (35-13)
Tennessee Tech (32-26) vs. No. 4 seed Auburn* (49-9)
Ann Arbor Regional – May 15-17 at Ann Arbor, Mich.
No. 3 seed Michigan (51-6) vs. Oakland (27-22)
Pittsburgh (35-20) vs. California (38-16)
Athens Regional – May 15-17 at Athens, Ga.
North Carolina (36-14) vs. Western Ky. (34-12)
Central Conn. St. (31-12) vs. No. 14 seed Georgia* (40-14)
Norman Regional – May 15-17 at Norman, Okla.
No. 11 seed Oklahoma* (45-7) vs. Central Ark. (35-19)
Lehigh (39-7) vs. Texas A&M (38-18)
Tuscaloosa Regional – May 15-17 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Washington (40-15) vs. USC Upstate (43-8)
Fairfield (25-22) vs. No. 6 seed Alabama* (42-12)
Los Angeles Regional – May 15-17 at Los Angeles, Calif.
No. 7 seed UCLA* (45-10) vs. CSUN (41-15)
San Diego St. (36-18) vs. Texas (36-15)
Columbia Regional – May 15-17 at Columbia, Mo.
Kansas (38-13) vs. Louisville (30-17)
Indiana St. (26-29) vs. No. 10 seed Missouri* (39-14)
Harrisonburg Regional – May 15-17 at Harrisonburg, Va.
No. 15 seed James Madison* (47-8) vs. Binghamton (24-19)
Fordham (36-18) vs. North Carolina St. (35-20)
Eugene Regional – May 14-16 at Eugene, Ore.
North Dakota St. (43-9) vs. Fresno St. (40-14)
BYU (39-12) vs. No. 2 seed Oregon* (46-6)
CHAMPIONSHIP STRUCTURE: The championship will be three weekends of competition. Four teams will participate at each of 16 campus sites in a doubleelimination tournament. The committee held selections for the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Championship May 8-10. The 64-team field was selected from 295 NCAA Division I institutions sponsoring softball. Of the 64 teams, 32 teams received an automatic qualification with the remaining best 32 teams were selected on an at-large basis.
Regionals for the NCAA Division I Softball Championship will be held May 14-17 on 16 campus sites. At each campus site, a four-team, double-elimination tournament will be conducted and the 16 winning teams advance to the Super Regionals. Super Regionals for the championship will be held May 21-24 on eight campus sites. At each site, two teams play in a bestof-three tournament format. The winners from each site advance to the NCAA® Women’s College World Series.
SEEDING/SITES: Teams were selected to the field of 64 teams. The top 16 teams were seeded in order, and the remaining teams are paired by geographic proximity, with the exception that teams within the same conference were not paired during regional competition.
— Courtesy of NCAA.com