After a one-year absence, the NCAA Division 1 softball tournament has returned in 2021 to the delight of many. UCLA is the defending national champion after defeating Oklahoma two games to none in the 2019 Championship Series. 64 teams will contest the opening round of the tournament at the site of 16 pre-determined sites. The 16 winners from the Regional round will then play in the Super Regional round. Finally, the last 8 teams will converge on Oklahoma City to determine this year’s national champion. Below is a table showing the 16 national seeds. Please note that Duke is the #13 national seed but Georgia will host the regional as determined by the NCAA.
Below are all 64 teams that have made the 2021 NCAA Division 1 Softball tournament. 31 teams qualified automatically as conference champions with the exception of the Ivy League. The conference opted out of playing sports in the spring of 2021 with its spot in the tournament going to an at-large team. There were 33 at-large teams selected for this season’s tournament.
In the sortable table below, the automatic bids are listed first followed by the at-large bids listed in the alphabetical order of conference. The records for each team and which regional site they have been assigned to are provided as well.
Conference
Team
Record
Route
Regional
America East
UMBC
25-11
Tournament Champions
Tucson
American
Wichita State
39-11-1
Tournament Champions
Norman
ACC
Duke
42-10
Tournament Champions
Athens
Atlantic 10
George Washington
37-9
Tournament Champions
Baton Rouge
Atlantic Sun
Liberty
42-13
Tournament Champions
Knoxville
Big 12
Oklahoma
45-2
Tournament Champions
Norman
Big East
Villanova
36-13
Tournament Champions
Tucson
Big Sky
Portland State
15-24
Tournament Champions
Seattle
Big South
Campbell
27-17
Tournament Champions
Stillwater
Big Ten
Michigan
36-6
Regular Season
Champions
Seattle
Big West
Long Beach State
30-9
Regular Season Champions
Los Angeles
Colonial
James Madison
34-1
Tournament Champions
Knoxville
C-USA
Western Kentucky
31-13
Tournament Champions
Athens
Horizon
UIC
29-21
Tournament Champions
Columbia
Ivy League
None
N/A
Championship Series Winner
N/A
Mid-American
Miami (OH)
46-8
Regular Season Champions
Lexington
Metro Atlantic
Manhattan
22-14
Tournament Champions
Fayetteville
Mid-Eastern
Morgan State
24-15
Tournament Champions
Norman
Missouri Valley
Southern Illinois
37-14
Tournament Champions
Tempe
Mountain West
Fresno State
36-10
Regular Season Champions
Los Angeles
Northeast
St. Francis (PA)
40-8
Tournament Champions
Austin
Ohio Valley
Eastern Kentucky
35-15
Tournament Champions
Knoxville
Pac-12
UCLA
41-4
Regular Season Champions
Los Angeles
Patriot
Boston U.
36-2
Tournament Champions
Stillwater
SEC
Alabama
45-7
Tournament Champions
Tuscaloosa
Southern
UNC Greensboro
34-15
Tournament Champions
Athens
Southland
McNeese
34-24
Tournament Champions
Baton Rouge
SWAC
Alabama State
19-27
Tournament Champions
Tuscaloosa
Summit
South Dakota State
42-6
Tournament Champions
Fayetteville
Sun Belt
Louisiana
44-10
Tournament Champions
Baton Rouge
WAC
Seattle
29-19
Tournament Champions
Seattle
West Coast
BYU
36-15
Regular Season Champions
Tempe
American
Central Florida
39-17-1
At-Large
Tallahassee
American
South Florida
29-17
At-Large
Gainesville
ACC
Clemson
42-6
At-Large
Tuscaloosa
ACC
Florida State
39-101
At-Large
Tallahassee
ACC
Notre Dame
31-13
At-Large
Lexington
ACC
Virginia Tech
33-13
At-Large
Tempe
Atlantic Sun
Kennesaw State
26-25
At-Large
Tallahassee
Big 12
Baylor
27-21
At-Large
Gainesville
Big 12
Iowa State
32-21
At-Large
Columbia
Big 12
Oklahoma State
42-9
At-Large
Stillwater
Big 12
Texas
39-11
At-Large
Austin
Big Ten
Minnesota
29-11
At-Large
Los Angeles
Big Ten
Northwestern
29-15
At-Large
Lexington
Missouri Valley
Northern Iowa
31-18
At-Large
Columbia
Pac-12
Arizona
36-13
At-Large
Tucson
Pac-12
Arizona State
32-14
At-Large
Tempe
Pac 12
Oregon
37-15
At-Large
Austin
Pac-12
Stanford
31-20
At-Large
Fayetteville
Pac-12
Washington
41-11
At-Large
Seattle
SEC
Arkansas
40-9
At-Large
Fayetteville
SEC
Auburn
27-22
At-Large
Tallahassee
SEC
Florida
42-9
At-Large
Gainesville
SEC
Georgia
29-21
At-Large
Athens
SEC
Kentucky
39-13
At-Large
Lexington
SEC
LSU
32-19
At-Large
Baton Rouge
SEC
Ole Miss
34-20
At-Large
Tucson
SEC
Mississippi State
33-23
At-Large
Stillwater
SEC
Missouri
38-15
At-Large
Columbia
SEC
Tennessee
41-13
At-Large
Knoxville
SEC
Texas A&M
31-21
At-Large
Norman
Sun Belt
South Alabama
30-19
At-Large
Gainesville
Sun Belt
Texas State
38-12
At-Large
Austin
Sun Belt
Troy
36-15
At-Large
Tuscaloosa
Regional Schedule
The 2021 NCAA Division 1 Softball tournament will kick off with 16 regionals with four teams in each regional at the site of the 16 pre-determined hosts. Each regional employs the double-elimination format and will take place from Thursday, May 20 to Sunday, May 23.
The regionals are listed in order of the potential Super Regional matchup (i.e. #1 vs #16, #8 vs #9, #5 vs. #12, etc.). All dates and times listed below are tentative. Updates, along with final scores, will be made as soon as the changes are known.
Norman Regional (#1 Seed)
Seattle Regional (#16 Seed)
Columbia Regional (#8 Seed)
Knoxville Regional (#9 Seed)
Stillwater Regional (#5 Seed)
Austin Regional (#12 Seed)
Gainesville Regional (#4 Seed)
Athens Regional (#13 Seed)
Tuscaloosa Regional (#3 Seed)
Lexington Regional (#14 Seed)
Fayetteville Regional (#6 Seed)
Tucson Regional (#11 Seed)
Baton Rouge Regional (#7 Seed)
Tallahassee Regional (#10 Seed)
Los Angeles Regional (#2 Seed)
Tempe Regional (#15 Seed)
Super Regionals
The Super Regional round for the 2021 NCAA Division 1 softball tournament is a best-of-three series between the 16 winners of the regional round. The games will take place between Thursday, May 27 through Sunday, May 30 at the selected campus sites. The table below shows the schedule for each Super Regional with the better-seeded team as the host.
Norman Super Regional
Seed
Team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
16
Washington
2
1
-
1
Oklahoma
4
9 (5 Innings)
-
Columbia Super Regional
Seed
Team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
James Madison
2
1
7
8
Missouri
1
7
2
Stillwater Super Regional
Seed
Team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
12
Texas
1
4
0
5
Oklahoma State
6
2
2
Gainesville Super Regional
Seed
Team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Georgia
4
6
-
4
Florida
0
0
-
Tuscaloosa Super Regional
Seed
Team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
14
Kentucky
3
1
-
3
Alabama
4
4
-
Fayetteville Super Regional
Seed
Team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
11
Arizona
10
4
-
6
Arkansas
4
1
-
Baton Rouge Super Regional
Seed
Team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
10
Florida State
1
4
-
7
LSU
0
3 (9 Innings)
-
Los Angeles Super Regional
Seed
Team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Virginia Tech
7
0
0
2
UCLA
2
2
6
Women’s College World Series Schedule
The 2021 Women’s College World Series will take place between Thursday, June 3 and Wednesday, June 9 with every game shown on ESPN’s network channels. All of the games will take place at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium and OGE Energy Field in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The bracket below shows the double-elimination format with the two final teams meeting in a best-of-three Championship Series on Monday, June 7, Tuesday, June 8, and Wednesday, June 9 (if necessary).