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.
| Seed | Team | Record | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | 45-2 | Big 12 |
| 2 | UCLA | 41-4 | Pac-12 |
| 3 | Alabama | 45-7 | SEC |
| 4 | Florida | 42-9 | SEC |
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 42-9 | Big 12 |
| 6 | Arkansas | 40-9 | SEC |
| 7 | LSU | 32-19 | SEC |
| 8 | Missouri | 38-15 | SEC |
| 9 | Tennessee | 41-13 | SEC |
| 10 | Florida State | 39-10-1 | ACC |
| 11 | Arizona | 36-13 | Pac-12 |
| 12 | Texas | 39-11 | Big 12 |
| 13 | Duke* | 42-10 | ACC |
| 14 | Kentucky | 39-13 | SEC |
| 15 | Arizona State | 32-14 | Pac-12 |
| 16 | Washington | 41-11 | Pac-12 |
2021 NCAA Division 1 Softball Tournament Teams
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 |
| None | N/A | 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).
Women’s College World Series Championship Series
| Seed | Team | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| 10 | Florida State | 8 | 2 | 1 |
Photo courtesy of Oklahoma University Athletics
