SEC Earns Eight National Seeds
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference set an NCAA Tournament record as all 13 programs earned a spot in the 2017 NCAA Division I Softball Championship.
The SEC earned eight national seeds, as SEC regular season champion Florida (50-6) earned the national No. 1 seed for the third straight year. Auburn (46-10) earned the No. 7 seed, while Tennessee (44-10) was awarded the No. 8 seed. Texas A&M (42-10) is the No. 9 seed, and SEC Tournament Champion Ole Miss (40-18) is the No. 12 national seed. LSU (41-18) is the No. 13 seed, and Kentucky (36-17) was tabbed the No. 14 seed. Alabama (42-16) rounds out the list as the No. 16 seed.
In addition, Arkansas (31-22) will compete in the Norman Regional, its seventh NCAA Tournament bid in program history. Georgia (33-21) earned a spot in the Tallahassee Regional, while Mississippi State (36-20) is slated to play in the Salt Lake City Regional. Missouri (29-26) is set to be a part of the Eugene Regional, and South Carolina (32-23) will make its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance at the Tucson Regional.
Regionals will be held May 18-21, followed by the Super Regionals May 25-28. The Women’s College World Series is June 1-7 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field.
Since 1997, the SEC has had eight teams advance to the Women’s College World Series: Alabama (2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016), Auburn (2015, 2016), Florida (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015), Georgia (2009, 2010, 2016), Kentucky (2014), LSU (2001, 2004, 2012, 2015, 201), South Carolina (2007) and Tennessee (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015).
Only 12 schools have been crowned the NCAA Division I softball champion since the tournament started in 1982, with two SEC schools among the winners on that list. Alabama claimed the first national championship in SEC history when it downed Oklahoma, 5-4, on June 7, 2012. Florida defeated Alabama in the best-of-three series in 2014 and then became the third program in NCAA softball history to win back-to-back national titles after defeating Michigan in the 2015 WCWS Championship Series.
DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS (*Indicates Host Institution, SEC teams in bold):
Gainesville Regional – May 19-21 at Gainesville, Florida
No. 1 seed Florida* (50-6) vs. Florida A&M (23-30) – 2:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network
FIU (45-13) vs. Oklahoma State (35-23)
Tuscaloosa Regional – May 19-21 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Minnesota (54-3) vs. Louisiana Tech (37-22)
Albany (NY) (27-16) vs. No. 16 seed Alabama* (42-16) – 4 p.m. CT on SEC Network
College Station Regional – May 19-21 at College Station, Texas
No. 9 seed Texas A&M* (42-10) vs. Texas Southern (25-19) – 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3
Texas (31-24) vs. Texas St. (41-15)
Knoxville Regional – May 19-21 at Knoxville, Tennessee
Ohio St. (35-16) vs. USC Upstate (44-11)
Longwood (28-27) vs. No. 8 seed Tennessee* (44-10) – 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Oxford Regional – May 19-21 at Oxford, Mississippi
Arizona St. (30-20) vs. North Carolina (38-19)
Southern Ill. (33-22) vs. No. 12 Ole Miss* (40-18) – 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3
Baton Rouge Regional – May 19-21 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
No. 13 seed LSU* (41-18) vs. Fairfield (26-26) – 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3
McNeese (42-16) vs. Louisiana (45-6)
Tallahassee Regional – May 19-21 at Tallahassee, Florida
Georgia (33-21) vs. Jacksonville St. (40-10) – 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Princeton (25-18) vs. No. 4 seed Florida St.* (51-6-1)
Eugene Regional – May 19-21 at Eugene, Oregon
No. 3 seed Oregon* (47-6) vs. Ill.-Chicago (38-20)
Wisconsin (33-15) vs. Missouri (29-26) – 8 p.m. CT on ESPN
Lexington Regional – May 19-21 at Lexington, Kentucky
Illinois (37-18) vs. Marshall (41-10)
DePaul (29-21) vs. No. 14 seed Kentucky* (36-17) – 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3
Salt Lake City Regional – May 18-20 at Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 11 seed Utah* (33-14) vs. Fordham (45-15)
Mississippi State (36-20) vs. BYU (44-11) – 5 p.m. CT on ESPN3
Auburn Regional – May 19-21 at Auburn, Alabama
No. 7 seed Auburn* (46-10) vs. ETSU (29-24) – 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU
Notre Dame (32-21) vs. California (30-22)
Norman Regional – May 19-21 at Norman, Oklahoma
Tulsa (39-15) vs. Arkansas (31-22) – 11:30 a.m. CT on SEC Network
North Dakota St. (28-31) vs. No. 10 seed Oklahoma* (50-8)
Tucson Regional – May 19-21 at Tucson, Arizona
South Carolina (32-23) vs. St. Francis (PA) (48-9) – 7 p.m. ET on ESPN3
New Mexico St. (29-23) vs. No. 2 seed Arizona* (48-7)
