The SEC showed its NCAA softball stripes on Sunday, after the super-conference landed six of the 2026 DI softball tournament bracket’s top eight seeds — with Alabama taking No. 1 overall.
Defending champion Texas enters the national postseason at No. 2. However, SEC regular season champion Oklahoma fell to No. 3, after last week’s SEC tournament upset loss to No. 10 Georgia.
“I think we all had a conversation and decided to go back to Norman and just practice harder, do things sharper — like clean up practice instead of going through the motions like we've got it," said Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso.
Big Ten squads No. 4 Nebraska and No. 8 UCLA also both cracked top ten seeding, while SEC upstarts No. 5 Arkansas, No. 6 Florida, and No. 7 Tennessee rounded out the conference’s high seeding.
2025 WCWS runners-up Texas Tech enters double-elimination regionals at No. 11, positioned as an underdog behind ace senior NiJaree Canady.
Where to Watch the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament Bracket
The 2026 NCAA softball championship kicks off Friday at 11 AM ET, live across ESPN networks.
No. 2 seed Alabama softball powered past No. 7 seed Arkansas 7-1 in Thursday's SEC softball tournament quarterfinals, advancing on four home runs.
The Crimson Tide erased an early deficit, eventually pulling away behind home runs from Audrey Vandagriff, Brooke Wells, Alexis Pupillo, and Ambrey Taylor. Arkansas finished its SEC tournament run at 42-11.
Arkansas grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Tianna Bell scored on a passed ball after advancing on a two-base error. However, Alabama answered immediately, as Vandagriff launched a solo shot to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
The SEC softball tournament quarterfinal shifted decisively in the fifth inning. Wells crushed a two-run homer to give Alabama a 3-1 lead, while Pupillo followed with a solo blast on the next pitch to make it 4-1. Arkansas reliever Saylor Timmerman then limited further damage with a strikeout.
Alabama added three insurance runs in the sixth. Taylor opened the frame with a solo home run to center field. Wells drove in another run with a single before an Arkansas fielding error plated the final run.
Alabama ace Jocelyn Briski (21-2) earned the complete-game victory, allowing one unearned run on three hits and two walks while striking out seven. Arkansas starter Robyn Herron (15-6) took the loss despite striking out eight in 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits.
Tianna Bell, Dakota Kennedy, and Kailey Wyckoff produced the only hits for Arkansas. The Razorbacks await their NCAA regionals assignment, set to be revealed on Sunday's NCAA Softball Selection Show at 7 PM ET (ESPN2).
Where to Watch Alabama in the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament
Alabama softball now faces No. 3 seed Florida in the championship semifinal. The 2026 SEC softball titans take the mound on Friday at 5 PM ET, live on ESPN.
The SEC softball tournament opened with a major upset Wednesday night, as the Ole Miss Rebels knocked off the Tennessee Lady Vols 4-1 in Kentucky.
The 13-seed Rebels now advance to the SEC quarterfinals after eliminating fifth-seeded Tennessee in the Lady Vols' first 2026 tournament matchup.
“When you lose a softball game like we did today, pretty much everything that adds up to a loss was there,” Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly said after the loss.
“We missed opportunities when we had runners in scoring position. We didn’t make plays when we needed to keep them from scoring. And then we allowed too many free passes.”
Tennessee grabbed an early lead in the second inning, after Ella Morrison scored off an RBI singe from Bella Faw. The run briefly put the Lady Vols ahead 1-0.
“I was just looking to attack the zone,” Faw said. “Coach said that postseason is an opportunity to start over, start fresh and just play free.”
However, that would be Tennessee's only run of the night.
Ole Miss responded in the fourth inning after capitalizing on a Tennessee error. That error led to two unearned runs and a 2-1 lead. The Rebels added insurance in the fifth when Maddi George delivered a two-run single to stretch the advantage to three.
The Lady Vols created chances throughout the game but struggled to convert, stranding eight runners on base.
Tennessee ace Sage Mardjetko took the loss after allowing two unearned runs over 3.2 innings, while hurler Karlyn Pickens took over for the final 3.1 innings.
Kyra Aycock earned the win for Ole Miss, allowing one run across four innings before Emilee Boyer secured the save.
How to Watch the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament
Ole Miss next faces defending champion Texas on Thursday at 5 PM ET, live on SEC Network.
Texas softball faces a challenging path at this week's SEC softball tournament, as the defending NCAA champion fights to secure a top NCAA seed — and home field advantage for the 2026 Super Regional.
Before the fourth-seeded Longhorns (39-10, 16-8 SEC) take on the Tennessee-Ole Miss winner Thursday, coach Mike White noted Texas needs at least one victory to solidify its NCAA tournament hosting duties.
"I think that, obviously, we'd want to go as far as we can in this tournament, but I would say we've probably got to win a game for sure," White said. "Hopefully, that first one gives us a more solid chance of being in [the top eight]."
The potential SEC softball tournament showdown with No. 5 seed Tennessee (42-9, 16-8) presents its share of obstacles.
The Lady Vols would likely start dominant pitcher Karlyn Pickens against Texas, after the 6-foot-1 ace posted a 1.44 ERA with 154 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .126 batting average this year. The top pick in the recent AUSL College Draft and two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year, Pickens throws a 78 MPH fastball — roughly equivalent to 109-110 MPH in Major League Baseball.
Texas dropped to No. 10 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll after losing two of three games to Arkansas last weekend. The Longhorns hit just .216 and scored seven total runs across that three-game showdown.
Despite the late-season slump, Texas remains No. 4 in NCAA RPI ratings after facing DI's second-hardest schedule. White says reaching the SEC semifinals would give his team a strong case for a high tournament seeding when the bracket drops Sunday.
"Being in the top eight is a big advantage, especially when you can get to that Super Regional with your home crowd," White said.
How to Watch Texas in the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament
The Longhorns face the winner of Tennessee vs. Ole Miss on Thursday at 5 PM ET, live on SEC Network.
Kentucky is welcoming the 2026 SEC softball tournament 2026 to John Cropp Stadium this week, as head coach Rachel Lawson embraces the opportunity to give home fans something to cheer for despite this season's struggles.
The Wildcats earned the tournament's 15th seed after a difficult regular season, but will enjoy the advantage of playing in front of a home crowd.
"Despite our team's struggles during the SEC regular season, we still aim to give the home crowd plenty to cheer about," Lawson said.
The SEC softball tournament marks the final on-campus tournament before the league shifts the competition to a neutral site format. Kentucky beat out other schools for hosting rights, with the Wildcats officially accepting the honor in January.
Top-seeded Oklahoma enters as the SEC regular-season champion after sweeping Texas A&M in the final week of play. Alabama claims the No. 2 seed, followed by Florida at No. 3. Arkansas sits at No. 7, awaiting the winner of the Kentucky-Mississippi State Game 1 clash.
The conference tournament features 15 teams playing a modified double-elimination format through Saturday's championship game. Kentucky exercised its right as host school to select its preferred time slot for the opening game.
Lawson is entering her 19th season helming the Wildcats. She helped bring a program-record 23 home games to John Cropp Stadium this year, despite ending the 2026 NCAA softball season on a 26-28 overall and 1-23 SEC record.
Where to Watch the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament Bracket
Kentucky kicks off its SEC tournament run against No. 10 Mississippi State on Tuesday at 4:30 PM ET, live on SEC Network.
The SEC Network and ESPN will broadcast all tournament games, with ESPN2 airing the championship game airing live on Saturday, May 9th.
No. 3 Oklahoma softball came out swinging Tuesday as freshman Kendall Wells broke the SEC single-season home run record with her 27th homer in a 12-3 victory over Wichita State.
She passed the milestone in just the 37th game of her college career.
Wells launched a three-run blast in the sixth inning to pass previous conference record-holder, 2025 USA Player of the Year Bri Ellis. The Georgia native now leads the nation in home runs, pacing the Sooners with 60 RBIs while batting .383.
"I didn't even know that was the record," Wells said postgame. "My second and third at-bats, I didn't feel like I was making good adjustments. I talked a lot with coach JT [Gasso] in between, and kept it simple in my last at-bat."
Kendall Wells stands just three home runs away from former Sooners slugger Lauren Chamberlain's single-season mark of 30. She also trails NCAA record holder Jocelyn Alo by only seven homers, with Alo's 34 single-season blasts representing the all-time record.
Both Chamberlain and Alo established their records before Oklahoma joined the SEC in 2024. Additionally, Alo needed 23 games to reach 10 homers as a freshman, while Wells smashed 27 in just 115 at-bats.
Head coach Patty Gasso admitted she doesn't track individual records.
"Kendall Wells, what did she do? I knew something had happened, but I didn't know exactly what it was," she said. "Kendall came in more ready than any hitter I've ever seen, and that is what we are witnessing right now."
Wells is currently fueling Oklahoma's quest to reclaim its crown after reigning champion No. 1 Texas ended the Sooners' four-year title streak last season.
How to Watch Oklahoma Softball Star Kendall Wells in Action
Oklahoma opens a three-game series against Kentucky on Thursday at 6:30 PM ET, live on SEC Network.
Texas softball made program history on Friday, winning the 2025 Women’s College World Series (WCWS) to claim a first-ever national championship in their eighth trip to Oklahoma City.
The No. 6-seed Longhorns completed the best-of-three championship series with a dominant 10-4 victory over No. 12-seed Texas Tech, setting a program wins record with 56 on the season.
"This is why I came to Texas," said grad student first baseman Joely Mitchell following the championship win. "This is everything I dreamed of as a kid."
Anchored by star sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan — who took home the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award after not allowing a single earned run in the nearly 32 WCWS innings she threw — Texas's title is the SEC's first in 10 years. The Longhorns now join only Florida and Alabama in the conference's elite NCAA softball champions club.
The Longhorn bats led the charge on Friday, plating five runs in the first inning — the most allowed in a single inning by Red Raiders superstar pitcher NiJaree Canady in her three-season NCAA career.
While that initial push ended up being enough to seal the win, senior third baseman Mia Scott put an exclamation mark on the victory by blasting a fourth-inning grand slam, notably doing so with a torn ACL.
2025 WCWS sets attendance, viewership records
The Longhorns' historic title run wasn't just a victory for Texas, however, as the 2025 WCWS claimed additional wins far beyond the Lone Star State.
With 119,778 fans packing into Oklahoma City's Devon Park across the nine-day competition, the 2025 tournament broke the WCWS attendance record.
The record-shattering didn't end there, as an average of 2.1 million viewers tuned into Thursday's championship series clash, making it the most-watched WCWS finals Game 2 in history — and the fifth most-watched NCAA softball game ever on ESPN platforms.
The rising value of college softball is also impacting players' bank accounts, with rising senior Canady reportedly inking a second seven-figure NIL deal to remain with Texas Tech prior to Friday's decisive Game 3.
"I've been around a lot of softball players, I've never been around a better teammate and a better person," Texas Tech head coach Gerry Glasco said about Canady following Friday's game. "She's an unbelievable talent. I believe she's the top player in college softball.... Her standards for everything is excellence."
The attendance, viewership, and NIL wins aren't just boosts for collegiate softball. The sport's rise is also fueling a new professional venture, with former NCAA stars launching pro league AUSL on Saturday — strategically timed to capitalize on the momentum of a historic 2025 WCWS.
SEC firepower will fuel the 2025 Women's College World Series (WCWS), as No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Tennessee, and unseeded Ole Miss all advanced out of this weekend's Super Regionals to book trips to Oklahoma City.
The SEC's five teams ties the record for most WCWS-bound squads from a single conference, with the additions of former Big 12 powerhouses Oklahoma and Texas notably boosting the league's WCWS roster this year.
Big Ten newcomers No. 9 UCLA and No. 16 Oregon plus the Big 12's No. 12 Texas Tech round out the eight teams entering the double-elimination tournament later this week, all battling for one of two spots in next week's best-of-three championship series.
Despite coming into the postseason as the No. 2 seed, the Sooners are still the team to beat as they hunt their fifth straight NCAA softball title.
With their 18th program ticket to OKC, Oklahoma's consistency in advancing to the national championship's last stop is dwarfed only by UCLA: The Bruins have appeared in 34 editions of the WCWS, missing the final cut only nine times in NCAA history.
In contrast, both Ole Miss and Texas Tech will be making their WCWS debuts after upsetting top seeds last weekend.
The Rebels, who first eliminated No. 13 Arizona in Regionals, outlasted No. 4 Arkansas to book their first-ever WCWS trip on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Red Raiders are flying high behind transfer pitcher and 2024 National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady, emerging victorious in their first-ever Super Regional with two straight wins over No. 5 Florida State.
How to watch the 2025 Women's College World Series
Oklahoma City veterans and debutants alike will begin their WCWS campaigns on Thursday, when all teams will contend in the tournament's initial four games.
Kicking off the 2025 WCWS is an all-SEC afternoon session, with No. 6 Texas facing No. 3 Florida at 12 PM ET before No. 7 Tennessee takes on No. 2 Oklahoma at 2:30 PM ET.
Evening play pits the newcomers against each other as Ole Miss clashes with No. 12 Texas Tech at 7 PM ET, with a Big Ten battle between No. 16 Oregon and No. 9 UCLA closing out the night at 9:30 PM ET.
Live coverage of the afternoon games will air on ESPN, with ESPN2 broadcasting the two evening matchups.
For the first time in program history, Texas A&M is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA softball tournament, with the Aggies staving off four-time reigning champion Oklahoma for the honor in Sunday's 2025 bracket drop.
After adverse weather canceled their conference title game on Saturday, the Aggies and No. 2-seed Sooners became 2025 SEC tournament co-champions, leaving the NCAA selection committee to lean heavily on each team's strength of schedule in making their top-seed decision.
"What set apart Texas A&M is they have 19 Top 25 wins, which is number one in the country," said NCAA softball committee chair Kurt McGuffin on Sunday's ESPN2 broadcast, noting the Aggies' tough nonconference schedule.
Taking on a lighter nonconference slate than usual due to massive roster turnover following the 2023/24 season, Oklahoma relied heavily on their record in a stacked SEC, finishing one half-game ahead of A&M in regular-season play.
While the Sooners look to extend their championship streak, the Aggies will be hunting their third national title and first since 1987.
Standing in their way in the 64-team bracket are a record number of familiar foes, as the SEC boasts 14 teams in the 2025 NCAA competition — the most from any single conference in tournament history.
Even more, nine of the bracket's 16 seeded teams hail from the SEC, and a full seven of the Top 8.
Conference champs, at-large teams score NCAA bracket spots
SEC squads aren't the only teams looking to topple Texas A&M and Oklahoma, however, as conference champions and other elite squads learned their tournament fates on Selection Sunday.
No. 5 Florida State is the highest seeded non-SEC team, despite falling 2-1 to No. 11-seed Clemson in Saturday's ACC title game. Along with No. 14-seed Duke, the ACC will see nine teams in the 2025 tournament.
Behind 2024 National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady — the nation's top pitcher — Texas Tech leads a five-team contingent from the Big 12 after securing both their conference tournament trophy and the national No. 12-seed this weekend.
In the weekend's most upset-filled conference tournament, unseeded Michigan outlasted both No. 9-seed UCLA and No. 16-seed Oregon to score a second straight Big Ten tournament title on Saturday, becoming one of eight teams repping the conference in Sunday's bracket.
Notably, the Bruins — the winningest program in NCAA softball history with 12 titles — have not entered the tournament lower than a No. 6 seed since 2016.
How to watch the 2025 NCAA softball tournament
The road to the 2025 Women's College World Series begins with Regionals, in which each of the 16 seeded teams will host a four-team double-elimination mini-tournament this weekend.
With a minimum of 96 games — and a possibility of 112 — Regional play begins at 12 PM ET on Friday, with the 64-team field narrowing to 16 by Sunday night.
All games will air live across ESPN's networks.
College softball closed out regular-season play over the weekend, transitioning into a slate of cutthroat conference tournaments ahead of this year's 64-team NCAA Division I tournament.
Starting on Tuesday and running through Saturday, the 31 single-elimination softball conference tournaments will determine the champions who will automatically book their postseason tickets with their trophies.
The NCAA committee will award the remaining 33 bracket spots during this weekend's upcoming Selection Sunday show.
SEC dominance sets up blockbuster conference tournament
Thanks in part to recent conference realignment, the powerhouse SEC appears to have the college softball landscape on lock this year, with this week's tournament likely providing a sneak peek of the national tournament.
With the addition of newcomers No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 5 Texas — and led by current national No. 1 Texas A&M — seven of the Top 10 Division I teams hail from the SEC, including all of the Top 6.
Despite some growing pains — and seven conference losses — the defending champion Sooners will look to again lead the pack as they hunt a fifth straight Women’s College World Series title.
Joining the Sooners, Longhorns, and Aggies in pursuit of the SEC crown — and perhaps the national trophy, as well — are No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Florida, and No. 6 Arkansas.
How to watch the SEC softball conference tournament
With the conference's top teams earning byes through to later rounds, the SEC tournament begins when unranked Georgia takes on unranked Kentucky at 1 PM ET on Tuesday.
Later, No. 21 Ole Miss will battle unranked Missouri at 4 PM ET, before No. 16 Alabama wraps up the SEC's first round against unranked Auburn at 7 PM ET.
All three Tuesday games will air live on the SEC Network.