NCAA Softball Championships 2026 Bracket Schedule, Matchups and More

The race for the 2026 Women's College World Series has officially started.

The 64-team bracket for the NCAA softball tournament was revealed Sunday during the selection show, and the Alabama Crimson Tide were rewarded with the top overall seed. The top 16 teams will host the regionals, which are the first stop on the path to the Women's College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.

Here is a look at how the bracket with the various regionals looks:

Tuscaloosa Region

• Alabama (host - 1 seed)
• USC Upstate
• Belmont
• SE Louisiana (8 seed)

Austin Region

• Texas (host - 1 seed)
• Wagner
• Baylor
• Wisconsin (8 seed)

Norman Region

• Oklahoma (host - 1 seed)
• Binghamton
• Michigan
• Kansas (8 seed)

Lincoln Region

• Nebraska (host - 1 seed)
• South Dakota
• Grand Canyon
• Louisville (8 seed)

Fayetteville Region

• Arkansas (host - 2 seed)
• Fordham
• South Florida
• Washington (7 seed)

Gainesville Region

• Florida (host - 2 seed)
• Florida A&M
• Georgia Tech
• Texas State (7 seed)

Knoxville Region

• Tennessee (host - 2 seed)
• Northern Kentucky
• Indiana
• Virginia (7 seed)

Los Angeles Region

• UCLA (host - 2 seed)
• California Baptist
• Cal State Fullerton
• South Carolina (7 seed)

Tallahassee Region

• Florida State (host - 3 seed)
• Stetson
• Jacksonville State
• UCF (6 seed)

Athens Region

• Georgia (host - 3 seed)
• Charleston
• UNC Greensboro
• Clemson (6 seed)

Lubbock Region

• Texas Tech (host - 3 seed)
• Marist
• Boston
• Ole Miss (6 seed)

Durham Region

• Duke (host - 3 seed)
• Howard
• Marshall
• Arizona (6 seed)

Stillwater Region

• Oklahoma State (host - 4 seed)
• Eastern Illinois
• Princeton
• Stanford (5 seed)

Eugene Region

• Oregon (host - 4 seed)
• Idaho State
• Saint Mary's
• Mississippi State (5 seed)

Bryan-College Region

• Texas A&M (host - 4 seed)
• UConn
• McNeese
• Arizona State (5 seed)

Baton Rouge Region

• LSU (host - 4 seed)
• Akron
• South Alabama
• Virginia Tech (5 seed)

2026 NCAA Softball Tournament Schedule

• Regionals: May 15-17
• Super Regionals: May 21-24
• Women's College World Series: May 28-June 4/5
• Women's College World Series Finals: June 3-5 (June 5 if necessary)

While 64 teams in a bracket may be familiar to March Madness fans, the softball tournament works much differently.

The nation's top 16 teams were decided by the NCAA selection committee, and each of those clubs will host one of the four-team regionals. The hosts will play at their home stadiums during the double-elimination regionals.

The 16 teams that emerge as regional victors will then advance to the super regionals. Each of the top eight teams of the remaining 16 will host one of those super regionals, which are best-of-three series to determine the eight teams that will advance to the Women's College World Series.

Everything basically starts over from there for the eight teams that make it to Oklahoma City.

There will be another double-elimination tournament in a two-bracket format, and the two teams that advance through each bracket will then face in the best-of-three championship series to determine which team can call itself national champions.

One look at this year's field underscores just how dominant the SEC was in 2026.

Texas defended its national title from last year with an impressive season, while Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and LSU all look like threats heading into the tournament.

The Longhorns defeated in-state rival Texas Tech in the championship series last year, and the Red Raiders are one of the teams from outside the SEC that could make a title run.

But it would be anything but surprising if it was an All-SEC championship series this year.