Alabama Softball Granted the Number One Seed in NCAA Tournament; Bracket

April 17, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama batter Brooke Wells comes home with a home run at Rhoads Stadium as Alabama hosted Kentucky in the first game of the weekend series. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

[Sorry for the late post. I had a Mother’s Day thing. Thanks to Josh for filling in.]

NATIONAL

Okay, so the NCAA decided to get stupid and follow the NCAA Basketball model of awarding four number ones, four number twos, etc. But we know what this really means and we are going to follow the old method of 1-16. [Gawd, I hate the NCAA so much.]

1. Alabama – RAT POISON
2. Texas – Wisconsin and Baylor will not be pushovers.
3. Oklahoma – cakewalk Regional: Binghamton, Kansas , Michigan; Must be nice.
4. Nebraska – Louisville and Grand Canyon
5. Arkansas – The second seed in this bracket is Washington. Is Alexis DeBoer tired of losing already?? Mama’s callin’.
6. Florida – Easy path with Texas State, Georgia Tech and FAMU
7. Tennessee – Virginia could be tough.
8. UCLA – I don’t envy the Bruins with South Carolina in their Regional.
9. Florida State – Center Florida could be a problem.
10. Georgia – Clemson
11. Texas Tech – Ole Miss could pull the upset.
12. Duke – Arizona is the biggest threat.
13. Oklahoma State – Really? How did this happen? I would not be surprised if Stanford upset the Cowgirls.
14. Oregon – Can Mississippi State make things difficult for the Dux?
15. Texas A&M – Their biggest threat is B12 Tourney Champ Arizona State.
16. LSU – Has a tough Va Tech in their Regional. Win that and they likely play Alabama in the Supers.

SEC

Nine SEC teams are seeded in the Tournament — six of the top seven. 12 total teams from the conference made the Tournament.

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Arkansas
5. Florida
6. Tennessee
7. Georgia
8. Texas A&M
9. LSU
   Unseeded: Mississippi State, South Carolina, Ole Miss

Not in the field – Missouri (second straight season of no post-season), Kentucky (first miss since 2008), Auburn (first miss since 2013).

COUSINS

• Jacksonville State – The Gamecocks are going dancing after winning their first C-USA Softball Championship. JSU won both the Tournament and the regular season crowns. They are in a tough Tallahassee Regional with FSU and Center Florida.
• South Alabama – The Jags earn an auto-bid after winning the Sun Belt Tournament as the 5-seed. USA heads to the Baton Rouge Regional against LSU and Virginia Tech. I’d rather be here than in Tallahassee.

DIVISION I SOFTBALL COMMITTEE

• Committee Chair: Kurt McGuffin, Tennessee-Martin
• Kristi Bredbenner, Wichita State
• Tara Brooks, Tennessee (Sr. Assoc. AD)
• Natalie Gonzalez Honnen, Clemson
• Heather Hunter, Cal-Davis
• Jessica Leger, Louisiana-Lafayette
• Lori Perez, Sacramento State
• Keanah Smith, Western Michigan
• Holly VanVlymen, South Dakota State
• Jane Wagner, Northwestern

ALABAMA

Tuscaloosa Regional

• May 15

  • Game 1: noon/1 p.m. | Alabama vs. USC Upstate | SECN
  • Game 2: 2:30/3:30 p.m. | Southeastern Louisiana vs. Belmont | ESPN+

• May 16

  • Game 3: 1pm/2 p.m.| Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
  • Game 4: 3:30/4:30 p.m. | Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
    Game 5: 6pm/7 p.m. | Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3

• May 17

  • Game 6: noon/1 p.m. | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5
  • Game 7 (if necessary): 2:30/3:30 p.m. | Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 5

Ten Cents

If Alabama loses a single game in this Regional, we are storming Rhoads Stadium at dawn and forming an Oligarchy for Life government.

#RollTide #Team30