NCAA softball bracket: Alabama earns No. 1 seed, SEC scores 6 of top 8 seedings

All-SEC first baseman Brooke Wells hit 26 home runs for No. 1 seed Alabama. (Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images)

(Brandon Sumrall via Getty Images)

Alabama earned the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Division I softball tournament, which was revealed on Sunday.

The Crimson Tide are one of six SEC teams among the top eight seeds of the bracket. Defending national champions Texas is the No. 2 seed, followed by Oklahoma at No. 3, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 6 Tennessee and Florida at No. 7.

Breaking up the SEC party at the top of the bracket are two Big Ten teams, No. 4 Nebraska and No. 8 UCLA.

Alabama (49-7, 19-5 SEC) earned the No. 1 overall seed despite losing to Texas in the SEC tournament championship. In their two games leading up to the final, the Crimson Tide scored a 7-1 win over Arkansas and defeated Florida 9-1.

Despite winning the conference tournament, Texas finished fourth in the SEC during the regular season at 16-8 (42-10 overall).

Oklahoma (48-8, 20-4 SEC) not getting the top seed might be surprising since it was the No. 1 team throughout much of the regular season. The Sooners also drew national headlines for setting the single-season home run record, led by freshman catcher Kendall Wells and her 36 homers. However, a loss to Georgia in the SEC tournament semifinals cost them the No. 1 spot. (The Bulldogs are the No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament.)

If there was a controversy among the seedings, Florida State appeared to have a case for the No. 8 spot over UCLA. The Seminoles finished 49-8 compared to UCLA’s 47-8 mark, while winning the ACC regular-season and conference tournament titles. Meanwhile, the Bruins lost the Big Ten title game to Nebraska and were defeated by FSU, 11-7, in a head-to-head matchup in February.

The Seminoles were seeded No. 9 in the NCAA tournament, meaning they would have to play at Los Angeles if they advanced to the Super Regionals, rather than host a series in Tallahassee.

The NCAA softball tournament begins on Friday with a double-elimination format in the regional round. The winners of those regionals move on to the Super Regionals and best-of-three series. Teams winning the Super Regionals will advance to the Women’s College World Series, played at Devon Park in Oklahoma City beginning May 28. The championship series will be played June 3-5.