Scouting Nebraska softball's NCAA Tournament opponent South Dakota

The Nebraska softball team will open the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bowlin Stadium against the South Dakota Coyotes on Friday evening. South Dakota won the Summit League Tournament and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament as an automatic qualifier despite finishing the season with a record of 20-34-1 and a road record of 9-15.

South Dakota won four games in four days in the Summit League Tournament to win the program's first-ever conference title. This is also the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

As a team, the Coyotes are hitting .272 and averaging 3.78 runs per game. The pitching staff has an ERA of 4.82 and an opponents' batting average of .291. South Dakota's roster features seven Nebraska natives.

Brooke Carey, the sister of Husker baseball player Dylan Carey, leads the Coyote offense with a .343 batting average, 2 HR, 12 doubles and 20 RBI. The only other player that is hitting over .300 is Kiya Johnson, who is hitting exactly .300 with 2 HR and 13 RBI.

Madison Evans is the team's top pitcher with 30 starts in 33 appearances and a record of 15-14. Evans has an ERA of 3.96 and an opponents' batting average of .249. Campbell German has the second-most starts (11) and appearances (25) on the team. She is 0-9 with a 5.81 ERA and an opponents batting average of .346.

South Dakota is managed by Robert Wagner, who is in his tenth season and has a record of 223-296-1 with the Yotes. He is 255-322 for his managerial career.

This is the 16th meeting all-time between these two schools. Nebraska has a perfect 15-0 record against the Coyotes. The last time these two schools met was a doubleheader in Lincoln in March 2022.

The winner of Friday's game will play at noon CT on Saturday against the winner of the Grand Canyon/Louisville game, while the loser will play an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. CT against the loser of the Grand Canyon/Louisville match.