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05/10 19:47 CDT SEC receives 6 of the top 8 seeds in NCAA softball bracket,
including No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Texas
SEC receives 6 of the top 8 seeds in NCAA softball bracket, including No. 1
Alabama and No. 2 Texas
By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer
The Southeastern Conference received six of the top eight seeds in the NCAA
Division I Softball Championship when the 64-team field was revealed on Sunday,
including Alabama at No. 1 and defending national champion Texas at No. 2.
In all, the SEC got 12 of its 15 teams into the field.
Regional play starts Friday, with the top 16 seeds hosting. The eight teams
that get through super regionals the next week will play in the Women's College
World Series, which starts May 28 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Alabama (49-7) didn't catch a break in the seeding --- the Crimson Tide could
face Belmont superstar pitcher Maya Johnson in regional play. Johnson leads the
nation with a 0.66 earned run average and was the No. 3 overall pick in the
Athletes Unlimited Softball League draft.
Texas (42-10) returns pitcher Teagan Kavan, who was the Most Outstanding Player
of the Women's College World Series last year and led the Longhorns to the SEC
Tournament title this season. The Longhorns beat Alabama in the SEC
championship game.
Oklahoma (48-8) is the No. 3 overall seed, despite losing in its opening game
at the SEC Tournament. The Sooners have won four of the past five national
titles and reached the semifinals last year. Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso, also
the USA national coach, has won eight national championships.
Nebraska is seeded fourth. The Cornhuskers (46-6) beat UCLA to win the Big Ten
tournament title on Saturday. Nebraska's Jordy Frahm led Oklahoma to a national
title in 2023 as Jordy Bahl before transferring, then later getting married and
changing her name.
The SEC has Arkansas (42-11) as the No. 5 seed, Florida (48-10) at No. 6 and
Tennessee (42-10) at No. 7.
UCLA (47-8) is the No. 8 seed. Megan Grant just set the single-season record
with 38 home runs. Jordan Woolery, who bats behind her at third in the lineup,
has 107 RBIs and was the Big Ten Player of the Year.
Florida State (49-8) is No. 9 overall. The Seminoles won the national title in
2018 and were runner-up in 2021 and 2023.
Texas Tech fell all the way to No. 11 overall, despite a 52-6 record. Star
pitcher NiJaree Canady led the Red Raiders to the championship series last
year. She has more help this year, including pitcher Kaitlyn Terry.
The other top 16 seeds that will host include No. 10 Georgia (38-18), No. 12
Duke (39-14), No. 13 Oklahoma State (38-15), No. 14 Oregon (40-12), No. 15
Texas A&M (36-17) and No. 16 LSU (37-17).
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
