#1 National Seed

Tuscaloosa Regional

2026 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament · Regional Round

#1 Seed·Tuscaloosa Regional·Final

Bama Sweeps Tuscaloosa — 3 Games, 20-0

Winner

Alabama

CHALK · CALLED IT

Chalk in Tuscaloosa. Alabama swept the regional 3-0 with three shutouts: 8-0 over USC Upstate, 3-0 over Belmont, and 9-0 back over USC Upstate in the title. The Tide outscored the regional 20-0 — Briski never broke a sweat and SE Louisiana's nation-leading staff never got off the bullpen mound.

AlabamaFAVORITE

BatJocelyn Erickson — .402 BA, 20 HR, 71 RBI

CircleJocelyn Briski — SEC Pitcher of the Year

Southeast LouisianaTHREAT

BatKa'Lyn Watson — .364 BA, .457 in SLC play

CircleMacie LaRue — Staff 1.65 ERA, 16 SHO (best in D1)

Won first-ever Southland regular-season title at 24-3.

BelmontDARK HORSE

BatMadison Dolecki — 33 RBI

CircleMaya Johnson — MVC Pitcher of the Year

Back-to-back MVC tournament champs.

USC UpstateEASY OUT

Big South three-peat, but no top-tier individual stats reported.

X-Factor

Briski put SE Louisiana in the rear-view in Game 1 (8-0) and never let the threat materialize. The closer over USC Upstate was a coronation.

National Seed

Host

Alabama

City

Tuscaloosa, AL

Dates

May 15-17, 2026

Format

4-team double-elim

Bracket

Friday's first-round matchups

Game 1 — Fri 1:00 PM ET

Final

Alabama

USC Upstate

Game 2 — Fri 3:30 PM ET

Final

Southeast Louisiana

Belmont

Winners meet Saturday at 2:00 PM ET. Losers play an elimination game at 4:30 PM ET. Regional championship Sunday at 1:00 PM ET, with an if-necessary game at 2:30 PM ET.

Schedule

All times Eastern

Game	Date	Time	Matchup	Result	TV
Game 1	Fri, May 15	1:00 PM ET	USC Upstate at Alabama	Alabama8–0	ESPN+
Game 2	Fri, May 15	3:30 PM ET	Belmont at Southeastern La.	Belmont2–0	ESPN+
Game 3	Sat, May 16	4:30 PM ET	Southeastern La. at USC Upstate	USC Upstate5–4	ESPN+
Game 4	Sat, May 16	2:00 PM ET	Alabama at Belmont	Alabama3–0	ESPN+
Game 5	Sat, May 16	7:00 PM ET	USC Upstate at Belmont	USC Upstate10–1	ESPN+
Game 6	Sun, May 17	1:00 PM ET	Alabama at USC Upstate	Alabama9–0	ESPN2
Game 7	Sun, May 17	2:30 PM ET	Regional Championship (if necessary)	—	ESPN2

Path Forward

Super Regional pairing

The Tuscaloosa Regional winner advances to face the winner of the Baton Rouge Regional (#1 vs #16) in the Super Regional round May 21-24, hosted at the higher national seed (Alabama). Super Regionals are best-of-three; the winner advances to the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, May 28 - June 5.

About the Host

Alabama

Alabama hosts the Tuscaloosa Regional in Tuscaloosa, AL as the #1 national seed of the 2026 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. Hosting rights are awarded to the top 16 seeds, and the Alabama program earned its bid on the strength of its regular-season resume.

All games at this regional are played at the Alabama home softball venue, with first pitch on Friday, May 15 and the championship round on Sunday, May 17.