NCAA BRACKET
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference saw three teams selected to the 2019 NCAA Division I Softball Championship on Sunday night, as USF, Houston and Tulsa were among the 64 teams to make the field.
USF was awarded The American’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship after the 2019 American Softball Championship was unable to be completed due to a continuous pattern of inclement weather in the Houston area over the weekend. Houston and Tulsa received two of the 32 available at-large bids.
Regional play, consisting of 64 teams squaring off in double-elimination format at four-team sites, will kick off to open the NCAA Championship this coming weekend.
The Bulls (40-17) will travel Tallahassee to meet South Carolina on Friday at noon ET. USF and South Carolina will be joined in Tallahassee by Bethune-Cookman and (4) Florida State to round out the four-team bracket. The Bulls are led by American Pitcher of the Year Georgina Corrick, who carries a 0.90 ERA into NCAA play and has struck out an American-best 241 batters. The Bulls have tallied 69 steals, the most in the conference this season, while also being the most defensively-sound team, having committed the fewest errors in The American. This is USF’s second consecutive NCAA Championship appearance and 15
th trip overall.
The Cougars (37-17) will open their NCAA Championship play on Friday at 2 p.m. ET, traveling to meet Texas A&M in Austin. Houston and Texas A&M will share the field with Sam Houston State and (9) Texas to complete the Region. The Cougars boast The American’s top offense, leading the league in overall batting average and triples while tallying the second-most RBI in the league. Individually, Maya Thomas (.391), Sarah Barker (.376) and Arielle James (.371) have three of the top-five batting averages in the conference. This is Houston’s second consecutive NCAA Championship appearance and ninth trip overall.
The Golden Hurricane (35-18) will travel to Stillwater to meet Arkansas on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. Tulsa and Arkansas will be joined in Stillwater by BYU and (13) Oklahoma State to round out the four-team bracket. Tulsa is led by American Player of the Year Julia Hollingsworth at the plate, who carries a conference-leading .420 average into the postseason. Rookie of the Year Chenise Delce leads the Tulsa pitching staff with 14 wins and a 1.60 ERA and has also been a factor at the plate. This is Tulsa’s fourth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance and 11
th trip overall.
This year’s three selections mark the third time in The American’s six year history that the conference has had three or more programs in the NCAA Championship field.
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NCAA Division I Softball Championship Schedule
American Athletic Conference Selections
STILLWATER REGIONAL
Thursday, May 16 | 6 p.m. ET
Tulsa vs. Arkansas (ESPN3)
TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL
Friday, May 17 | Noon ET
USF vs. South Carolina (SEC Network)
AUSTIN REGIONAL
Friday, May 17 | 2 p.m. ET
Houston vs. Texas A&M (ESPN3)