IRVING, Texas – The three top teams in the American Athletic Conference throughout the 2022 softball season will continue play into the NCAA Championship. UCF, Wichita State and South Florida each heard its name called during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday night.
No. 16 UCF hosts Villanova in the opening round of the NCAA Orlando (Fla.) Regional on May 20. South Florida takes on Mississippi State in the NCAA Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional on May 20 at 6 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU. Wichita State begins play in the NCAA Fayetteville (Ark.) Regional on May 20 at 8:30 p.m. (ET) against Oregon on ESPN+. Each of the 16 NCAA Regional sites feature four teams competing in a double-elimination tournament, with the top-16 advancing to best 2-out-3 series at the highest remaining seeds in NCAA Super Regionals. The final eight teams will qualify for the 2021 Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
Teams from The American have now reached the NCAA Regional round a combined 22 times since the conference was reconstituted prior to the 2014 season. The 2022 NCAA Championship marks the sixth time in eight seasons that multiple American teams have earned a bid to NCAA Regionals. American squads are 27-38 in previous NCAA tournament appearances, with this year's three qualifiers vying to became the first teams from the conference to advance to NCAA Super Regionals.
UCF is headed to NCAA Regionals for the ninth time and first as a conference automatic bid since 2015, with head coach Cindy Ball-Malone leading the Knights back to the NCAA tournament for the second straight season. The Knights finished atop The American regular-season standings with a 16-2 record in league play and captured the 2022 American Softball Championship in Greenville, North Carolina, to extend their record to 46-12 on the year. UCF is a combined 13-16 in its eight prior trips to NCAA Regionals, logging a 2-2 showing in 2014 (NCAA Gainesville Regional), 2015 (NCAA Tallahassee Regional), 2016 (NCAA Gainesville Regional) and 2021 (NCAA Tallahassee Regional).
Wichita State claimed the sixth NCAA Regional appearance in program history, reaching the tournament for the fourth time under head coach Kristi Bredbenner. The Shockers finished second in The American with a 14-4 record and dropped a semifinal result to South Florida at the 2022 American Softball Championship to level the season record at 33-16. Wichita State compiled a 5-10 overall record in its previous five NCAA Regional berths, eliminating Oklahoma State from the 2018 Fayetteville Regional and Texas A&M from the 2021 Norman Regional.
South Florida is set for its 17th NCAA Regional appearance all-time and fifth time in the past six NCAA tournaments that have been contested. The Bulls have reached NCAA Super Regionals twice and claimed a bid into the 2012 Women’s College World Series. South Florida capped the 2022 regular season ranked third in The American with a 12-5 league record (44-14 overall).
American Athletic Conference Women’s Softball
2022 NCAA Division I Softball Championship
NCAA Orlando Regional – Friday, May 20/UCF Softball Complex; Orlando, Florida
Villanova vs. No. 16 UCF – (6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT)
NCAA Fayetteville Regional – Friday, May 20/Bogle Park; Fayetteville, Arkansas
Wichita State vs. Oregon – (8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+)
NCAA Tallahassee Regional – Friday, May 20/Joanne Graf Field; Tallahassee, Florida
South Florida vs. Mississippi State – (6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT, ESPNU)