IRVING, Texas – The UCF Knights and Wichita State Shockers softball teams will represent the American Athletic Conference in the 2023 NCAA Softball Regionals as both heard their names called during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday.
 
Wichita State will travel to Stillwater to take on Nebraska in the NCAA Stillwater Regional on May 19. UCF will take on South Carolina in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional on May 19. 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 2023 Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
 
Teams from The American have now reached the NCAA Regional round a combined 24 times since the conference was reconstituted prior to the 2014 season. The 2023 NCAA Championship marks the seventh time in nine seasons that multiple American teams have earned a bid to NCAA Regionals. American squads are 32-44 in previous NCAA tournament appearances.
 
UCF is headed to NCAA Regionals for the 10th 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 third straight season. The Knights won the 2023 American Athletic Conference Championship, marking back-to-back conference championships for the Knights. UCF is a combined 16-16 in its nine prior trips to NCAA Regionals and became the first American program to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals a season ago after winning the NCAA Orlando Regional, before falling to eventual NCAA Champion Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma.
 
Wichita State claimed the seventh NCAA Regional appearance in program history, reaching the tournament for the fifth time under head coach Kristi Bredbenner, including a third straight appearance. The Shockers were the regular season American champions, finishing the season with a 16-2 record in conference play before falling to Tulsa in the semifinals of the 2023 American Softball Championship. Wichita State compiled a 6-12 overall record in its previous six NCAA Regional berths, eliminating Oklahoma State from the 2018 Fayetteville Regional and Texas A&M from the 2021 Norman Regional.
 
 
American Athletic Conference Women’s Softball
2023 NCAA Division I Softball Championship
 
NCAA Tallahassee Regional – Friday, May 19/Seminole Softball Complex; Tallahassee Florida
UCF vs South Carolina - TBA
 
NCAA Stillwater Regional – Friday, May 19/Cowgirl Stadium; Stillwater, Oklahoma
Wichita State vs. Nebraska - TBA