IRVING, Texas – The field has officially been set for the 2023 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, scheduled to take place on May 11-13 at the USF Softball Stadium in Tampa, Florida. All seven teams that compete in The American in softball were seeded in the tournament field based on regular-season winning percentage in conference games during the 2023 season.
All games of the 2023 American Softball Championship are scheduled to air live on ESPN+, with the first semifinal game to air on ESPNU on May 12 at 12 p.m. (ET) and the conference championship game set for May 13 at 11 a.m. (ET) nationally broadcast on ESPN2.
No. 1 Wichita State (43-9, 16-2 American) secured the outright conference regular-season championship and tournament number one seed prior to their final weekend bye, holding a one-game lead over UCF. This marks the second time in three seasons that the Shockers have earned the top seed in the tournament. The Shockers previously captured the American Softball Championship trophy in 2021. Wichita State will meet the winner of No. 4 Tulsa and No. 5 Houston in the semifinal round of the 2023 American Softball Championship, with the Shockers previously taking two of three from the Cougars (April 14-16) and sweeping the Golden Hurricane (April 28-30) during the regular season.
No. 2 UCF (36-19, 15-3 American) finished one game out of the top spot in the standings during the regular season and will attempt its American Softball Championship defense as the two seed in the 2023 tournament. The Knights earned their second American tournament title last season with a 11-0 win over South Florida in the championship final at East Carolina’s Max R. Joyner Family Stadium. UCF will take on Memphis in the 2023 opening round, with the Knights downing the Tigers in three straight games during the final weekend of conference play (May 5-7).
No. 3 South Florida (31-23, 10-7 American) locked down the third seed in the championship with an 8-0 win over Houston in the final weekend of the regular season. The Bulls, the 2016 and 2019 regular-season champions and top tournament seed, are in search of their first American Softball Championship title. South Florida will collide with East Carolina in the opening game of the tournament, with the Bulls previously sweeping the Pirates in a three-game set in Tampa from March 24-26.
No. 4 Tulsa (23-27, 9-9 American) settled into the tournament’s fourth seed after sweeping East Carolina in the final series of the 2023 regular season. The Golden Hurricane previously captured the 2016, 2017 and 2018 American Softball Championship titles, defeating Houston 1-0 in the 2017 championship game in Greenville. Tulsa and Houston will face off in the No. 4 vs No. 5 game for a second straight season with the Cougars coming out on top in last year’s edition, 5-2.
No. 5 Houston (20-29, 7-10 American) split their final series of the season with Tulsa, as weather forced the final game to be cancelled. The Cougars finished as the 2017 tournament runner-up and are still looking to hoist their first trophy. Houston is set to take on the fourth seed Tulsa in the opening round after both teams after being previously swept by the Golden Hurricane on April 21-23 in Houston.
No. 6 East Carolina (27-27, 3-15 American) secured the sixth seed in the conference tournament. The Pirates are in search of a second all-time appearance in the semifinal round of the American tournament after advancing at the 2019 conference championship before the remainder of the weekend was cancelled due to inclement weather. East Carolina will look to defeat South Florida in the opening tournament round after previously being swept in a three-game series at home by the Bulls during the opening week of conference play in late March.
No. 7 Memphis (8-42, 2-16 American) rounds out the tournament field as the seventh seed following a series sweep at the hands of UCF in the final series of the year. The Tigers previously reached the tournament’s semifinal round in both 2017 and 2018, falling to eventual champion Tulsa (2017) and runner-up South Florida (2018) on each occasion. Memphis will take on UCF for a fourth consecutive game as the Knights are the tournament’s No. 2 seed in the tournament’s first round.
2023 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship
May 11-13, 2023
USF Softball Stadium
Tampa, Florida
First Round - Thursday, May 11
No. 4 Tulsa vs. No. 5 Houston – 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT (ESPN+)
No. 2 UCF vs. No. 7 Memphis – 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
No. 3 South Florida vs. No. 6 East Carolina – 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Semifinals - Friday, May 12
Game 1 winner vs. No. 1 Wichita State – 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT (ESPNU)
Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner – 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Championship Game - Saturday, May 13
Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner – 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT (ESPN2)