The drama is usually limited during college softball’s version of Selection Sunday.
The top overall seed is often known.
Ditto for the teams expected to earn top eight seeds in the NCAA Tournament and have a chance to host not only regionals but also super regionals.
But that wasn’t the case Sunday.
This has been a year with as much parity and upheaval as any in a while. The number of teams capable of being one of the eight teams at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City feels as high as any year in recent memory.
Now that the bracket is out, we can start looking at matchups and the Road to OKC.
So, who will make it?
Believe it or not, in this year of parity, a vast majority of the top eight seeds look to be headed for the WCWS. There will be upsets and nailbiters, of course. There will be twists and turns, for sureBut there will also be chalk.
Let’s get to our Eight for OKC.
Alabama
Even though the Crimson Tide is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, the selection committee didn’t roll out the red carpet. In the regional alone, Alabama may face Southeastern Louisiana, a mid-major danger, and Belmont, who has one of the best pitchers in the game, Maya Johnson. She was recently drafted by the OKC Spark.
But Alabama won’t become another Texas A&M, a top overall seed to bomb out in regionals. The Crimson Tide won’t even stumble in super regionals against Virginia Tech, who I’m picking to upset LSU in regionals. Jocelyn Briski and the Tide are too good.
Texas
The reigning national champ is hot. The Longhorns, the No. 2 overall national seed, had a legit argument for the top overall seed. They are coming off an SEC Tournament crown with splendid pitching and hitting, so don’t expect much regional drama.
But super regionals could be interesting. The selection committee didn’t give us the potential for Bedlam in supers, but Texas-Texas A&M is possible in Austin. The thing is, the Aggies got no favors in their regional with Arizona State coming to town. Just like Texas, the Sun Devils and ace Kenzie Brown are hot, having won the Big 12 Tournament.
Give me Arizona State in the regional upset, but then give me Texas coming through supers.
Oklahoma
The Sooners got shook at the SEC Tournament, surrendering a five-run lead against Georgia and bowing out in the quarterfinals. It exposed the team’s biggest area of weakness, pitching, but it also gave Patty Gasso the ultimate motivational tool. That should make OU, the overall No. 3 seed, hard to beat in regionals.
It will likely find itself in a rematch from last year’s WCWS against former Sooner and longtime assistant Melyssa Lombardi and her Oregon Ducks in super regional. But the Ducks have been up and down. Will they survive Mississippi State in regionals?
I say yes, but they don’t survive the Sooners.
Nebraska
The Cornhuskers had a case for a higher seed, winning the Big Ten regular-season and conference-tournament titles. But no matter where they were seeded, I’d pick them to make OKC.
The reason: Jordy Frahm.
Three years ago, the ace previously known as Jordy Bahl powered OU to a national title, and now as a senior, she has a chance to do the same for her home-state Huskers. Louisville and Grand Canyon are interesting regional opponents, but Nebraska has the pitching depth and the hitting prowess to handle both.
Super regional will be a challenge. It could well be Nebraska native Ruby Meylan against Nebraska native Frahm, but as much as I like the Oklahoma State ace, I’ve long said the Cowgirls are way tougher as a super-regional, best-of-three team than a double-elimination regional team. And with Stanford coming to Stillwater, the Cardinal will best the Cowgirls again this season. Still, I don’t see either beating Nebraska.
Arkansas
The Razorbacks finished seventh in the SEC — and got the No. 5 overall national seed.
Go figure.
That speaks, of course, to the strength of the SEC, but it also speaks to how good the Razorbacks have been. While Washington will be in Fayetteville, it’s hard to see Arkansas challenged all that much.
In supers, Duke or Arizona will be there. I lean Blue Devils. They played a super-tough non-conference schedule and have been in tough environments like Arkansas’. The Razorbacks just have too much pitching and power. They’ll make their first WCWS appearance.
Texas Tech
Upset alert!
After the top eight seeds were revealed and the Red Raiders weren’t among them, you have to think every team toward the bottom of those eight was sweating. No one wants to face NiJaree Canady in a best-of-three series.
Florida, the No. 6 overall seed, is going to draw that duty — and as good as the Gators’ hitters and ace Keagan Rothrock are, Canady is better. Interestingly, Rothrock has thrown over 180 innings this season while Canady has thrown less than 150. Getting her innings down heading into the NCAA Tournament was a goal of Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco.
Canady should be fresher and more dangerous than she was a year ago.
Now, the Texas Tech bats are going to have to come back to life, but regional games in Lubbock should help the Red Raiders get their mojo back.
Tennessee
The Vols looked almost unbeatable for the first half of the season, but then, they fell into disarray for about a month or so, even failing to win their SEC series on back-to-back weekends.
But Tennessee is dangerous for the same reason that Nebraska and Texas Tech are — elite pitching.
Karlyn Pickens leads the way there for the No. 7 overall seed, but Tennessee also has Sage Mardjetko and Erin Newer, who actually have lower ERAs than Pickens at 0.96 and 1.09 to Pickens’ 1.52. Those three arms will make the Vols hard to handle in regionals.
And in supers, even though Georgia or Clemson would be interesting matchups, Tennessee is just better.
UCLA
Maybe this is the way it should be when you’re dealing with No. 8 and 9 overall seeds, but picking the team that will emerge from this pod of teams is most difficult. The Bruins get the nod, and honestly, it’s because they have home-field advantage. The margin looks just that slim between UCLA and Florida State, which should win its regional in Tallahassee.
The two teams played during the regular season at the Clearwater Invitational with the Seminoles winning 11-7. But the Bruins look like they better know who they are at this point, leaning into the power of home-run queen Megan Grant, sidekick Jordan Woolery and ace Taylor Tinsley.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NCAA softball tournament 2026: Which teams advance to WCWS bracket?