GREENSBORO, NC (theACC.com) –
Headlining four teams in the top 16 national seeds for the first time in conference history, six Atlantic Coast Conference teams have been selected to compete in the Division I Softball Championship of the 2022 NCAA. The ACC is the only conference with two teams in the top five seeds (No. 2 Florida State and No. 3 Virginia Tech).
All six ACC selections are tied for second most in all conferences and most in the league since 2015.
Clemson (39-15), Duke (41-8), Florida State (52-5) and Virginia Tech (41-7) will host regionals this weekend, while Georgia Tech (43-16) and Notre Dame ( 39-10) will kick off the NCAA Tournament action on the road. The Tigers, Blue Devils and Hokies are hosting for the first time in program history.
The ACC champion Seminoles open the NCAA Tournament at home on JoAnne Graf Field for the eighth consecutive championship and make the program’s 34th appearance in the NCAA. As the No. 2 seed, Florida State takes on Howard (31-22) on Friday, May 20 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
No. 3 Virginia Tech hosts Saint Francis (37-16) in its NCAA home opener at 2 p.m. Friday on ACC Network. The Hokies captured the ACC regular season title and have now made three straight NCAA appearances under ACC Coach of the Year Pete D’Amour. The NCAA selection is Virginia Tech’s 11th in program history.
After advancing to the ACC Championship title game, the Clemson Tigers are the No. 10 seed and host UNCW (32-13) at McWhorter Stadium. Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for noon and will be broadcast live on ACC Network. The Tigers, who played their inaugural softball season in 2020, are making their second appearance in the NCAA.
For the second year in a row, Duke is among the tournament’s top 16 seeds, and the Blue Devils will host a regional for the first time. Duke, the No. 12 seed, opens its NCAA run against UMBC (31-10) at 2:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN+. The Blue Devils are on the field for the second time in program history.
Notre Dame will make the short trip to Evanston, Ill., to compete in a regional competition hosted by Northwestern in the Fighting Irish’s 26th appearance in the NCAA and 23rd in a row. Notre Dame is the second seed in the regional and will face McNeese (38-19) at 2 p.m. Friday on ESPN+.
Georgia Tech is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012 and 12th time overall. The Yellow Jackets travel to the Florida-hosted Gainesville Regional and meet Wisconsin (28-19) in their opener Friday at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.
The regionals will take place from May 20 to 22 on 16 campuses. At each location on campus, a four-team double-elimination tournament will be held and the 16 winning teams will advance to super regionals.
The championship super-regionals will take place May 26-29 across eight campuses. At each venue, two teams play in a best-of-three tournament format. The winners from each super-region advance to the NCAA® Women’s College World Series (WCWS) June 2-9, 2010 at OGE Energy Field at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
ESPN will provide coverage of all 16 regional sites on one of the ESPN family networks, which was announced during the NCAA Division I Softball Selection Show. ESPN will televise all Super Regionals matches for the 16th consecutive year, notwithstanding 2020, since 2007. This year also marks the 23rd year ESPN has televised all WCWS matches since 2000.
Blacksburg Regional – May 20-22 in Blacksburg, Virginia
Seeded No. 3 Virginia Tech* (41-7) vs. Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) (37-16)
Kentucky (35-17) vs. Miami (OH) (39-15-1)
Clemson Regional – May 20-22 in Clemson, SC
No. 10 seed Clemson* (39-15) against UNCW (32-13)
Auburn (39-15) vs. University of Louisiana at Lafayette (45-11)
Durham Regional – May 20-22 in Durham, North Carolina
No. 12 seeded Duke* (41-8) vs. University of Maryland, Baltimore County (31-10)
Georgia (40-16) vs. Liberty (43-16)
Evanston Regional – May 20-22 in Evanston, Illinois
No. 9 seeded Northwestern* (40-10) vs. Oakland (26-15)
Our Lady (39-10) against McNeese (38-19)
Gainesville Regional – May 20-22 in Gainesville, Florida
Florida* (43-16) vs Canisius (32-16), seeded No. 14
Georgia Tech (37-16) vs. Wisconsin (28-19)
Tallahassee Regional – May 20-22 in Tallahassee, Florida
No. 2 seed Florida State* (52-5) against Howard (31-22)
Mississippi State (33-24) vs. South Florida (44-14)
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