Rounding Third Softball

Some shocking seeds, pairings, and misses. None-the-less, the Road to the Women’s College World Series is set.

Norman Regional

No. 1 Oklahoma

Hofstra

Missouri

California

Los Angeles Regional

No. 2 UCLA

Grand Canyon

San Diego State

Liberty

Tallahassee Regional

No. 3 Florida State

Marist

UCF

South Carolina

Knoxville Regional

No. 4 Tennessee

Northern Kentucky

Louisville

Indiana

Tuscaloosa Regional

No. 5 Alabama

Long Island

Middle Tennessee State

Central Arkansas

Stillwater Regional

No. 6 Oklahoma State

UMBC

Nebraska

Wichita State

Seattle Regional

No. 7 Washington

Northern Colorado

McNeese State

Minnesota

Durham Regional

No. 8 Duke

George Mason

Campbell

UNC Charlotte

Palo Alto Regional

No. 9 Stanford

Long Beach State

Loyola Marymount

Florida

Baton Rouge Regional

No. 10 LSU

Prairie View A&M

Omaha

Louisiana

Fayetteville Regional

No. 11 Arkansas

Harvard

Notre Dame

Oregon

Evanston Regional

No. 12 Northwestern

Eastern Illinois

Miami (OH)

Kentucky

Austin Regional

No. 13 Texas

Seton Hall

Texas State

Texas A&M

Athens Regional

No. 14 Georgia

North Carolina Central

Boston

Virginia Tech

Salt Lake City Regional

No. 15 Utah

Southern Illinois

Ole Miss

Baylor

Clemson Regional

No. 16 Clemson

UNC Greensboro

Auburn

Cal State Fullerton

Western Illinois will be departing the Summit League for the Ohio Valley Conference effective July 1. The move adds 11 members to the OVC (10 softball playing programs) which in recent years has been poaching grounds for other conference expansions. The 2023 WIU Softball Squad finished the season 9-36.

Northwest University in Washington has announced they will discontinue their softball program. University officials stated the move was, “The right decision for the short and long-term future of Eagle Athletics and Northwest University.” The university said scholarship commitments to softball student-athletes would be honored for those who opt to continue at the institute. Veteran Coach Pam Fink retired after the Eagles last game on April 29. Fink coached for 30 years leading NAIA Northwest since 2018. She is the program’s all-time winningest coach.

Ciria Triplett is retiring as head coach at Newberry College to spend more time with her family. The winningest coach in Wolves history, Triplett compiled a record of 290-211 in 11 seasons leading the DII program.

The revolving door of coaches continues at Upper Iowa University. Head Coach Laura North has resigned after one season at the DII school to accept the head coaching position at NAIA William Penn University. In her lone season leading the Peacocks she had a 17-26 record. Sources have confirmed to RTS that assistant coach Erin Kuba has been offered the head coaching postion and is considering it. She would become the fourth head coach since 2021.

Wendy Thees will not return for the 2024 season as head coach at Winthrop. Thees spent five seasons leading the Eagles. She compiled a winning record in Rock Hill going 123-121 overall and 43-40 in Big South play.

The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) has announced their field for the 2023 World Series to be held in Kansas City, MO May 16-18. Eight selections including regional champions and at-large bids are included in the event. The complete field can be found at https://thenccaa.org/…/2023-softball-world-series-field…

NAIA has announced the postseason selections for their National Championship Opening Round. 40 teams were seeded at 10 sites around the country in four-team, double-elimination brackets to be played May 15-17. The winners of each site will advance to the NAIA World Series in Columbus, GA May 25-31. The complete selections and pairings can be found at https://www.naia.org/…/2022-23/releases/2023_OR_Schedule

Kent State and Head Coach Eric Oakley have parted ways. Oakley coached the Golden Flashes for eight seasons and 201 victories. He won MAC Championships early in his tenure in 2016 and 2017.

Boo De Oliveira is out as head coach at Purdue. De Oliveira coached the Boilermakers since 2017. During that time she compiled a record of 150-202, falling short of qualifying for the NCAA Postseason each year.