Rounding Third Softball

New Mexico has announced that head coach Paula Congleton will not have her contract renewed. Congleton spent five seasons leading the Lobos. She compiled a record of 73-158 overall, while also going 25-71 in Mountain West Conference play.

The Road to the WCWS is set. Seeds and Regional Sites for the 2022 NCAA Postseason.

Norman Regional

No. 1 Oklahoma

Prairie View A&M

Minnesota Texas A&M

Tallahassee Regional

No. 2 Florida State

Howard

South Florida

Mississippi State

Blacksburg Regional

No. 3 Virginia Tech

St. Francis

Miami (OH)

Kentucky

Fayetteville Regional

No. 4 Arkansas

Princeton

Wichita State

Oregon

Los Angeles Regional

No. 5 UCLA

Grand Canyon

Loyola Marymount

Ole Miss

Tuscaloosa Regional

No. 6 Alabama

Chattanooga

Stanford

Murray State

Stillwater Regional

No. 7 Oklahoma State

Fordham

North Texas

Nebraska

Tempe Regional

No. 8 Arizona State

Cal State Fullerton

LSU

San Diego State

Evanston Regional

No. 9 Northwestern

Oakland

McNeese State

Notre Dame

Clemson Regional

No. 10 Clemson

UNC Wilmington

Louisiana

Auburn

Knoxville Regional

No. 11 Tennessee

Campbell

Oregon State

Ohio State

Durham Regional

No. 12 Duke

UMBC

Liberty

Georgia

Seattle Regional

No. 13 Washington

Lehigh

Weber State

Texas

Gainesville Regional

No. 14 Florida

Canisius

Wisconsin

Georgia Tech

Columbia Regional

No. 15 Missouri

Missouri State

Arizona

Illinois

Orlando Regional

No. 16 UCF

Villanova

South Dakota State

Michigan

A few interesting points and possibilities ahead of tonight’s selection of the Division I Championship Field:

-The SEC might be hosting the fewest regional tournaments in a very long time. While Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas are locks to host, after that it’s likely the rest of the SEC representatives will be sent to other regionals. This could produce some roadblocks for regional hosts/higher seeds seeing good SEC teams coming their way.

-Arizona finished last place in the Pac-12 which always seemed unfathomable before. The Wildcats have not missed the NCAA postseason since 1986. Arizona is definitely on the bubble, and at this point the wrong side of it.

-Does the NCAA Championship Committee place three Regional Rounds in the State of Florida? Florida State and Florida are a lock to host. A third site could be UCF, and they are deserving based on RPI, SOS, and rankings. If the Golden Knights aren’t chosen to host, they might be the most dangerous team in the postseason taking to the road.

-Texas A&M is a bubble team for the Field of 64. The Aggies finished the season 29-26, but have a good RPI and SOS. If A&M misses the postseason, head coach Jo Evans is at the end of her contract and a move to new leadership could be made by Aggie Administration.

-Arizona State won the Pac-12 Championship straight out over conference runner-up UCLA. The Sun Devils are 12th in the latest RPI, the Bruins are 5th. Can the Championship Committee seed UCLA as a Top 8 team and keep ASU out ignoring the finish in the Pac-12?

The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Small College World Series starts tomorrow in DuBois, PA. The event runs May 16-19 at Heindl Field. Defending Champion Florida National University has garnered the top seed for the event.

USCAA Teams include:

Florida National University

Miami University-Hamilton

Penn State University-Hazleton

Carlow University

Penn State University-DuBois

Central Maine Community College

Penn State University-Schuylkill

D’Youville College

Penn State University-Brandywine

Mississippi University For Women

Complete seedings, schedule, and details can be found at https://www.smallcollegeworldseries.com/…/Schedule_Release

BEDLAM! Oklahoma State has knocked off the top team in the land Oklahoma to take home the Big 12 Tournament Championship. The Cowgirls defeat the Sooners 4-3 to secure the Big 12’s automatic bid to the NCAA Postseason.

Stacey Johnson-Whitfield has been named the permanent head coach at Furman. Johnson-Whitfield was named interim head coach last summer. She led the Paladins through the 2022 season going 22-33 and 8-10 in Southern Conference play. Johnson-Whitfield initially joined the program as pitching coach during the 2021 season.

University of Maryland Baltimore County has captured the American East Conference Tournament Title downing Albany 4-0 in the championship game. It’s the third tournament title in four years for UMBC. With the victory the Retrievers punch their ticket to the NCAA Postseason. The trip will be the third in four seasons since head coach Chris Kuhlmeyer took direction of the program.

Arizona State clinched at least a share of the Pac-12 Championship on Friday with an 8-4 victory over Washington in Seattle. The championship is the first for the Sun Devils since 2011. They can win the title outright today with a series winning victory over UW. With a loss and a UCLA win, they would share the title. ASU receives the conference automatic bid to the NCAA Postseason however, as they beat the Bruins two of three in their regular-season series.

UCF makes short work of South Florida in the finals of the AAC Tournament to take home the championship and punch their ticket to the NCAA Postseason. The Knights pounded the Bulls 11-0 for the run rule victory in Greenville, NC. UCF sweeps USF for the season having won all four meetings in 2022.

North Dakota State Head Coach Darren Mueller collected his 700th career coaching victory on Friday. The Bison downed Omaha 2-0 in the Summit League Tournament in Vermillion, SD. Mueller is in his 21st season at NDSU.