2017 NCAA Division I softball tournament

The 2017 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 18 through June 7, 2017, as the final part of the 2017 NCAA Division I softball season. The 64 participating NCAA Division I college softball teams were selected out of an eligible 293 teams on May 14, 2017. Thirty-two teams were awarded automatic bids as champions of their conferences, and the remaining 32 were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I softball selection committee. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the 2017 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma would repeat as National Champions, defeating Florida in 2 games and 17 innings in the first game. Oklahoma became the lowest seeded team to ever win the National Championship, winning as the 10 seed.^[1]

2017 NCAA Division I
softball tournament

Teams	64
Finals site	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City
Champions	Oklahoma (4th title)
Runner-up	Florida (8th WCWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Patty Gasso (4th title)
MOP	Shay Knighten (Oklahoma)
← 2016  NCAA Division I softball tournament 2018 →

Automatic bids

The Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12, and West Coast Conference bids were awarded to the regular-season champion. All other conferences have the automatic bid go to the conference tournament winner.

Conference	School	Best finish	Reference
America East	Albany	Regionals (2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2014)
American	Tulsa	Regionals (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014)	[2]
ACC	Florida State	WCWS (1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2016)	[3]
A-10	Fordham	Regionals (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
ASUN	USC Upstate	Regionals (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)	[4]
Big 12	Oklahoma	1st (2000, 2013, 2016)	[5]
Big East	DePaul	WCWS (1999, 2000, 2005, 2007)	[6]
Big Sky	Montana	1st Appearance	[7]
Big South	Longwood	Regionals (2013, 2015, 2016)	[8]
Big Ten	Minnesota	WCWS 1976, 1978	[9]
Big West	Cal State Fullerton	1st (1986)	[10]
Colonial	James Madison	Super Regionals (2016)	[11]
Conference USA	Louisiana Tech	WCWS (1983, 1985, 1986)	[12]
Horizon League	UIC	WCWS (1994)	[13]
Ivy League	Princeton	WCWS (1995, 1996)	[14]
MAC	Kent State	WCWS (1990)	[15]
MAAC	Fairfield	Regionals (2015)
MEAC	Florida A&M	Regionals (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016)
MVC	Southern Illinois	WCWS (1970, 1977, 1978, 1991)	[16]
Mountain West	San Jose State	Regionals (2013)	[17]
Northeastern	Saint Francis (PA)	1st Appearance	[18]
OVC	Jacksonville State	Super Regionals (2009)	[19]
Pac-12	Arizona	1st (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007)	[20]
Patriot League	Lehigh	Regionals (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015)
SEC	Ole Miss	Regionals (2016)	[21]
SoCon	East Tennessee State	1st Appearance	[22]
Southland	McNeese State	Regionals (1994, 2005, 2010, 2016)	[23]
SWAC	Texas Southern	Regionals (2014, 2015)	[24]
Summit League	North Dakota State	Super Regionals (2009)	[25]
Sun Belt	Louisiana–Lafayette	WCWS (1993, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2008, 2014)	[26]
WAC	New Mexico State	Regionals (2011, 2015)	[27]
WCC	BYU	Super Regionals (2010)	[28]

National seeds

16 National Seeds were announced on the Selection Show Sunday, May 14 at 10 p.m. EDT on ESPN2. The 16 national seeds host the Regionals. Teams in italics advanced to Super Regionals. Teams in bold advance to Women's College World Series.

1. Florida 2. Arizona 3. Oregon 4. Florida State 5. UCLA 6. Washington 7. Auburn 8. Tennessee

9. Texas A&M 10. Oklahoma 11. Utah 12. Ole Miss 13. LSU 14. Kentucky 15. Baylor 16. Alabama

Regionals and Super Regionals

The Regionals took place May 18–21. One regional, Salt Lake City, took place May 18–20 because of BYU's no-Sunday-play policy; all other regionals occurred May 19–21. The Super Regionals took place from May 25–28.

Gainesville Super Regional

	Round 1					Round 2					Regional Finals						Super Regionals
	1	Florida	9(5)
		Florida A&M	0
						1	Florida	2
							Oklahoma State	0
		FIU	0
		Oklahoma State	2
											1	Florida	0	5
	Gainesville Regional
												Oklahoma State	1	0
		Florida A&M	0
		FIU	3
							Oklahoma State	5
							FIU	0
																	1	Florida	0	2	2
																	16	Alabama	3	0	1
	16	Alabama	5
		Albany	1
						16	Alabama	1(9)
							Minnesota	0
		Minnesota	11(5)
		Louisiana Tech	3
											16	Alabama	1	—
	Tuscaloosa Regional
												Minnesota	0	—
		Albany	1
		Louisiana Tech	8
							Minnesota	5(9)
							Louisiana Tech	2

Knoxville Super Regional

	Round 1					Round 2					Regional Finals						Super Regionals
	9	Texas A&M	14(5)
		Texas Southern	0
						9	Texas A&M	3
							Texas State	1
		Texas	1
		Texas State	2(12)
											9	Texas A&M	3	—
	College Station Regional
												Texas	1	—
		Texas Southern	0
		Texas	8(5)
							Texas State	3
							Texas	6
																	9	Texas A&M	1	6	5
																	8	Tennessee	8	5	3
	8	Tennessee	5
		Longwood	0
						8	Tennessee	7
							USC Upstate	3
		Ohio State	3
		USC Upstate	7
											8	Tennessee	3	—
	Knoxville Regional
												Longwood	0	—
		Longwood	3
		Ohio State	1
							USC Upstate	2
							Longwood	4

Los Angeles Super Regional

	Round 1					Round 2					Regional Finals						Super Regionals
	5	UCLA	8(5)
		Lehigh	0
						5	UCLA	10(6)
							San Jose State	2
		San Jose State	3
		Cal State Fullerton	0
											5	UCLA	9	—
	Los Angeles Regional
												Cal State Fullerton	1	—
		Lehigh	8
		Cal State Fullerton	10
							San Jose State	0
							Cal State Fullerton	1
																	5	UCLA	8(11)	1	—
																	12	Ole Miss	7	0	—
	12	Ole Miss	8(5)
		Southern Illinois	0
						12	Ole Miss	2
							Arizona State	0
		Arizona State	9
		North Carolina	3
											12	Ole Miss	7	—
	Oxford Regional
												North Carolina	2	—
		Southern Illinois	0
		North Carolina	4
							Arizona State	2
							North Carolina	3

Tallahassee Super Regional

	Round 1					Round 2					Regional Finals						Super Regionals
	13	LSU	2
		Fairfield	1
						13	LSU	2
							Louisiana–Lafayette	4
		McNeese State	0
		Louisiana–Lafayette	6
												Louisiana–Lafayette	1	1
	Baton Rouge Regionals
											13	LSU	6	5
		Fairfield	2
		McNeese State	6
						13	LSU	10
							McNeese State	1
																	13	LSU	1	1	6
																	4	Florida State	3	0	4
	4	Florida State	3
		Princeton	0
						4	Florida State	7
							Georgia	1
		Georgia	4
		Jacksonville State	2
											4	Florida State	8	—
	Tallahassee Regionals
												Georgia	5	—
		Princeton	2
		Jacksonville State	10(6)
							Georgia	8
							Jacksonville State	2

Eugene Super Regional

	Round 1					Round 2					Regional Finals						Super Regionals
	3	Oregon	13(5)
		UIC	0
						3	Oregon	6(8)
							Wisconsin	5
		Wisconsin	7
		Missouri	2
											3	Oregon	9	—
	Eugene Regional
												Wisconsin	0	—
		UIC	5
		Missouri	4
							Wisconsin	2
							UIC	0
																	3	Oregon	4	6	—
																	14	Kentucky	0	5	—
	14	Kentucky	6
		DePaul	0
						14	Kentucky	1
							Illinois	0
		Illinois	3(12)
		Marshall	2
											14	Kentucky	4	—
	Lexington Regional
												Illinois	2	—
		DePaul	1
		Marshall	2(8)
							Illinois	10(5)
							Marshall	2

Seattle Super Regional

	Round 1					Round 2					Regional Finals						Super Regionals
	11	Utah	10(5)
		Fordham	0
						11	Utah	3
							BYU	2
		Mississippi State	0
		BYU	8(6)
											11	Utah	14(6)	—
	Salt Lake City Regional
												BYU	0	—
		Mississippi State	3
		Fordham	9
							BYU	12(5)
							Fordham	1
																	11	Utah	4	9	1
																	6	Washington	10	8	2
	6	Washington	8(5)
		Montana	0
						6	Washington	12(5)
							Michigan	4
		Michigan	3
		Fresno State	1
											6	Washington	4	—
	Seattle Regional
												Michigan	2	—
		Montana	0
		Fresno State	7
							Michigan	4
							Fresno State	0

Auburn Super Regional

	Round 1					Round 2					Regional Finals						Super Regionals
	7	Auburn	11(5)
		East Tennessee State	0
						7	Auburn	4(9)
							California	3
		Notre Dame	2
		California	6
											7	Auburn	8	—
	Auburn Regional
												California	2	—
		East Tennessee State	6
		Notre Dame	7(8)
							California	5
							Notre Dame	3
																	7	Auburn	0	2	—
																	10	Oklahoma	4	5	—
	10	Oklahoma	2
		North Dakota State	3(9)
							North Dakota State	1
							Tulsa	2
		Arkansas	4
		Tulsa	5
												Tulsa	4	0
	Norman Regional
											10	Oklahoma	6(10)	3
	10	Oklahoma	5
		Arkansas	3
							North Dakota State	2
						10	Oklahoma	10(6)

Tucson Super Regional

	Round 1					Round 2					Regional Finals						Super Regionals
	15	Baylor	1
		Kent State	0
						15	Baylor	4
							James Madison	2
		Oregon State	2
		James Madison	3
											15	Baylor	1	—
	Waco Regional
												James Madison	0	—
		Kent State	2
		Oregon State	1
							James Madison	4
							Kent State	0
																	15	Baylor	2	6	6
																	2	Arizona	3	4	5
	2	Arizona	11(5)
		New Mexico State	0
						2	Arizona	5
							South Carolina	0
		Saint Francis (PA)	2
		South Carolina	12(5)
											2	Arizona	9	—
	Tucson Regional
												South Carolina	0	—
		New Mexico State	4
		Saint Francis (PA)	8
							South Carolina	3
							Saint Francis (PA)	1

Women's College World Series

The Women's College World Series will be held June 1 through June 7, 2017, in Oklahoma City.

Participants

School	Conference	Record (conference)	Head coach	WCWS appearances† (including 2017 WCWS)	WCWS best finish†*	WCWS W–L record† (excluding 2017 WCWS)
UCLA	Pac-12	47–13 (16–8)	Kelly Inouye-Perez	27 (last: 2016)	1st (1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990 1992, 1995*, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010)	95–32
Oklahoma	Big 12	56–9 (17–1)	Patty Gasso	11 (last: 2016)	1st (2000, 2013, 2016)	22–15
Florida	SEC	55–8 (20–3)	Tim Walton	8 (last: 2015)	1st (2014, 2015)	22–12
Oregon	Pac-12	52-6 (17-6)	Mike White	5 (last: 2015)	3rd (2014)	4-8
LSU	SEC	47–20 (12–12)	Beth Torina	6 (last: 2016)	3rd (2001, 2004, 2015, 2016)	8–10
Texas A&M	SEC	47–11 (16–7)	Jo Evans	8 (last: 2008)	1st (1983, 1987)	19–13
Baylor	Big 12	48–13 (13–5)	Glenn Moore	4 (last: 2014)	3rd (2011, 2014)	5–6
Washington	Pac-12	48–12 (16–8)	Heather Tarr	12 (last: 2013)	1st (2009)	19–17

† = From NCAA Division I Softball Championship Results

Bracket

	First round					Second round					Semifinals						Finals
	1	Florida	8(5)
	9	Texas A&M	0
						1	Florida	7
						13	LSU	0
	13	LSU	2
	5	UCLA	1
											1	Florida	5	—
											6	Washington	2	—
	9	Texas A&M	2
	5	UCLA	8
						6	Washington	1
						5	UCLA	0
																	1	Florida	5	4	—
																	10	Oklahoma	7(17)	5	—
	3	Oregon	1
	6	Washington	3
						6	Washington	1
						10	Oklahoma	3
	15	Baylor	3
	10	Oklahoma	6
											10	Oklahoma	4	—
											3	Oregon	2	—
	3	Oregon	7
	15	Baylor	4
						13	LSU	1
						3	Oregon	4

Game results

Game	Time*	Matchup#	Television	Attendance
Thursday, June 1
1	11:00 a.m.	(9) Texas A&M vs. (1) Florida	ESPN	8,428
2	1:30 p.m.	(5) UCLA vs. (13) LSU
3	6:00 p.m.	(6) Washington vs. (3) Oregon	ESPN2	8,874
4	8:30 p.m.	(10) Oklahoma vs. (15) Baylor
Friday, June 2
5	6:00 p.m.	(1) Florida vs. (13) LSU	ESPN	9,658
6	8:30 p.m.	(6) Washington vs. (10) Oklahoma
Saturday, June 3
7	11:00 a.m.	(9) Texas A&M vs. (5) UCLA	ESPN	8,696
8	1:30 p.m.	(3) Oregon vs. (15) Baylor
9	6:00 p.m.	(5) UCLA vs. (6) Washington		9,076
10	8:30 p.m.	(3) Oregon vs. (13) LSU
Sunday, June 4
11	12:00 p.m.	(1) Florida vs. (6) Washington	ESPN	9,419
12	2:30 p.m.	(10) Oklahoma vs. (3) Oregon
Monday, June 5
Finals, G1	6:00 p.m.	(1) Florida vs. (10) Oklahoma	ESPN	8,337
Tuesday, June 6
Finals, G2	7:00 p.m.	(1) Florida vs. (10) Oklahoma	ESPN	8,507
*Game times in CDT. (#) – Rankings denote tournament seed.

Finals

Game 1

June 5, 2017 – 6:00 p.m. (CDT) at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	R	H	E
Oklahoma	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	7	10	2
Florida	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	5	12	0
WP: Paige Lowary (16–3)   LP: Kelly Barnhill (26–4) Home runs: OKLA: Nicole Mendes, Falepolima Aviu, Shay Knighten FLA: None Attendance: 8,337 Boxscore

Game 2

June 6, 2017 – 7:00 p.m. (CDT) at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Florida	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	4	6	1
Oklahoma	1	4	0	0	0	0	x	5	8	1
WP: Mariah Lopez (18–1)   LP: Aleshia Ocasio (8–1)   Sv: Paige Lowary (11) Home runs: FLA: Sophia Reynoso, Chelsea Herndon OKLA: Nicole Mendes Attendance: 8,507 Boxscore

All-tournament Team

The following players were members of the Women's College World Series All-Tournament Team.

Position	Player	School
P	Kelly Barnhill	Florida
	Delanie Gourley	Florida
	Paige Lowary	Oklahoma
	Paige Parker	Oklahoma
IF	Shay Knighten (MOP)	Oklahoma
	Ali Aguilar	Washington
	Mia Camuso	Oregon
	Alexis Mack	Oregon
OF	Amanda Lorenz	Florida
	Justine McLean	Florida
U	Nicole Mendes	Oklahoma
	Aleshia Ocasio	Florida

Record by conference

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	RF	SR	WS	NS	F	NC
Big 12	4	23–10	.697	4	2	2	1	1	1
SEC	13	39–27	.591	10	8	3	1	1	–
Pac-12	8	30–15	.667	6	5	3	2	–	–
ACC	3	7–6	.538	2	1	–	–	–	–
Big Ten	5	8–10	.444	4	–	–	–	–	–
American	1	2–2	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
Sun Belt	2	3–4	.429	1	–	–	–	–	–
Big South	1	2–2	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
Big West	1	2–2	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
CAA	1	2–2	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
WCC	1	2–2	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–
C-USA	3	3–6	.333	–	–	–	–	–	–
MWC	2	2–4	.333	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other	19	8–38	.174	–	–	–	–	–	–

The columns RF, SR, WS, NS, F, and NC respectively stand for the Regional Finals, Super Regionals, College World Series Teams, National Semi-Finals, Finals, and National Champion.

Media coverage

Radio

Westwood One provided nationwide radio coverage of the championship series. It was streamed online at westwoodsports.com, through TuneIn, and on SiriusXM. Kevin Kugler and Leah Amico provided the call for Westwood One.

Television

ESPN holds exclusive rights to the tournament. They aired games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ESPN3 and Longhorn Network. For the first time in the history of the women's softball tournament ESPN covered every regional.^[29]

Broadcast assignments

Regionals[29] Salt Lake: Alex Perlman & Megan Turk Gainesville: Melissa Lee & Lee Dakich Lexington: Jenn Hildreth & Carol Bruggeman Norman: Alex Loeb & Megan Willis Baton Rouge: Lyn Rollins & Yvette Girouard Knoxville: Lisa Byington & Jennie Ritter Auburn: Mark Neely & Jenny Dalton-Hill Tuscaloosa: Pam Ward & Cheri Kempf Super Regionals[30] Gainesville: Eric Collins & Amanda Scarborough Los Angeles: Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, Michele Smith, & Holly Rowe Auburn: Mark Neely & Jenny Dalton-Hill Tallahassee: Jenn Hildreth & Carol Bruggeman Women's College World Series[31] Adam Amin, Amanda Scarborough, & Laura Rutledge (afternoons, early Fri) Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, Michele Smith, & Holly Rowe (evenings minus early Fri)

Regionals[29] Tallahassee: Eric Frede & Leah Amico Waco: Brenda VanLengen & Francesca Enea College Station: Tyler Denning & Erin Miller Oxford: Eric Collins & Amanda Scarborough Tucson: Dean Linke & Kenzie Fowler Eugene: Trey Bender & Danielle Lawrie Los Angeles: Tracy Warren & Amanda Freed Seattle: Beth Mowins & Michele Smith Super Regionals[30] Knoxville: Alex Loeb & Megan Willis Eugene: Trey Bender & Danielle Lawrie Tucson: Pam Ward & Cheri Kempf Seattle: Courtney Lyle & Lee Dakich Women's College World Series Finals[31] Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, Michele Smith, & Holly Rowe

References

1. "Oklahoma wins softball championship after sweeping Florida". NCAA.com. NCAA & TURNER SPORTS INTERACTIVE, INC. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
2. "Tulsa repeats as AAC Tournament champions, heads back to NCAA Tournament". Tulsa World. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
3. "FSU softball captures fourth straight ACC crown". Tallahassee Democrat. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
4. "USC Upstate wins third straight ASUN softball title". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
5. "OU blanks OSU to win Big 12 Tournament championship". Tulsa World. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
6. "DePaul Powers Past St. John's To Win BIG EAST Softball Championship". Big East. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
7. "Griz softball wins first Big Sky Championship in program history". NBC Montana. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
8. "THREE-PEAT! Longwood Wins Big South Championship" (Press release). Longwood Lancers. May 14, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
9. "Gophers win second straight Big Ten softball tournament title". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
10. "Cal State Fullerton softball clinches Big West title". Orange County Register. May 5, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
11. "JMU Softball Wins CAA Championship, Beats Hofstra 9–0". WVIR-TV. May 13, 2017. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
12. "Tech softball wins C-USA title, spot in NCAA regionals". Shreveport Times. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
13. "Flames Crowned 2017 Horizon League Champions". UIC athletics. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
14. "Princeton Wins Back-to-Back Ivy Titles, Sweeps Harvard in ILCS". Ivy League. May 6, 2017. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
15. "Underdog Kent State wins three games in a row to take title". Akron Beacon Journal. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
16. "Southern trips UNI for MVC tourney title". Pantagraph. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
17. "Softball - 2017 Mountain West Champions!". SJSUSpartans.com. San Jose State University. May 12, 2017. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
18. "Flash Firsts: Saint Francis U Captures NEC Softball Title, Sets New NEC Wins Mark". NEC. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
19. "JSU rallies to claim 2nd straight OVC tournament title". Gadsden Times. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
20. "Arizona Wildcats softball clinches 11th Pac-12 title with win over UCLA". Arizona Daily Star. May 7, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
21. "Ole Miss beats LSU for first SEC softball title". Knoxville News Sentinel. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
22. "ETSU softball wins first SoCon Championship". WJHL-TV. May 13, 2017. Archived from the original on May 16, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
23. "Cowgirls back in NCAA tourney: Repeat as SLC champs, will learn destination tonight". American Press. May 14, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}
24. "Lady Tigers win SWAC softball championship". TSU Sports. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
25. "Bison Softball Wins Summit League Title". KVRR. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
26. "UL-Lafayette wins second straight Sun Belt Conference softball tournament title". The Acadiana Advocate. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
27. "New Mexico State wins WAC Tournament softball title". Las Cruces Sun-News. May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
28. "Cougars clinch fourth-straight WCC title". Deseret News. May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
29. "ESPN Covers Every Game from All 16 NCAA Division I Softball Championship Regionals For the First Time". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
30. "NCAA Division I Softball Championship: ESPN Televises All Eight Super Regionals". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
31. "ESPN Presents the Women's College World Series from Oklahoma City". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved May 23, 2017.