The stage is set.
The matchups for super regionals have been locked after a whirlwind of a weekend in college softball. Before we look at next week's contests, let's take a second to rewind.
👉 Click or tap to view the interactive bracket | Full scoreboard, stats
There's no doubt that this season in college softball has been legendary, characterized by historic records falling, walk-off chaos and major upsets. This past weekend at the 2026 NCAA softball regionals was no different.
Mayhem unfolded across 16 regional sites from Los Angeles to Tallahassee, featuring everything from unreal comebacks to dominant no-hitters. Teams punched their tickets to the Super Regionals, set for Thursday, May 21, through Sunday, May 24, with a trip to the Women’s College World Series on the line.
But in case you missed any of the action, take a look at four of the best moments from regionals.
1. Three teams record unreal comebacks
One thing we learned from this weekend is to never count out any of these teams in a fight.
No. 3 Tech Texas trailed No. 6 Ole Miss by eight runs in the bottom of the seventh before pulling out the 10-9 victory in eight innings.
Not only were the Red Raiders down eight, but bases were empty with two outs as Lauren Allred stepped up to the plate. Her hard-hit infield single ignited something in that Texas Tech offense that proved historic. A few base knocks and a grand slam by none other than Allred herself knotted the game up 8-8 to send the contest to extras.
The Rebels were able to fight, plating another run in the eighth before the momentum from the Raiders proved to be too much, walking off the game from a Taylor Pannell sacrifice fly.
Coming into the matchups, teams trailing by 8-plus runs in an NCAA tournament game were 0-640 this century. Texas Tech went on to beat Ole Miss in the regional final game 14-2 to punch its ticket to supers.
In Los Angeles, No. 3 UCLA narrowly escaped Cal Baptist in the 12-11 win. The Bruins had their backs against the wall after blowing a 7-1 lead as Cal Baptist tallied 10 runs in the fifth to hold an 11-7 advantage entering the fifth.
Two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh, capped by an Aleena Garcia walk-off sac fly helped the Bruins survive unscathed. They'd go on to advance to super regionals with a win over No. 7 South Carolina.
FROM DOWN TWO RUNS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH INNING ‼️
— ESPN (@espn)
UCLA WALKS IT OFF 🔥
Something similar happened to No. 5 Virginia Tech in the Baton Rouge regional.
The Hokies secured a 7-6 victory after facing a 6-1 deficit to Akron heading into the seventh inning. A two-run blast and four additional runs later helped Virginia Tech take over the game while holding the Zips scoreless to secure the win. ;
The Hokies ended up falling to No. 4 LSU in the regional final.
2. The home run race continues
The epic home run race between No. 2 UCLA and No. 1 Oklahoma continued.
Bruin senior Megan Grant extended her single-season NCAA home run record she set at the Big Ten tournament, recording three more long balls this weekend to tally 40 after a grand slam against South Carolina in the regional final.
GRANT SLAM FOR 40.
— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball)
📺: ESPN
📲: |
Oklahoma freshman phenom Kendall Wells knocked her 37th on the year, officially tying the previous record held by Laura Espinoza from 1995.
Coming into regionals, UCLA held the NCAA single-season team home run record with 182 knocks, surpassing the Sooners' 174 mark set earlier in the prior weekend. Three games later from each team and the Bruins now boast 194 to Oklahoma's 182.
📝 REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS: Megan Grant breaks the all-time single-season home run record
With lots of softball still left to play, these two races to history will continue to be something to watch.
3. Alyssa Faircloth displays a masterclass performance, records no-hitter
No. 5 Mississippi State's Alyssa Faircloth set the tone in the Eugene regional, tossing a no-hitter against No. 4 Oregon in the Saturday winners-bracket matchup.
This is her moment 🤩 |
— Mississippi State Softball (@HailStateSB)
The junior lefty proved why she is considered one of the best in the nation, recording 10 strikeouts while allowing one walk against the Ducks' offense in the near-perfect outing.
Thanks to Gretta Grassel's two-run home run in the top of the first, the Bulldogs held a lead from the start that they would not give up. Mississippi State took the 4-0 victory over Oregon before eventually earning a spot in supers from a 5-0 win over Saint Mary's (CA) in the regional final, where the Bulldog ace posted 14 Ks.
4. Epic upsets that shook the field of 64
There were some upsets this past weekend to shake things up heading into supers.
No. 6 UCF knocked off No. 3 Florida State in the Tallahassee regional 4-2 in a must-win final. The Knights' win came off a critical replay after the Noles plated three in the top of the third. The play was reversed due to a Florida State runner leaving the bag early. FSU's prior loss came from Stetson in the first game of regionals on Friday.
UCF will make its second-ever super regional appearance, as the Knights are set to face No. 2 UCLA in Los Angeles.
We got you, Greg!
— SpaceKnights (@TheSpaceKnights)
WATCH: The most important replay review in UCF Softball history.
Video credit:
Also making its second-ever supers is No. 5 Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs' victory over No. 4 Oregon in the winners-bracket game on Saturday proved detrimental for the Ducks who would go on to lose 5-4 to Saint Mary's (CA) later that day.
Along those lines, there is another "underdog" team you should know.
Just three advancing teams — Mississippi State, UCF and Arizona State — were outside the Top 16 national seeds entering the tournament. ASU will make its first super appearance since 2022 in its matchup against reigning national champions Texas after taking down No. 4 Texas A&M in the College Station regional final, 9-4.
Super regional matchups
The super regionals will take place from Thursday, May 21 to Sunday, May 24 as teams fight for a spot in OKC. The higher seeds will host. Here are the matchups:
👉 Click or tap here for the full schedule
- May 21 | 9 p.m. | No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 4 Oklahoma State
- May 22 | 7 p.m. | No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 LSU
- May 22 | 1 p.m. | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Mississippi State
- May 22 | 9 p.m. | No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Arizona State
- May 22 | 11 a .m. | No. 2 Florida vs. No. 3 Texas Tech
- May 21| 7 p.m. | ;No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Georgia
- May 22 | 12 p.m. | No. 2 Arkansas vs. No. 3 Duke
- May 22 | 9 p.m. | No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 6 UCF
