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GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) - Headlined by four teams among the top 16 national seeds for the first time in conference history, six Atlantic Coast Conference teams were selected to compete in the 2022 NCAA Division I Softball Championship. The ACC is the only conference with two teams among the top five seeds (No. 2 Florida State and No. 3 Virginia Tech).
The ACC’s six selections are the most for the league since 2015 when a league record seven teams were selected to the NCAA Tournament.
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 start 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 NCAA Tournament action at home on JoAnne Graf Field for the eight consecutive championship and are making the program’s 34th NCAA appearance. As the No. 2 overall seed, Florida State will play 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 opener at 2 p.m. Friday on ACC Network. The Hokies won the ACC regular-season title and have now made three consecutive 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 title game of the ACC Championship, the Clemson Tigers are the No. 10 seed and welcome UNCW (32-13) to McWhorter Stadium. Friday’s first pitch is set for noon and will air live on ACC Network. The Tigers, which played their inaugural season of softball in 2020, are making their second NCAA appearance.
For the second consecutive year, Duke is among the top 16 seeds in the tournament, 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 in the field for the second time in program history.
Notre Dame will make the short trip to Evanston, Illinois, to compete in a regional hosted by Northwestern in the Fighting Irish’s 26th overall NCAA appearance and 23rd consecutive. Notre Dame is the two seed in the regional and will play 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 Gainesville Regional hosted by Florida and will meet Wisconsin (28-19) in their opener on Friday at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.
Regionals will be held May 20-22 on 16 campus sites. At each campus site, a four- team, double-elimination tournament will be conducted, and the 16 winning teams advance to the super regionals.
Super regionals for the championship will be held May 26-29 on eight campus sites. At each site, two teams play in a best-of-three tournament format. The winners from each super regional advance to the NCAA® Women’s College World Series (WCWS) from June 2-9/10 at OGE Energy Field at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
ESPN will provide coverage from all 16 regional sites on one of the ESPN family of networks, which was announced during the NCAA Division I Softball Selection Show. ESPN will televise every game of the Super Regionals for the 16th consecutive year, 2020 notwithstanding, since 2007. This year also marks the 23rd year that ESPN will televise every game during the WCWS dating back to 2000.
Blacksburg Regional – May 20-22 at Blacksburg, Virginia
No. 3 seed Virginia Tech* (41-7) vs. Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) (37-16)
Kentucky (35-17) vs. Miami (OH) (39-15-1)
Clemson Regional – May 20-22 at Clemson, South Carolina
No. 10 seed Clemson* (39-15) vs. UNCW (32-13)
Auburn (39-15) vs. University of Louisiana at Lafayette (45-11)
Durham Regional – May 20-22 at Durham, North Carolina
No. 12 seed Duke* (41-8) vs. University of Maryland, Baltimore County (31-10)
Georgia (40-16) vs. Liberty (43-16)
Evanston Regional – May 20-22 at Evanston, Illinois
No. 9 seed Northwestern* (40-10) vs. Oakland (26-15)
Notre Dame (39-10) vs. McNeese (38-19)
Gainesville Regional – May 20-22 at Gainesville, Florida
No. 14 seed Florida* (43-16) vs. Canisius (32-16)
Georgia Tech (37-16) vs. Wisconsin (28-19)
Tallahassee Regional – May 20-22 at Tallahassee, Florida
No. 2 seed Florida State* (52-5) vs. Howard (31-22)
Mississippi State (33-24) vs. South Florida (44-14)