On Sunday, it was announced that the University of Kentucky softball team received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The selection committee has placed Kentucky as the No. 2 seed in the NCAA South Bend Regional. This is the seventh consecutive season that the UK softball team has received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Not only is this the seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament for Kentucky softball, but it is the seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. This puts Kentucky softball in an elite class as they are one of just 21 teams in the nation to claim that honor.
Kentucky made its debut in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 at the Columbus Regional. Although the Wildcats could not advance past the opening Regional round in 2009, 2010, or 2012, the program continued to progress quickly and take major strides. In 2011, for the first time in school history, the team advanced to the Super Regional. They repeated that effort in 2013 as they advanced to the NCAA Tempe Super Regional.
Last season was Kentucky’s most successful tournament run in program history. The Wildcats defeated Ohio, James Madison, and DePaul and advanced to their second straight NCAA Super Regional. Then, in the Super Regional, UK was able to stay alive as they took down highly ranked UCLA. Kentucky advanced to the 2014 Women’s College World Series for the first time ever. Although they were then eliminated by Baylor, it was a tremendous and groundbreaking season.
This season, the Wildcats are one of 11 Southeastern Conference teams to earn a bid into the tournament. The SEC has more teams in the tournament than any other conference.
Kentucky enters the event with a 29-24 record after facing the second-toughest schedule in the nation according to the latest NCAA RPI. Of the Wildcats’ 53 games this season, they played 26 against top-25 RPI teams and 35 against top-50 RPI teams. UK played 27 straight games against top-50 RPI teams and haven’t played a team outside the top 50 since March 18. UK only has one loss this season against a team ranked outside the top 50.
Kentucky is ranked at No. 23 in the NCAA RPI, No. 24 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, and No. 25 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association/USA Today Top 25. Kentucky has defeated six ranked teams this season, including five that were ranked top 10 at the time UK played them. Kentucky has two wins over then-No. 1 LSU and a victory over then-No. 5 Alabama. The Wildcats have also defeated then-No. 5 Florida State, then-No. 10 Arizona, and then-No. 21 Texas A&M.
The Regional is a double-elimination format, with the winner advancing to a Super Regional against the winner of the Gainesville Regional. The Gainesville Regional includes No. 1 seed Florida and Hofstra, Florida Atlantic and Florida A&M. The Super Regional, slated for May 21-24, is a best two-out-of-three format with the winner advancing to the eight-team Women’s College World Series, scheduled for May 28-June 3 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The double-elimination Regional, which features four teams in No. 16 national seed Notre Dame, Kentucky, Northwestern and Ball State, will run Friday through Sunday at Melissa Cook Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Kentucky’s tournament run will start against Northwestern at 2 p.m. ET on Friday before Ball State and Notre Dame conclude the night at 5 p.m. ET.