NCAA Softball Championships 2024 Bracket: Schedule, Matchups and More

The three-time reigning NCAA softball champion Oklahoma Sooners are the No. 2 seed in the 2024 NCAA softball tournament.

The Sooners are only behind the Texas Longhorns on the national seed line for the tournament that begins with the regional round this weekend.

Texas and Oklahoma were two of five teams to finish inside the top five of the NCAA softball rankings with a single-digit loss total. Oklahoma State, Tennessee and Duke were the others.

Duke's spot outside the top eight national seeds was the biggest surprise of Sunday's bracket reveal. The Blue Devils won the ACC tournament and are ranked in the top five, but they were left out of the top eight and with the No. 10 national seed.

NCAA Softball Tournament Bracket

Preview

Oklahoma comes into the tournament as the three-time reigning champion, but Texas is the top seed on the road to Oklahoma City.

The Sooners and Longhorns had near identical records this season. Oklahoma went 46-6 and Texas produced a 45-6 mark.

Texas and Oklahoma will be expected to cruise through their regional rounds of play. A sweep in the super regional round is likely as well. Oklahoma could face Florida State in a rematch of last year's WCWS championship series in the super regional round. The Seminoles are the No. 15 national seed.

The regional round will be played at 16 different sites with four teams at each venue. One winner will emerge from the 16 regional brackets to reach the super regional round.

The super regional round pits the 16 regional winners against each other in best-of-three series. The eight super regional winners move on to the Women's College World Series.

Oklahoma State and Tennessee should be considered in the same class as Oklahoma and Texas in terms of favorites to reach Oklahoma City.

Duke would be in that category, but it faces a tougher path to Oklahoma City if it has to play on the road in the super regional round.

Stanford, the No. 8 national seed, will be in the title conversation mix as well as long as Nijaree Canady continues her incredible season in the circle. Canady is one of two pitchers with an ERA under one.

Miami (Ohio) is the underdog team to watch in the regional round. The RedHawks have the third-best team batting average and could pose a challenge to the teams in the Knoxville regional. Tennessee will still be favored to advance, but Miami (Ohio) could at least make things dangerous.

Texas and Oklahoma are the only teams with better collective batting averages than Miami (Ohio).

The Longhorns and Sooners also rank inside the top 10 in team ERA.

The strong bats and pitching of both Texas and Oklahoma will make them tough to beat, and if everything goes well, they could set up a dream championship series in a few weeks.