D1Softball Bracketology: April 30, 2024 Postseason Projections

Top Stories Eric Lopez - April 30, 2024

College softball’s longest-active and premier Bracketologist has brought his talents to D1Softball. Eric Lopez, who has projected postseason brackets for more than a decade, will contribute D1Softball Bracketology throughout the season.

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The home stretch of the season is here. Just one more regular-season weekend remains before the onset of conference tournaments. Regular-season championships are being locked in left and right and the field of 64 is becoming clearer and clearer.

The Field

* denotes automatic bid

D1Softball Projected Field of 64: April 30, 2024
AUSTIN	LAFAYETTE
1. Texas (1)	1. Louisiana* (16)
4. Prairie View A&M*	4. Saint Francis*
2. Mississippi State	2. Baylor
3. South Dakota State*	3. Ole Miss
NORMAN	TUSCALOOSA
1. Oklahoma* (2)	1. Alabama (15)
4. Dayton*	4. USC Upstate
2. Oregon	2. Clemson
3. Penn State	3. Michigan*
KNOXVILLE	TALLAHASSEE
1. Tennessee* (3)	1. Florida State (14)
4. Youngstown State*	4. Delaware*
2. Virginia	2. Auburn
3. Miami Ohio*	3. South Alabama
PALO ALTO	GAINESVILLE
1. Stanford (4)	1. Florida (13)
4. Loyola Marymount*	4. Villanova*
2. Virginia Tech	2. UCF
3. Cal State Fullerton*	3. Florida Atlantic*
BATON ROUGE	COLLEGE STATION
1. LSU (5)	1. Texas A&M (12)
4. Princeton*	4. Binghamton*
2. Arizona	2. Texas State
3. McNeese*	3. Texas Tech
LOS ANGELES	COLUMBIA
1. UCLA* (6)	1. Missouri (11)
4. Grand Canyon*	4. Eastern Illinois*
2. Kentucky	2. Northwestern
3. San Diego State*	3. Southern Illinois*
ATHENS	STILLWATER
1. Georgia (7)	1. Oklahoma State (10)
4. Chattanooga*	4. Northern Colorado*
2. Charlotte	2. California
3. Eastern Kentucky*	3. Boston*
DURHAM	FAYETTEVILLE
1. Duke (8)	1. Arkansas (9)
4. Morgan State*	4. Marist*
2. South Carolina	2. Washington
3. Liberty*	3. Kansas

The At-Large Bids

Something new in these projections: The SEC is projected to have all thirteen teams in the field. For the first time, Ole Miss reaches the field of 64 in this round of projections, checking in as the last team in the field. The Rebels clinched postseason eligibility with a guaranteed .500 record after a series win over Auburn in week eleven.

The Big 12 maintains six at-large bids, placing seven total teams in the bracket. Other multi-bid leagues, including automatic qualifiers, include the PAC-12 (6), ACC (5), Big Ten (3), Sun Belt (3), and the American (2).

From the last set of projections, the Big Ten is down one bid, now with three total teams projected to make the tournament field. The Sun Belt maintains its status as a 3-bid league, while the American should be getting used to its new normal as a 2-bid league after several of the AAC’s bubble teams took a significant step even further back in week eleven.

The Bubble

Last Four In: Penn State, Texas Tech, Kansas, Ole Miss

First Four Out: Utah, Indiana, Louisville, Nebraska

Next Four Out: Wichita State, South Florida, Ohio State, Nevada

The Regional Hosts

1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Tennessee
4. Stanford
5. LSU
6. UCLA
7. Georgia
8. Duke
9. Arkansas
10. Oklahoma State
11. Missouri
12. Texas A&M
13. Florida
14. Florida State
15. Alabama
16. Louisiana

• After a series win over Washington, Stanford jumps up two seed lines, passing both LSU and UCLA.
• Arkansas climbs to the #9-overall seed, just on the outside looking into the top eight – and narrowly missing an opportunity to host a Super Regional, if all seeds hold through the first round.
• Florida remains one seed line above FSU despite the Seminoles’ win over the Gators last week. Most notable, when comparing the two teams’ resumes, is Florida’s 10-8 record against quad 1 compared to Florida State’s 3-6 record in the same metric. FSU also has a quad 4 loss whereas Florida does not.
• Washington would be “team 17” in these projections, the closest team not selected to host. If they take care of business against Utah in week thirteen, the Huskies would likely be in position to move up to a seed should one of the current bubble hosts falter.