The road to the 2023 Women's College World Series is a long one. And it begins with Sunday's proverbial first step: the NCAA softball tournament selection show.
Oklahoma, the two-time defending national champion, will be favored to win it all in Oklahoma City again this season: The Sooners have lost just one game this season, to Baylor in February, and lead Division I in several statistical categories.
That's not to suggest the 2023 softball tournament will be devoid of excitement: Just look to last season, when five unseeded teams advanced to the super regional round. The biggest victim among the first-round upsets was 2-seed Florida State, but 6-seed Alabama, 11-seed Tennessee, 13-seed Washington and 15-seed Missouri were all eliminated as well.
Will the 2023 tournament see similar chaos, and will it even matter in the face of the seemingly unstoppable Sooners? Can another team break the Women's College World Series monopoly among Oklahoma, Florida and UCLA? The Sooners, Gators and Bruins have combined to win eight of the last 10 titles, with only Alabama (2012) and Florida State (2018) breaking through in that stretch.
MORE: Watch the 2023 NCAA softball tournament selection show live with Fubo (free trial)
The Sporting News has everything you need to know regarding the NCAA softball selection show, the Division I tournament and Women's World College Series:
When is the NCAA softball selection show in 2023?
- Date: Sunday, May 14
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
The 2023 NCAA Softball selection show will take place on Sunday, May 14, with the bracket tentatively scheduled to be unveiled at 7 p.m. ET.
Like March Madness, the full bracket release for the 2023 Women's Co is predicated on each of the 32 conference tournaments already being completed, thus securing each the automatic bids. The only Division I conference scheduled for a potential Sunday game is the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and only in the case of a rain delay.
What channel is the NCAA softball selection show on?
- TV channel: ESPN2
- Live stream: ESPN app, ESPN+, Fubo
This year's NCAA softball selection show will air on ESPN2. Streaming options include the ESPN app or Fubo, which offers a free trial for potential subscribers.
NCAA softball tournament 2023 selection format
The 2023 NCAA Division I softball tournament will consist of 64 teams: 32 automatic bids and 32 at-larges, selected by the tournament committee. The selection committee will seed the top teams, 1-16, to host various regional sites.
Regionals
Each of the 16 regions will pit four teams against each other in a double-elimination format. Only one team from each region will advance to the super regionals (16 total).
Super Regionals
The winners of the 16 regionals will advance to the super regionals, which feature two teams facing off in a best-of-three series. The winner of the 1-seed region will face off against the winner of the 16-seed region; the 2-seed will face the 15-seed, and so on. The higher-seeded team in the series will host.
In the event two non-seeded teams face off in the super regionals, the team that won the higher-seeded regional will host. For example, the 2022 tournament saw Stanford — which advanced out of 6-seed Alabama's region — play at home vs. Oregon State, which advanced out of the 11-seed region hosted by Tennessee.
Women's College World Series
After the regional and super regional rounds are completed, only eight teams will remain in the NCAA Division I softball tournament. These teams will play in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. The tournament will revert back to a double-elimination format, with the final two teams advancing to play a best-of-three series for the national championship.
WCWS bracket predictions
It remains to be seen how the teams will be seeded for the 2023 NCAA softball tournament. Here are the top 16 teams in the most recent college softball rankings, courtesy of the NCAA:
- No. 1: Oklahoma
- No. 2: UCLA
- No. 3: Florida State
- No. 4: Tennessee
- No. 5: Washington
- No. 6: Stanford
- No. 7: Texas
- No. 8: Oklahoma State
- No. 9: Duke
- No. 10: Clemson
- No. 11: Georgia
- No. 12: Arkansas
- No. 13: Alabama
- No. 14: LSU
- No. 15: Auburn
- No. 16: Baylor
NCAA softball tournament schedule 2023
The 2023 NCAA softball tournament starts with the regional round, which begins on the Friday after the softball tournament selection show and ends the following Sunday. The dates for the super regionals are still to be finalized, but will start no sooner than Thursday, May 25 and end no later than Sunday, May 28.
The Women's College World Series will begin on June 1 and end on June 9, depending on if a Game 3 is needed among the final two teams.
| Round | Dates |
| Selection show | May 14 |
| Regionals | May 19-21* |
| Super regionals | May 25-27/May 26-28* |
| Women's World College Series | June 1-9 |
| WCWS finals | June 7-9 |
* If any team in the tournament adheres to a no-Sunday-competition policy, their dates will be moved to May 18-20.
When is the Women's World College Series in 2023?
The double-elimination portion of the Women's College World Series, which will determine the last two teams to compete for the national championship, will take place June 1-5.
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV |
| Thursday, June 1 | Game 1 | Noon | ESPN, Fubo |
| Game 2 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo | |
| Game 3 | 7 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo | |
| Game 4 | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo | |
| Friday, June 2 | Game 5 | 7 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo |
| Game 6 | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo | |
| Saturday, June 3 | Game 7 | 3 p.m. | ABC, Fubo |
| Game 8 | 7 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo | |
| Sunday, June 4 | Game 9 | 3 p.m. | ABC, Fubo |
| Game 10 | 7 p.m. | ESPN2, Fubo | |
| Monday, June 5 | Game 11 | Noon | ESPN, Fubo |
| Game 12* | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo | |
| Game 13 | 7 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo | |
| Game 14* | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo |
* If necessary
When are the Women's College World Series finals in 2023?
Following the double-elimination portion of the Women's World College Series, the last two teams standing will play in a best-of-three series to determine the national champion. Games 1 and 2 of the WCWS finals will take place on Wednesday, June 7 and Thursday, June 8, respectively. If necessary, Game 3 will take place on Friday, June 9.
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV |
| Wednesday, June 7 | Game 1 | 8 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo |
| Thursday, June 8 | Game 2 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo |
| Friday, June 9 | Game 3* | 8 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo |
* If necessary
