KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee softball was announced as the No. 3 national seed in the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament Sunday night when the bracket was revealed on ESPN2. The Lady Vols will play host to the NCAA Knoxville Regional for the 19th consecutive season.
The Lady Vols’ seeding is the highest in program history.
UT is set to welcome Virginia, Miami (OH) and Dayton to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for the NCAA Knoxville Regional this weekend from Friday, May 17 to Sunday, May 19. The four-team event will be double-elimination with the winner moving on to the NCAA Super Regional round.
Tennessee will play A10 champion Dayton on Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Virginia will take on Miami (OH) on Friday at noon on ESPN+.
The Lady Vols will make their 21st overall and 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend. Tennessee has advanced to the postseason every year since 2004 and has hosted 19 straight regional rounds in Knoxville.
UT is one of just two teams to host regionals every season since the NCAA switched to a regional and super-regional format in 2005.
Tennessee enters the national tournament having won back-to-back SEC regular season titles for the first time in program history.
Eight Lady Vols and head coach Karen Weekly earned SEC postseason awards last week on the heels of another dominating run through conference play. Weekly was named SEC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row and for the fourth time during her tenure on Rocky Top.
In the circle, sophomore Karlyn Pickens was tabbed as the league’s pitcher of the year – joining Monica Abbott as the only Lady Vols to bring home the honor.
McKenna Gibson, Payton Gottshall, Taylor Pannell, Pickens and Rylie West garnered All-SEC First Team accolades – while Kiki Milloy, Sophia Nugent and Zaida Puni landed second-team recognition.
Friday’s two winners will play in Game 3 on Saturday at 1 p.m. The losers from Friday’s games will play in Game 4 at 3:30 p.m., and the loser from Game 3 will face the winner from Game 4 at 6 p.m. to conclude play on Saturday.
Times for Game 6 and the if necessary Game 7 on Sunday are still to be determined.
The 16 winning teams from their respective regional sites will advance the Super Regional round, which will take place from May 23-26, depending on the host site. All Super Regional sites will feature broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks.
PARKING
Fans please be advised; it is graduation weekend at the University of Tennessee and traffic will be heavy around Neyland Drive and UT’s campus. All fans looking to attend the softball regional should be prepared for traffic congestion. Fans are reminded that parking shuttles will be free and available at the Agriculture Campus all weekend.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, May 17
SPL gates open at 11:00 a.m.
12:00 p.m. – Game 1 (Miami (OH) vs. Virginia)
2:30 p.m. – Game 2 (Dayton vs. Tennessee)
Saturday, May 18
SPL gates open at 12:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m. – Game 3
3:30 p.m. – Game 4
6:00 p.m. – Game 5
Sunday, May 19
SPL gates open TBD
TBD – Game 6
TBD – Game 7 (if necessary)
Source: UT Sports
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