“When you look at South Carolina, they have 17 top 25 wins and that was key in that area,” NCAA softball committee chair Kurt McGuffin told ESPN. “They went and challenged themselves all year. Six of those top 25 wins were out of conference, so we like to see teams where the nonconference and conference schedule is really challenging.”

How to watch, schedule updates, scores and everything fans need to know about the 2025 NCAA softball tournament.