Reaction to Alabama Softball Seeded Fifth in NCAA Tournament: Just a Minute

The NCAA Tournament Committee did what?

So yes, Alabama was seeded fifth in last week's SEC Tournament, which it didn't win. Granted, it had tied for fourth place in the regular season standings, was one win out of third, beat the reigning champion (which just happened to be hosting) in the quarterfinals, and it gave eventual champion Tennessee its toughest test before bowing out in the semifinals.

But No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament? Few saw that coming.

It was probably the biggest surprise when this year's tournament bracket was revealed on Sunday evening, giving Alabama a chance to host not only a regional this weekend, but a super regional next week should it advance. It could subsequently get another shot at Tennessee, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.

When asked about the Crimson Tide specifically, selection committee chair Kelly Gatwood told ESPN that its seeding was due to Alabama's full resume, and that it didn't factor in the knee injury to ace pitcher Montana Fouts, who will see a specialist on Monday. Six top-10 wins and strength of schedule were the key components to the seeding.

However, that's not how the previous committees had determined where teams should be in the bracket, relying a lot more on RPI (Rating Percentage Index).

Alabama's RPI was 12th after the SEC Tournament. Consequently, the expectation was Florida State would be No. 5, with Alabama having to visit Tallahassee to have a shot at the Women's College World Series.

Instead, here's what was announced for the top 16.

1. Oklahoma
2. UCLA
3. Florida State
4. Tennessee
5. Alabama
6. Oklahoma State
7. Washington
8. Duke
9. Stanford
10. LSU
11. Arkansas
12. Northwestern
13. Texas
14. Georgia
15. Utah
16. Clemson

So surprising? Yes, especially since no one knew the selection committee was going to pivot this way. But it's still a double-elimination tournament next weekend, followed by a tough best-of-three series to make the Women's College World Series, which is something Alabama didn't do last year when it had a healthy Fouts.