Missouri Softball Earns Top-16 Seed, Will Host Regional

The Tigers were projected to finish 11th in the 2024 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, but since Week 1, they've proven that those rankings would never become a reality.

May 10, 2024; Auburn, AL, USA; Missouri Tigers infielder Maddie Gallagher, center, celebrates with | Julie Bennett-USA TODAY Sports

It's no secret that the Missouri softball team has overachieved this season.

The Tigers were projected to finish 11th in the 2024 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, but since Week 1, they've proven that those rankings would never become a reality.

Missouri earned the No. 7 seed in Sunday's NCAA Softball Championship Selection Special.

The Tigers will host the regional, starting with a matchup against Omaha. The 41-13 Mavericks were the Summit League champions after defeating top-seeded South Dakota State in the conference title game on Saturday.

The Columbia Regional kicks off with Indiana vs. Washington on Friday at 2 p.m. CT and then the Tigers will face Omaha at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

The regionals take place across 16 host sites and will have 64 teams competing from May 16-19. The winners of the regionals will advance to super regionals which will be from May 23-26. The top eight teams that advance out of supers will go to Oklahoma City, Okla., for the 2024 Women’s College World Series from May 30-June 6/7.

Missouri finished the regular season and SEC Tournament with a 43-15 record, including a 6-1 loss to Florida in the conference championship game on Saturday. The Tigers were the No. 5 seed in the tournament and defeated 13-seed Ole Miss, 4-seed Arkansas and 8-seed LSU before falling to 2-seed Gators.

Before Mizzou's final week of the regular season, the Tigers were ranked as the No. 15 team in the USA Softball/ESPN.com polls and the No. 13 team in the NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll.