How to Watch No. 1 Nebraska Softball in the NCAA Tournament with Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The Nebraska softball team is ranked No. 1 by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and ESPN/USA Softball.

However, the Huskers are hosting the Lincoln Regional as the No. 4 overall seed and will welcome the Louisville Cardinals, Grand Canyon Lopes, and South Dakota Coyotes for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The only team not ranked in the Top 25 is South Dakota.

Nebraska enters the weekend 46-6, winning the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. NU's 43-6 regular-season record was good for the best regular-season winning percentage in program history. The 23-1 mark in Big Ten play tied the Big Ten record for conference wins in a season.

The Huskers are 69-58 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have made seven Women’s College World Series.

The road runs through Lincoln. pic.twitter.com/JGQfzKzDAZ
— Nebraska Softball (@HuskerSoftball) May 10, 2026

How to Follow

Friday, May 15

Game 1: Louisville vs. Grand Canyon | 3 p.m. CT | ESPNU
Game 2: Nebraska vs. South Dakota | 5:30 p.m. CT | ESPN+

Saturday, May 16

Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner | TBD | TBD
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser | TBD | TBD
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner | TBD | TBD

Sunday, May 17

Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner | TBD | TBD
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser | TBD | TBD

*All games are at Bowlin Stadium.

Louisville Scout

This marks Louisville's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2023, where the Cards went 1-2 in the Knoxville Regional.

The Cardinals are 17-32 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have not made a Super Regional in 15 appearances.

Nothin' beats hearing your name called 🗣️@LouisvilleSB will play Grand Canyon on Friday in the Lincoln Regional!#GoCards pic.twitter.com/rQXWN5Znau
— Louisville Athletics (@GoCards) May 10, 2026

Head Coach

Holly Aprile | 8th season
All-time record of 497-405-2
10 seasons as head coach at Pitt
3 NCAA Tournament appearances

2025-26 Record & Awards

Record: 44-12, (18-6 ACC, 4th)
ACC Awards: N/A
All-ACC: 3x First Team, 2x Third Team

Series History

Nebraska leads, 4-2
Last Meeting: 5/19/16, Nebraska won, 3-2

Key Players

Madison Pickens | So. | OF/UTL | First-Team All-ACC. leads the team with a .470 batting average, .785 slugging percentage, and 73 RBIs.
Chelsea Mack | Sr. | OF | First-Team All-ACC. Leads the team with 85 hits, 66 runs scored, and 44 stolen bases. Second on the team with a .445 batting average,
Bri Despines | Sr. | C/UTL | First-team All-ACC. Third on the team with a .410 batting average. Leads the team with 11 home runs and 53 free passes.
Camryn Lockadoo | Jr. | INF/UTL | Leads the team with 20 doubles and has a .384 batting average.
Easton Lotus | R-Sr. | INF | Tied for the team lead with five triples and is hitting .349.
Alyssa Zabala Sr. | RHP | Tied for a team-high 14 wins and leads the pitching staff with 127.1 innings pitched, 40 appearances, 24 starts, four saves, and three complete games.
Brooke Gray | Jr. | LHP | Tied for a team-high 14 wins and ranks second in ERA with a 3.81 and innings pitched with 82.2.

Grand Canyon Scout

The Grand Canyon Lopes are the champions out of the Mountain West, and their .867 winning percentage ranks fourth nationally.

GCU won the regular season title and the conference tournament after coming back from a 9-0 deficit to Nevada to win 11-10.

Some tournament teams to watch out for 👀@michellachester picks her dark horse teams in the 2026 tournament!#RoadToWCWS pic.twitter.com/KlsniXjJDv
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 13, 2026

Head Coach

Shanon Hays | 5th season at GCU
3 years at Oklahoma Christian
3 years at Colorado Christian
5 seasons at Texas Tech
2 seasons at Lubbock Christian
3 WAC Regular-Season titles
4 WAC Tournament titles
4 NCAA Tournament appearances
1 Regional final
3-time WAC Coach of the Year
2026 MW Coach of the Year

2025-26 Record & Awards

Record: 52-8, (21-4 MW, 1st)
MW Awards: Regular Season Champions, Tournament Champions, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year
All-MW: 4x First Team, 3x Third Team

Series History

Nebraska leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: 3/21/79, Nebraska won, 4-1

Key Players

Sydney McCray | Sr. | OF | Leads the team with 68 hits, 64 runs, and 38 stolen bases.
Jada Cooper | So. | UTL | Leads the team with a .370 batting average, .719 slugging percentage, and 63 RBIs.
Natalie Fritz | So. | RHP | Is second on the team with a 10-0 record and 2.32 ERA.
Trinity Martin | Gr. | OF | Leads the team with 17 home runs and is second with 54 RBIs.
Abi Jones | Fr. | RHP | Has appeared in 36 games, making only one start.
Oakley Vickers | So. | LHP | Is the ace of the pitching staff with a 15-4 record in 42 appearances and 20 starts. She has a 2.08 ERA in 114.1 innings pitched.
Taryn Batterton | Sr. | RHP | Has the second-most innings pitched (90.2) and owns a 10-1 record with a 2.70 ERA.

South Dakota Scout

South Dakota shocked the country, beating Omaha twice to clinch the Summit League title.

The Coyotes come into the NCAA Tournament with a record of 20-34-1, which is the worst record in the field of 64. They are making their NCAA Tournament debut.

YOTES ARE DANCING! 🥳#GoYotes pic.twitter.com/0gS9doCxMp
— South Dakota Softball (@SDCoyotesSB) May 11, 2026

Head Coach

Robert Wagner | 10th season at USD
First NCAA Tournament
1 Summit League title
25 years of coaching experience
Associate head coach at Arizona State (2006-11)
Assistant coach at ASU (2015)
Co-interim head coach at ASU (2016)
Head coach at Scottsdale Community College (2012-14)
5 WCWS appearances at ASU
2 National Titles at ASU
Has also coached at Washington, Utah, Central Arizona, and Odessa College

2025-26 Record & Awards

Record: 20-34-1, (7-11 Summit, 4th)
Summit Awards: N/A
All-Summit: 1x Second Team, 3x Honorable Team

Series History

Nebraska leads, 15-0
Last Meeting: March, 20, 2022, Nebraska won, 9-3

Key Players

Brooke Carey | Jr. | INF | Sister of Husker baseball player Dylan Carey, leads the Coyotes with a .343 batting average and 12 doubles, along with 59 hits.
Kiya Johnson | Jr. | INF | Batting .300, which is good for second on the team.
Autumn Iversen | Jr. | OF | Tied for third with 40 hits.
Madison Evans | So. | RHP | Ace of the staff with a 15-14 record, 3.96 ERA, 33 appearances, 30 starts, and 185.2 innings pitched.
Delaney White | Sr. | INF | Tied for second with 41 hits.
Sara Iburg | So. | SS/OF | Leads the team with five home runs and 29 RBIs. Tied for second with 41 hits.
Abi Brown | Jr. | C | Third on the team with 21 RBIs.

Add us as a preferred source on Google