Oklahoma to Learn Its NCAA Tournament Path on Selection Sunday

Oklahoma can officially plan the rest of the month come Sunday night.

The Sooners, and the rest of the collegiate softball world, will learn their NCAA Touranment fates on Selection Sunday.

Patty Gasso's team enters the tournament with a bad taste in their mouths following Thursday's blown lead against Georgia, but OU is still in great shape to earn one of the top seeds in the tournament.

Oklahoma defended its SEC regular season crown without dropping a series. The Sooners are 48-8 overall, including a 20-4 mark in conference play against a murderer's row of opponents.

The loss to the Bulldogs, paired with Nebraska's run through the Big Ten Tournament which culminated in a 7-2 victory over UCLA on Saturday, means OU may not earn the top-overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but Gasso isn't too concerned with ending up with the 1-seed.

How to Watch Selection Sunday

When: Sunday, May 10
Time: 6 p.m.
Channel: ESPN2

"I would hope we are in the top three. You never know," Gasso said last Tuesday before the Sooners departed for the SEC Tournament. "But as long as we're home for the next two weekends once we get back, then we're OK."

It would be a major shock for Gasso to not get her wish, and plans are certainly underway at Love's Field to host an NCAA Regional this week.

There will be a slightly different method to determine who heads to Norman to face the Sooners this year.

Instead of seeding teams from 1-16, the NCAA Tournament Committee will seed teams from 1-32. The top 16 teams will host, and then the committee will try to send the teams ranked 17-32 to regionals according to seed, though some regional considerations can be made, in an effort to properly balance each regional.

"Whatever comes our way, we gotta be ready for it," Gasso said.

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Regional play in Norman is most likely going to start on Friday and run through Sunday.

Should the Sooners advance, they'll likely host an NCAA Super Regional sometime from May 21-24 for the right to return to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

The WCWS will play from May 28-June 5 at Devon Park.

The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. on Sunday, and the show will air on ESPN2.

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