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UCF Knights Softball NCAA Tournament Hub: Schedule, Seed, Opponent and Path to Women's College World Series

Here is every UCF fan's one-stop shop for everything related to the Knights' softball team's sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Bryson Turner|
Oklahoma's Ailana Agbayani (50) is tagged out by UCF's Aubrey Evans (3) during the college softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the UCF Knights at Love's Field in Norman, Okla., Friday, April, 4, 2025.
Oklahoma's Ailana Agbayani (50) is tagged out by UCF's Aubrey Evans (3) during the college softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the UCF Knights at Love's Field in Norman, Okla., Friday, April, 4, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For a sixth straight season, the UCF Knights softball team is heading back to the NCAA Tournament.

On Sunday evening, coach Cindy Ball-Malone and the Knights received a 6-seed and learned they are traveling to Tallahassee for a regional that includes the host Florida State Seminoles, Stetson Hatters, and Jacksonville State Gamecocks. It's the fourth time in their six-season NCAA appearance streak that the Knights' Regional is in Tallahassee.

  1. Regional Field
  2. Bracket and Path To Women's College World Series

Hear what coach Cindy Ball-Malone had to say about the Knights' seeding below:

1. Regional Field

The Knights are the lone team in Tallahassee this weekend that did not automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament by winning its conference tournament.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (45-14, 24-3 C-USA)

UCF's first opponent in the regional is the champions of Conference USA. The lone school of the regional not based in Florida, Jacksonville State, is led by second-year coach Julie Boland. This matchup against the Knights on Friday at 2:30 p.m. is set to be the first time these two schools have squared off since 2007, and just the sixth time in both programs' histories.

The Gamecocks may be 100th in the nation in team home runs, but that does not mean their lineup lacks power since outfielder Morgan Nowakowski ranks second in the nation with 25 doubles this season. They also have Makenna Moore leading the way for them in the circle, who ranks second in the C-USA and 66th in the nation in ERA and 42nd in the nation in hits allowed per seven innings.

Jacksonville State's statement wins this season include a pair of neutral-site wins over Louisiana-Monroe (RPI #46) and a win on the road against South Alabama (RPI #47).

Florida State Seminoles (49-8, 24-3 ACC)

Florida State, champions of the ACC Tournament, is welcoming the Knights to Tallahassee for an NCAA Regional for the fourth time in the 2020s decade. While both programs have a long history of facing one another, 2025 was the first time these two teams did not square off since 2018.

Should the Knights get a chance to take on the Seminoles, they get the chance to break a winless streak against them that began back in 2012. It would not be a simple feat, however, with Florida State ranking eighth in the nation to finish off the regular season.

The Seminoles dominated the ACC's annual awards, with coach Lonni Alameda claiming Coach of the Year, shortstop Isa Torres claiming Player & Defensive Player of the Year, and pitcher Jazzy Francik earning Pitcher of the Year honors. Torres sports the third-highest batting average in the nation at .542 and is among the top 10 in the nation in runs scored and slugging percentage, while Francik has the 18th-lowest ERA in the nation at 1.75 and ranks 14th in the nation in hits allowed per seven innings.

Joining Torres and Francik in earning All-ACC honors are third baseman Jaysoni Beachum (First Team), utility player Ashtyn Danley (Second Team), outfielder Shelby McKenzie (Second Team), infielder Marin Heller (Second Team), infielder Hayley Griggs (Third Team) and catcher Anna Hinde (Third Team).

Highlights among these players include Danley sporting the 27th-lowest ERA in the nation at 2.04 and ranking 10th in the nation in saves, Beachum ranking 25th in the nation in on-base percentage, and Hinde hitting the 10th-most sacrifice flies in the nation.

Florida State's statement wins this season include splitting a pair of home-and-home games against Florida (RPI #5), taking UCLA (RPI #7) at the Clearwater Invitational back in February, beating Stanford (RPI #16) and Virginia Tech (RPI #18) in the ACC Tournament and sweeping Clemson (RPI #24) on the road back in March.

Stetson Hatters (36-20, 21-6 ASUN)

Stetson is the lone familiar face from the regular season the Knights are going to see in Tallahassee, since they beat the Hatters back on April 15, 5-3, at The Plex.

Coach Shellie Cousins earned the ASUN's Coach of the Year award while infielder Nicole Edimaston earned the conference's Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year honors after recording the 12th-highest batting average in the nation at .465 and the 13th-most home runs with 22.

While Edimaston was among the most prolific bats in the nation, another Stetson infielder, Irianis Garcia, had one of the most productive gloves with a nation-leading 161 assists. She earned All-ASUN Second Team honors this season alongside catcher Logan Forman.

The Hatters earned the ASUN's automatic bid for the tournament thanks to beating Central Arkansas (RPI #62) twice in the conference's tournament. They also went 5-2 against North Florida (#75) this season, including a series sweep at home and a win in the conference tournament, and came just one run short against Florida (RPI #5) in Gainesville back in March, 3-2.

Hear what infielders Aubrey Evans and Sierra Humphreys had to say about the Knights' selection below:

2. Bracket and Path To Women's College World Series

The Knights are the 6-seed in a bracket quadrant led by the 1-seed Alabama. However, the Crimson Tide are not the team UCF would face should it make it out of this regional. The winner of the Tallahassee Regional would face the lone survivor of the Los Angeles Regional, which includes 8-seed UCLA, 7-seed South Carolina, Cal State Fullerton and Cal Baptist.

While there is no history between the Knights and Cal Baptist, they did face Cal State Fullerton on the road three times in the 2020, 2022 and 2023 seasons. UCF has not played South Carolina since 2024, though it is 3-5 against them during the 2020s, and never won a game against UCLA in eight tries, the last one being in 2023.

Check out more UCF news below:

One UCF Knights Transfer Who Will Help Ease NFL Losses — and One Who Won't

UCF Brings In Linebacker From Across The Pond

The Next UCF Knights Players Who Could Follow Malachi Lawrence to the NFL

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Bryson Turner
BRYSON TURNER

Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.

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