The 2026 Southland Conference regular champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team will compete in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, the NCAA announced on Sunday’s Selection Show.
Southeastern (46-14) will be making its third consecutive appearance in regional play and its first as an at-large selection. The Lions are the first Southland Conference school to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since former league member Texas State in 2003.
SLU, which is the No. 2 seed in the regional, will face Belmont (40-11) at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the second game of the Tuscaloosa Regional, which also includes host and No. 1 overall seed Alabama (49-7) and USC Upstate (36-21), who will open the day’s action at noon Friday.
Fresh off the first regular season conference championship in program history, Southeastern will return to the national postseason after making an impression in its first two appearances, advancing to the finals of the 2024 Tuscaloosa and 2025 Baton Rouge Regionals.
SLU, which is ranked 37 in RPI, currently leads the nation in stolen bases, triples and triples per game, while also ranking among the Division I top 20 in ERA, batting average, hits, hits allowed per seven innings, stolen bases, stolen bases per game, sacrifice bunts, WHIP and won-loss percentage.
Friday’s regional opener versus the Bruins will be televised on ESPN+.
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