#6 National Seed

Gainesville Regional

2026 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament · Regional Round

#6 Seed·Gainesville Regional

Walton's Gators Run-Rule The Lower Seeds

Our Pick

Florida

LOCK

Tim Walton's 21st year (1,030 career wins) brings 7 All-SEC players and Taylor Shumaker's .447 BA / 16 HR. Texas State's Maddy Azua is a legit top-30 arm, but Florida's lineup is too deep over 3 games. Georgia Tech and Florida A&M are formalities.

FloridaFAVORITE

BatTaylor Shumaker — .447 BA, 16 HR, 52 RBI

CircleKeagan Rothrock + Katelynn Oxley (2.58 ERA)

Texas StateTHREAT

BatAiyana Coleman — .350, 14 HR, 42 RBI

CircleMaddy Azua — Sun Belt POY, 25-10, 1.82 ERA, 221 K

Azua is a top-30 nationally pitcher.

Georgia TechDARK HORSE

CircleMadalyn Johnson — Streaky-good, 0.78 ERA stretch

Beat Notre Dame 13-3 in ACC opener.

Florida A&MEASY OUT

BatKiara Beltre — Scored winning run in SWAC final

CircleZabala — SWAC Pitcher of the Year

First SWAC title in program history.

X-Factor

Texas State's Azua starts twice. If Florida's bats can't square her up, the regional opens up. They will.

National Seed

Host

Florida

City

Gainesville, FL

Dates

May 15-17, 2026

Format

4-team double-elim

Bracket

Friday's first-round matchups

Game 1 — Fri 12:00 PM ET

Game 2 — Fri 2:30 PM ET

Winners meet Saturday at 2:30 PM ET. Losers play an elimination game at 12:00 PM ET. Regional championship Sunday at 12:00 PM ET, with an if-necessary game at 2:30 PM ET.

Schedule

All times Eastern

Game	Date	Time	Matchup	TV
Game 1	Fri, May 15	12:00 PM ET	#1 Florida vs #4 Florida A&M	ESPN+
Game 2	Fri, May 15	2:30 PM ET	#2 Texas State vs #3 Georgia Tech	ESPN+
Game 3	Sat, May 16	12:00 PM ET	Loser G1 vs Loser G2 (Elimination)	ESPN+
Game 4	Sat, May 16	2:30 PM ET	Winner G1 vs Winner G2	ESPN+
Game 5	Sat, May 16	5:00 PM ET	Winner G3 vs Loser G4 (Elimination)	ESPN+
Game 6	Sun, May 17	12:00 PM ET	Regional Championship	ESPN2
Game 7	Sun, May 17	2:30 PM ET	Regional Championship (if necessary)	ESPN2

Path Forward

Super Regional pairing

The Gainesville Regional winner advances to face the winner of the Lubbock Regional (#6 vs #11) in the Super Regional round May 21-24, hosted at the higher national seed (Florida). Super Regionals are best-of-three; the winner advances to the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, May 28 - June 5.

About the Host

Florida

Florida hosts the Gainesville Regional in Gainesville, FL as the #6 national seed of the 2026 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. Hosting rights are awarded to the top 16 seeds, and the Florida program earned its bid on the strength of its regular-season resume.

All games at this regional are played at the Florida home softball venue, with first pitch on Friday, May 15 and the championship round on Sunday, May 17.