#7 National Seed

Knoxville Regional

2026 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament · Regional Round

#7 Seed·Knoxville Regional

Pickens's Farewell Tour Opens In Knoxville

Our Pick

Tennessee

STRONG

Karlyn Pickens — No. 1 overall AUSL pick, world-record velocity, 1.44 ERA — makes Tennessee a problem regardless of opponent. Virginia's Macee Eaton (60 RBI) and Eden Bigham (3.10 ERA) is the most credentialed 2-seed in the top-half regionals, but Pickens at full health closes the door.

TennesseeFAVORITE

BatGabby Leach — .410 BA early

CircleKarlyn Pickens — 13-7, 1.44 ERA, world-record velo

VirginiaTHREAT

BatMacee Eaton — .447 BA, 60 RBI

CircleEden Bigham — 11-1, 3.10 ERA

D1 Softball Top 100; lost ACC quarters 3-1.

IndianaDARK HORSE

BatDevin Simon — 46 hits (team-high)

CircleElla Troutt — 2.32 ERA, 87.2 IP

5-game win streak entering Big Ten Tournament.

Northern KentuckyEASY OUT

Second Horizon League title in program history.

X-Factor

Pickens's health. If she throws 12+ innings across the weekend, Tennessee wins. If she's at 80%, Virginia's Eaton-Bigham combo gets interesting.

National Seed

Host

Tennessee

City

Knoxville, TN

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 Tennessee vs #4 Northern Kentucky	ESPN+
Game 2	Fri, May 15	2:30 PM ET	#2 Virginia vs #3 Indiana	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 Knoxville Regional winner advances to face the winner of the Athens Regional (#7 vs #10) in the Super Regional round May 21-24, hosted at the higher national seed (Tennessee). 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

Tennessee

Tennessee hosts the Knoxville Regional in Knoxville, TN as the #7 national seed of the 2026 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. Hosting rights are awarded to the top 16 seeds, and the Tennessee program earned its bid on the strength of its regular-season resume.

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