The FSU Seminoles are the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Softball Tournament and are hosting the Tallahassee Regional for the 12th straight season. They are looking to return to the Super Regional round, but will have to take care of business this weekend.
They will be competeting with the No. 2-seeded UCF Knights, No. 3-seeded Jacksonville State Gamecocks, and No. 4-seeded Stetson Hatters. FSU is set to open the double-elimination tournament on Friday against Stetson at JoAnne Graf Field.
Softball America ranked all 16 regionals by how hard they will be, and Brady Vernon believes the Seminoles got one of the easier draws, ranking it as the 6th easiest, and thinks FSU will be “just fine.”
The Florida State team that played at Stanford shows up. This one is incredibly difficult to rank. On paper, the Seminoles are hosting three teams inside the top 70 of the RPI. Stetson gave Florida quite a battle earlier this season in a midweek game. Jax State hung around with Alabama for a while. UCF owns significant wins over LSU, Oklahoma State, and Arizona State. Florida State has played extremely well since February outside of that Stanford series. There’s a chance the Knights get hot at the plate and Isabella Vega goes on a tear, but even in a regional without a weak point, it still feels like the Seminoles should be just fine.
FSU went 49-8 during the regular seaosn, winning the ACC regular season and tournament championships. They have not played any of the teams this year, but are 17-1 against Stetson, 6-2 against Jacksonville State, and 26-5 against UCF all-time.
UCF went 38-16-1 to earn its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. They have competed in the Tallahassee Regional in three of the past four seasons.
Jacksonville State earned an automatic bid by winning the Conference USA Championship and is 45-14. This is their 10th time making the tournament, and third straight time in the Tallahassee Regional.
Stetson is 36-20 and won the ASUN Championship to punch their ticket to the postseason. They are on a three-game winning streak and will look to open the regional with a win over FSU.
Follow us @FSUWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Tallahassee Regional is one of the easiest to Softball America
Reporting by JD McCarthy, FSU Wire / FSU Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
