GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Texas State softball was selected to the Gainesville Regional in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Their run will start on Friday, May 15 at 12:30 pm (CT) versus Georgia Tech.
 
The Florida Gators are the host of the regional and will play Florida A&M in the opening game of the regional. From there, the double-elimination style tournament will be played through Sunday, May 19, to determine a regional winner.
 
Texas State's opening round game will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
ABOUT THE BOBCATS:
Texas State comes into the postseason with a 38-20 (16-8 SBC) record after finishing as runner ups in the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
 
Leading the offense for the Bobcats going into the week is Keely Williams who's batting .384. She has 68 hits, 39 runs and 28 RBI in 177 at-bats. Harley Vestal is also helping the Bobcat offense with a .355 batting averaging as she's good for 54 hits, 22 runs and 25 RBI in 152 at-bats. Rounding out the top of the order are Aiyana Coleman batting .338 and Kate Bubela batting .309.

Maddy Azua been the Bobcats ace pitcher this season with her 1.90 ERA. She has pitched 231.2 innings this season with 231 strikeouts, allowing 63 earned runs, 54 walked batters and just 58 extra-base hits allowed. She has tossed 19 complete games including one four shutouts. She also has three saves on the season.

THE REGIONAL FIELD:
Texas State will open its regional against Georgia Tech who comes into the regional with a 30-27 record, having lost to Florida State in the semi-final of the ACC Championship this season, Georgia Tech was an at large bid out of the ACC. 

The offense is led by Alyssa Willer who's batting .374 on the season, followed by Gracyn Tucket at .372. The pair have combined for 98 runs, 33 home runs, and 114 RBI this season. 

In the circle for the Yellow Jackets is typically Madalyn Johnson who has a 3.44 ERA in 158.2 innings of work this season. She has a 13-12 record on the season with 133 strikeouts and 78 earned runs allowed.

Also in the tournament field are hosts Florida who enter with a 48-10 record on the year, coming off a loss to Alabama in the SEC Tournament semifinals. They are led offensively by Taylor Shumaker who has a .443 average, with 85 hits, 81 runs, 16 home runs and 52 RBI this season. Their ace in the circle is Keagan Rothrock who has a 2.55 ERA in 181.1 innings this season.

Florida A&M rounds out the regional field as the automatic qualifier out of the SWAC. They beat Southern by a 2-1 score to clinch their conference championship. Offensively, they are led by Amari Brown who hits .411 with 67 hits, 49 runs, 19 homers and 66 RBI this season. Zoryanna Hughes does most the work in the circle with a 3.28 ERA in 132.1 innings this season.
 
HISTORY IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:
The last time Texas State was in regionals was in 2024 in the College Station Regional. They were joined by Texas A&M, Penn State and UAlbany. That was the second of the team's back-to-back appearances where the year prior they were in the Austin Regional.
 
The Bobcats are 14-24 all-time in the NCAA tournament throughout their now 13 times going. Texas State has never advanced to a Super Regional but came their closest in 2003 and 2024 where they were eliminated in the regional final on Sunday.
 
This is the first time the Bobcats have gone to Gainesville for a regional in program history. This is the 7^thdifferent regional Texas State has been selected to in its 13 appearances.
 
UP NEXT:
With a regional win, the Bobcats would advance to Super Regionals for the first time in program history. The Super Regionals would take place May 21-24 with the Bobcats facing the winner of the Lubbock Regional.