What is the story about?
As Alabama enters the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament, they will do so as the No. 1 overall seed for the first time since 2010. A season ago, Texas A&M was in the same position and the Aggies were upset in their home regional by a scrappy Liberty team. With as inconsistent as the Crimson Tide has been the last several weeks, there will be a target on their backs.
Starting Friday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama will face three-time Big South Tournament Champions USC Upstate. The next round will be against either
back-to-back Missouri Valley Champs Belmont or Southland Conference’s Southeastern Louisiana. College softball has seen exponential growth in recent years that has shrunk the gap between Power programs and the mid-majors. Nothing is a sure thing anymore.
Below are five keys to the Tide advancing to the Super Regionals.
- GET BACK TO HITTING DINGERS As a team, Bama has hit 89 homers this season which is a huge reason for their success. Even without Brooke Wells’s 22, that total is still higher than the 60 that the Tide hit for the full 2025 season and pathetic 42 the season before that. The game has evolved away from slap/bunting and followed it’s brother baseball’s trend towards the power game. For Alabama, someone besides Wells and Alexis Pupillo needs to step up. Which leads to…
- THE BOTTOM OF THE ORDER NEEDS TO PRODUCE AT THE PLATE – Wells, Pupillo, Jena Young. Ana Roman, Ambrey Taylor, and Marlie Giles have been doing all the heavy-lifting on offense. Audrey Vandagriff, Salen Hawkins, and Kristen White need to boost their productivity. Vandagriff was a second-team All-American a year ago. She has proved that she can do big things at this level. Hawkins defense is excellent, but she has been in a funk at the dish. The Tide shortstop has gone hitless in the last eight games. White is a pure slap/bunt hitter as she has been for her four years at the Capstone. It’s unclear what she can do better, but might subbing in Larissa Preuitt or Lauren Johnson give this team a spark?
- PITCHERS NEED IMPROVED PREPARATION – Jocelyn Briski and Vic Moten have been the one-two punch that Bama has been missing in the circle for several years now. Both have been outstanding this spring but are they wearing down? As of late, they seem to struggle at times. That issue is something head coach Patrick Murphy and pitching coach Lance McMahon need to work on. The hope is that these men are having late nights in the A/V room watching tape of the coming opponents. Video broadcasts of all schools has expanded and is available for scouting. There is no excuse for a Bama pitcher to enter the circle flat-footed. In addition, Kaitlyn Pallozzi needs to be brought up to speed with a mindset of being the No. 1 pitcher. Murphy has already stated that the freshman will pitch in this series.
- GET BACK TO FUNDAMENTALS ON DEFENSE – Alabama has been pretty solid on defense for the most part. But that doesn’t mean they have gone error-free (official and non-official). Infielders don’t have to be Ozzie Smith on every play. Occasionally, it is okay to just squeeze the ball in the glove rather than make a rash throw. All positions need to remember the simple rules of keeping eyes on the ball and using two hands – just like they taught it in peewee ball.
- PSYCHOLOGICAL PREP – Softball is just a game. It is meant to be fun. But it can also teach life lessons of setting goals and working hard to achieve those goals. If having fun is the only reason for being on the diamond, there are plenty of coed beer leagues at local parks that would love to have any of these women on their teams. Post-season just hits differently and with it brings a different mindset. There is another level of competition and losers go home. It is not only up to Murphy or team captain Giles to turn this team into a lean mean fighting machine. Every player, every coach, every support staff member need to have a no mercy attitude. Though the team names across the front of the jerseys of the coming opponents may not strike fear in most hearts, just go ahead and take a team for granted and see what happens.
SCHEDULE
Tuscaloosa Regional
- Fri, May 15
- Game 1: noon/1 pm | Alabama vs. USC Upstate – SECN
- Game 2: 2:30/3:30 pm | Southeastern Louisiana vs. Belmont – ESPN+
- Sat, May 16
- Game 3: 1 pm/2 pm| Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
- Game 4: 3:30/4:30 pm | Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
- Game 5: 6pm/7 pm | Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3
- Sun, May 17
- Game 6: noon/1 pm | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5
- Game 7 (if necessary): 2:30/3:30 pm | Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 5
