The bracket is officially set for the 2023 Division I NCAA Softball Championship that begins Friday, May 19. Six Pac-12 softball teams made the field and four will be hosting regionals. Last season, we saw five Pac-12 teams reach Super Regionals, including three who were on the road for regionals.

How can these six Pac-12 teams do it this year? Let’s take a look. 

Norman Regional 

1. No. 1 Oklahoma (55-1)
2. California (33-19-1)
3. Missouri (34-24)
4. Hofstra (29-25)

Cal makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018 and first under head coach Chelsea Spencer. The big reason for the turnaround this season is the team ERA improving nearly 0.4 from last season to 3.60. Spencer brought in Arizona State alumna Amber Freeman to be the team's new pitching coach and it has paid off. Makena Smith and the offense also clubbed 67 home runs, which led the Pac-12. 

The Golden Bears have the toughest route to a Super Regional. They’ll head to Norman, home of back-to-back defending national champion Oklahoma. The Sooners enter the postseason on a 43-game winning streak. They also lead the nation in team batting average (.370) and ERA (0.85). 

Cal’s best shot to win the regional is staying in the winner’s bracket. That means taking down Missouri in the opener. The Tigers were inconsistent this season after hosting a regional the past two years. However, they still have star power on their team. Laurin Krings is their ace with a 2.63 ERA and one of the best outings this season in a no-hitter against North Texas in which she struck out 17 batters. Center fielder Alex Honold has been one of the most dynamic offensive players in the country. She’s hit 11 doubles and 13 homers while also stealing 20 bases. However, she been the lone consistent bat for a Missouri lineup that can be dormant at times. 

It’ll be vital for Spencer’s team to get past the Tigers because the chance of beating Oklahoma twice in multiple elimination games is even more difficult against the top team in the nation. 

Los Angeles Regional 

1. No. 2 UCLA (52-5)
2. Liberty (38-20)
3. San Diego State (35-15)
4. Grand Canyon (46-11)

For the Bruins to make it to another Super Regional and Women’s College World Series they’ll need to play how they’ve played all season. The undisputed second-best team in the country is excellent on both sides of the field, led by Pac-12 Player of the Year Maya Brady and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Megan Faraimo. UCLA has the nation's second highest batting average (.343) and Faraimo's 29 win this year are the second-most for a pitcher. 

Truth be told, UCLA doesn’t have one of the easiest regionals. Liberty, led by UCLA alum Dot Richardson, has given trouble to multiple top teams this year including the Bruins. The Flames lost 3-2 in Westwood back in early February. They’ve also had close contests with other hosts such as Oklahoma, Duke, Tennessee and even beat Clemson. A lot of that has to do with pitching duo Karlie Keeney and Paige Buchman, who pitched against UCLA and both have sub 2.50 ERAs. 

San Diego State, also led by a UCLA alum in Stacey Nuveman-Deniz, gave UCLA quite the battle in the final week of the regular season. Aaliyah Jordan needed to hit a walk-off home run to secure a 4-3 win. 

UCLA will have its hands full but let’s not forget the Bruins entered the Pac-12 Softball Tournament Championship Game on a 25-game winning streak before falling to Utah. If the Bruins stay in their bubble, there's a good chance they’ll get to where they want to be. 

Seattle Regional 

1. No. 7 Washington (38-12)
2. Minnesota (37-17)
3. McNeese (44-14)
4. Northern Colorado (26-21)

Washington has been a national seed and hosted a regional in each NCAA Tournament since 2016. For the Huskies to move on, pitching and clutch hitting will be the name of the game. Freshman Ruby Meylan will likely be asked to carry the load in the circle again as she did in the Pac-12 Tournament. With every team choosing to force someone not named Baylee Klingler to beat them, it becomes even more important for the likes of Sami Reynolds, Madison Huskey and SilentRain Espinoza to come through in big moments. 

Minnesota will be quite the challenge for the Huskies should the Golden Gophers match up with them. Autumn Pease was one of the best arms in the nation and had only allowed two earned runs in her past 64 innings heading into the Big Ten Tournament.  The Golden Gophers have also hit 69 home runs, the 15th-most in the country. If Meylan gets the ball against Pease, she will need to be at her best like we saw in her shutout against Oregon State in the Pac-12 Tournament last weekend. McNeese is no slouch either as the Cowgirls beat Washington earlier this season, 3-2, but that was months ago and the Huskies have homefield advantage this time. 

Nevertheless, Washington finished second in the Pac-12 in the regular season for a reason. The Huskies find ways to win, whether it's pretty or not. That element to grind out games is vastly important in the postseason.

Stanford Regional

1. No. 9 Stanford (40-13)
2. Florida (36-20)
3. LMU (27-20)
4. Long Beach State (31-21)

Although the Cardinal hosted a Super Regional last season, this is the first time it's hosted a regional since 2011 and this is its highest seed since 2009 (No. 8). It continues Stanford's rise to national prominence under head coach and Stanford alum Jessica Allister.

The formula for Stanford is simple. Play superb defense and generate enough run support for Alana Vawter and NiJaree Canady in the circle. Stanford as a team has a ERA of 1.63, which ranks 10th in the nation and Canady's 0.52 mark is the best in the country among qualified pitchers. Stanford is 37-2 when scoring three or more runs this season.

Luckily for the Cardinal, this regional isn’t loaded with pitching. None of Florida, LMU and Long Beach State rank in the top 50 in the country in ERA. As much as the Gators seem like a tough matchup, this isn’t a team up to the caliber of the Florida name. The Gators struggle in the circle, but their lineup can still be dangerous. Florida shortstop Skylar Wallace has been the best hitter in the country this season,  singlehandedly winning games for the Gators with her six doubles, eight triples, 19 home runs and 30 stolen bases. She will be the Cardinal's biggest obstacle to advancing to another Super Regional.

Fayetteville Regional 

1. No. 11 Arkansas (38-17)
2. Oregon (35-15)
3. Notre Dame (29-17-1) 
4. Harvard (29-15-1)

For the second straight year, Oregon heads to Bogle Park for the Fayetteville Regional hosted by Arkansas. The Ducks fell to the Razorbacks twice last season, though Arkansas is not as deep nor as lethal in the circle or at the plate as last year. In those games, Oregon allowed 15 combined runs. The Razorbacks offense is still solid but now relies on freshmen, first-year transfers or first-year starts after losing a majority of the production from last season.

On the flip side, Oregon returned most of its lineup from last season and sophomore right-hander Stevie Hansen has a year of postseason experience under her belt. Plus, the Ducks added Morgan Scott, who has become their ace and has NCAA Tournament experience herself. There’s a good case that Oregon is far more prepared for this postseason than last and why the Ducks have a solid shot to be one of the teams to win a road regional.

Oregon will need to get past Notre Dame first. The Irish were one of the last four teams into the NCAA Tournament, mainly because of a lack of quality wins. Notre Dame finished the year 3-8 against teams in the Top 25 RPI, which includes Oregon. 

Can the Ducks make a run similar to Arizona, Oregon State and Stanford last year? They’re equipped to do it. 

Salt Lake City Regional 

1. No. 15 Utah (37-13)
2. Baylor (39-16)
3. Ole Miss (30-26)
4. Southern Illinois (36-18)

The Utes did it. Their run through the Pac-12 Softball Tournament helped earn the right to host a regional, their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017. Utah is welcoming two other Power Five teams in Baylor and Ole Miss, but that might not be as daunting as it seems on paper. 

There is no argument that Baylor has one of the most impressive lists of wins this season. The Bears gave Oklahoma its lone loss, they have a pair of wins against Tennessee and a sweep of Texas. Dariana Orme has been very impressive in the circle too with 14 wins and a 1.92 ERA. Despite all the good, the Bears have a handful of head-scratching losses. Baylor lost the series to Iowa State and got knocked out of the Big 12 Tournament by the Cyclones in a 8-1 loss. Baylor has also lost to non-tournament teams Kansas, Texas Tech and South Dakota State. 

Ole Miss had its own struggles this year. The Rebels finished third-to-last in the SEC this season. They only have one qualified batter with an average over .300 and none with an OPS over .950. In the circle the stats are better but not great. The Rebels have a 2.87 team ERA, which ranks 79th in the country. Ole Miss' .970 fielding percentage was in the bottom three of the SEC as well.  

The Utes have enough pitching with Mariah Lopez leading the way and a ton of offensive production, averaging six runs per game, the 20th-most in the nation. The health of Julia Jimenez and Sophie Jacquez — both exited the Pac-12 Tournament Championship Game with injuries — will impact who Utah will need to step up. Regardless, Ellessa Bonstrom, Aliya Belarde, Karlie Davison, Abby Dayton and Haley Denning form one of the deepest lineups in the country.