NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University softball will play Southeastern Louisiana Friday in the 2026 NCAA Division I Softball Championship, as announced on the ESPN NCAA Softball Selection Show Sunday night.
Belmont will play in the Tuscaloosa regional, joined by overall No. 1 national seed and regional host Alabama, Southeastern Louisiana and USC Upstate.
First pitch between Belmont and Southeastern Louisiana is scheduled for Friday, May 15 at 2:30 p.m. CT from Rhoads Stadium.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Belmont (40-11) steamrolled through the competition to win the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Softball Championship and earn the program's second consecutive automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins outscored its MVC opposition 16-1 during the 2026 MVC Softball Tournament. Behind the pitching prowess of All-American
Maya Johnson and
Ellie Giles, Belmont allowed only seven hits and one earned run in claiming the conference tournament championship.
Belmont is one of only six NCAA Division I softball programs to go undefeated in each of their last two conference tournaments, joining South Florida, Boston University, USC Upstate, Marist, and Howard.
The Bruins, which set program records for regular season victories and conference victories, have been the No. 1 nationally-ranked mid-major program the majority of the season in playing one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules.
Belmont, also the 2026 MVC regular season champion, is on the cusp of Top 25 ranking in every national poll, ranking either No. 26 or No. 27 nationally in the following polls: ESPN.com/USA Softball, D1softball.com, Softball American, and NFCA Coaches.
Moreover, Belmont's program-defining victories over SEC powers and Top 20 teams Georgia and Mississippi State set the stage for its historic MVC season.
Belmont is No. 38 in the NCAA Women's Softball RPI – its highest ranking ever on NCAA Selection Sunday.
Belmont leads the MVC in 12 statistical team categories, including earned run average, fielding percentage, triples, and WHIP.
Four Bruins earned All-MVC honors, with four being named to the MVC All-Tournament Team.
Belmont is led by All-American pitcher
Maya Johnson. Johnson has emerged as one of the top stories in college softball – and all of sports. The Columbia Station, Ohio native ranks among NCAA leaders in 15 statistical categories, including first nationally in complete games, earned run average, strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings, strikeout-to-walk ratio, WHIP, and shutouts.
The left-handed pitcher was named MVC Pitcher of the Year and MVC Tournament Most Valuable Player each of the last two seasons; she had 72 strikeouts and recorded four complete game victories in back-to-back MVC Tournaments.
Johnson was selected No. 3 overall in the 2026 Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) by the Oklahoma City Spark May 4.
Her 1,170 career strikeouts lead all active players in NCAA softball.
Johnson, who earned her bachelor's degree with honors in nursing this past May, is an inspiration, having risen to the top of college softball battling through an autoimmune condition called lupus.
She has become an advocate and national spokesperson for the Lupus Foundation of America, serving as a keynote speaker at the End Lupus Now walk in Nashville this past fall.
Johnson is a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Academic All-America candidate.
Belmont also boasts one of the nation's top-hitters and defensive infielders in
Rylee Spindler, All-MVC position players
Nicole Hughes, Maddie Balsiger,
Madison Dolecki, and team leader in catcher
Brenna Blume.
Belmont also defeated Arizona State, Purdue, and earned a pair of victories over Maryland last season in posting a 41-16 record and winning the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament game.
The Bruins played in the Tuscaloosa regional in 2025.
ESPN serves as the exclusive home for the entire Road to the Women's College World Series, from the NCAA Selection Show through the last out in Oklahoma City.
Ticket information for the Tuscaloosa regional will become available Monday morning.
Follow Belmont softball on social media -
@BelmontSoftball on Twitter,
@belmontsoftball on Instagram and
Belmont Bruins Softball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the
official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
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