Welcome to Day 1 of the 2024 Division III Softball Tournament! We've got a full slate of games for you, starting within the next two hours. This is truly the best time of the year, as everything is on the line and 62 teams enter today with a chance. Seeding aside, everyone has a chance to win it all. The goals that they took the field with in the fall months are right in front of them. For some, just reaching the NCAA Tournament is a feat in and of itself. Take Simmons for example. The Sharks went just 9-8 in GNAC play, and were the #3 seed out of the North Division entering the league tournament. They kept their season alive with a tournament-opening 11-inning win over #2 seed (North) Emmanuel, then got past the South's top seed, LaSell, twice, to advance to a Best-of-3 for the title with Saint Joseph's (ME), the #1 seed out of the North. Simmons dropped the first one, but with its back against the wall, won the final two, claiming the GNAC title. And now they find the...
Illinois Wesleyan took home the CCIW title on Saturday, securing a trip to the NCAA Tournament (Photo courtesy @IWUSoftball) With the NCAA Tournament field for 2024 set to be announced Monday morning at 10 a.m. ET , it is time to take a look at which teams across the country have already secured their spots in the national tournament by winning their respective conference tournaments, thus claiming an automatic qualifying bid. There are 41 Pool A bids (automatic qualifiers) this year. There is 1 Pool B bid (teams who are either independent or play in a conference that does not currently have an AQ as a result of: A) having fewer than 6 teams in its league or B) is not yet eligible for an AQ due to NCAA rules that require a mandatory two-year wait period for a new league before claiming an AQ). And there are 20 Pool C bids (at-large bids to select the best teams nationally that did not claim an AQ or get into the tournament via Pool B). This tracker will be updated as Sunday's cha...