HAMMOND, La. – The 2026 Southland Conference regular champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team will participate in this week's NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, which opens Friday at Rhoads Stadium.
 
Southeastern (46-14), which is the first Southland school since 2003 to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Softball Tournament field, is the No. 2 seed in the regional and will open its third straight NCAA Regional appearance with a 2:30 p.m. contest against Missouri Valley Conference champion Belmont (40-11) Friday on ESPN+.
 
Overall No. 1 seed and regional host Alabama (49-7) opens regional play versus Big South Conference champion USC Upstate (36-21) Friday at noon. The regional schedule runs through Sunday with the winner advancing to face the winner of the Baton Rouge Regional in the Super Regionals. LSU, Virginia Tech, South Alabama and Akron make up the field at Tiger Park.
 
SLU advanced to the finals of the Tuscaloosa Regional in its first-ever regional appearance in 2024, defeating Clemson twice, before ultimately falling to the Crimson Tide. Southeastern made even more waves last spring, defeating host and No. 10 seed LSU in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional twice to eliminate the Tigers before eventually losing to Nebraska.
 
Southeastern enters the postseason with a .341 team batting average, led by first team All-SLC second baseman Shelby Morris (.400). All-Southland performers Cydnee Schneider (.394), Brilee Ford (.364), Ka'Lyn Watson (.359) and Chloe Magee (.339) round out the top five hitters for average for SLU.
 
Morris leads the Lions with a single-season school record 60 runs scored and is 12^th in Division I with a team-high 82 hits. Southeastern leads the nation with 33 triples, as Morris and Watson are tied for seventh nationally with seven triples apiece.
 
The school's career leader in runs, RBI, extra-base hits, total bases and sacrifice flies, first team All-Southland third baseman Maria Detillier shares the team lead with Watson with nine home runs apiece, while also leading the team with 56 RBI – three off the single-season school record. Schneider paces the team and ranks eighth nationally with a single-season school record and SLC-leading 20 doubles.
 
Under 2026 Southland Coach of the Year Rick Fremin, SLU has led the nation in either total stolen bases or stolen bases per game in nine of the past 10 seasons. This season, Southeastern is currently fifth in Division I with 127 stolen bases and 10^th nationally with 2.12 steals per contest. Chloe Magee paces the roster with 23 stolen bases and is joined in double figures by Morris (22), Shenita Tucker (17), Breezy Pantalion (12) and Watson (10).
 
The Lion pitching staff leads the nation with a single-season school record 22 shutouts and is fourth nationally with a 1.69 team ERA. Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year Hallie Burns (20-4, 1.73 ERA, 2 saves), Cera Blanchard (13-2, 1.06 ERA, 3 saves), Macie LaRue (6-3, 1.99 ERA, 1 save) and Haley Crawford (4-2, 1.41 ERA, 2 saves) are the primary arms for SLU in the circle.
 
Southeastern will have to be at its best in the circle against a Belmont squad that is led by the nation's premier pitcher in Maya Johnson (27-2, 0.66 ERA, 2 saves), who leads Division I with 381 strikeouts and 14 shutouts, while also boasting the nation's lowest ERA. Rylee Spindler (.456) and Nicole Hughes (8 HR) are the leaders of a Bruin lineup that is hitting .298 as a team.
 
While Johnson is the nation's top arm, Alabama boasts the best 1-2 punch in the circle in Division I in Jocelyn Briski (21-3, 3 saves) and Vic Moten (19-4, 1.73 ERA, 1 save) for a Crimson Tide pitching staff that carries a 1.60 team ERA. Brooke Wells (.404, 22 HR, 61 RBI) leads an Alabama lineup that is hitting .326 as a team.
 
USC Upstate has won the last three Big South Conference Tournaments and is led by Taliyah Thomas (.418, 7 HR, 48 RBI) at the plate, as the team enters with a .334 team batting average. While the Spartans don't boast an ERA under 2.00 like the other teams in the regional field, they do feature ace Maddie Drerup (20-13, 3.26 ERA, 2 saves).
 
2026 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional | May 15-17 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Rhoads Stadium)
 
Friday, May 15
Game 1 | Alabama vs. USC Upstate | Noon | SEC Network
Game 2 | Southeastern vs. Belmont | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+
 
Saturday, May 16
Game 3 | Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner | 1 p.m.
Game 4 | Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser | 3:30 p.m. (Elimination Game)
Game 5 | Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser | 6 p.m. (Elimination Game)
 
Sunday, May 17
Game 6 | Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner | Noon
Game 7 | Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner | 2:30 p.m.
Game 7 is only necessary if Game 5 Winner also wins Game 6
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @LionUpSoftball on X and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
 
HOME RUN CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the softball program are encouraged to join the Home Run Club. Lady Lion softball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Home Run Club and S Club (softball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern softball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.