Let the Dancing begin; Upstate Softball returns to NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional beginning play on Friday
5/10/2026 10:19:00 PM | Softball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Following a three-peat with dynasty status winning the Big South Conference Title, USC Upstate Softball officially continues their story where it all started in the Division I era as the Spartans return to the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional for the fifth time in Program History with their last appearance in Tuscaloosa being in 2024. Â
Upstate Softball's journey to NCAA Regionals during the Division I era began in Tuscaloosa with three consecutive appearances (2013, 2014, 2015) followed by going to Auburn in 2016 and Knoxville in 2017. With new life as a member of the Big South, Upstate returned to NCAA Regionals in 2024 in Tuscaloosa and made their way down the road to Clemson in 2025. Adding to the three-peat, the story of the 2026 sees the Spartans return to Tuscaloosa where Upstate begins play against the National number one seeded, University of Alabama on Friday, May 15th. Â
USC Upstate Softball will have eight players were members of the 2024 roster that traveled to Tuscaloosa (Abby Polk, Maddie Drerup, Grace McKee, Ashlyn Brown, Carson Shaw, Amie Johnson, Taliyah Thomas, Emily Stern). The Spartans will have 12 players who will make their first appearance and make new memories in their collegiate career. The historic season of the Spartans was a rollercoaster of getting new faces adjusted to the system of Upstate while having Taliyah Thomas and Sophia Kardatzke returning from injury. The season grew with testing their limits in late February traveling to Auburn for the Jane B. Moore Memorial that gave a feel of what Regionals would be with teams like Auburn, Troy and Virginia Tech with the Hokies ultimately qualifying for Regionals. The Spartans finished the season with a 36-21 (12-6 Big South) record and entered the 2026 Big South Softball Championships as the number two seed and the host of the tournament. The Spartans shutout the number three seed Radford in their opening game and followed with a 5-1 win over number one seeded Winthrop to advance to the Championship then ultimately run ruled the Eagles in the Championship final to complete the three-peat. The Spartans are ranked #26 in the NCAA with a .334 batting average, #15 in doubles (98), #21 in hits (499) and #13 in total stolen bases (111).Â
USC Upstate enters the Tuscaloosa Regional with Alabama, Southeast Louisiana and Belmont. For Alabama, this year's appearance marks their 27th consecutive appearance and 21st as a national top 16 seed. Belmont enters the Regional at 40-11 and fresh off a conference championship in MVC led by All-American, Maya Johnson who leads the NCAA with an 0.66 ERA. Southeast Louisiana (46-14) will make their third consecutive appearance at NCAA Regionals, receiving its first at-large bid. The Lions will take on Belmont on Friday, May 15th at 3:30 P.M. Eastern time in the second game of the day. The winner of the Alabama/Upstate game will advance to the Winner's Bracket and play the winner of Belmont/SE Louisiana on Saturday, May 16th at 2:00 P.M. Eastern time. The Elimination Bracket will be a matchup set on Saturday, May 16th at 4:30 P.M. Eastern. The format of the bracket will be Double Elimination with the winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional advancing to Super Regionals to play the winner of the Baton Rouge Winner. Tickets are expected to go live beginning on Monday, May 11th and single day tickets will open on Thursday, May 14th. For more information, click here. To see the full 64 team bracket, click here.
