Northwest Florida Softball Earns No. 2 Seed in NJCAA World Series
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Northwest Florida softball learned its postseason path Tuesday afternoon as the NJCAA unveiled the bracket for the 2026 NJCAA Softball World Series in Oxford, Alabama. The Raiders earned the No. 2 overall seed, marking the highest national tournament seeding in program history.
As the tournament's No. 2 seed, Northwest Florida receives a first-round bye. While the tournament begins Monday, May 25, the Raiders will open play Tuesday, May 26, at 1:15 p.m. (CT) against the winner of No. 15 Iowa Western and No. 18 Western Arizona.
Northwest Florida enters the national tournament with a 55-5 overall record and is coming off a runner-up finish at last week's FCSAA State Championship in Clearwater — the second state runner-up finish in program history. The Raiders' lone loss during the tournament came in a narrow 7-6 championship game defeat against tournament No. 1 seed Florida SouthWestern. Northwest Florida responded the following day with a dramatic 1-0 extra-inning victory over No. 11 Eastern Florida to secure the region's second automatic bid to the World Series.
Joining the Raiders and Florida SouthWestern as representatives from Region VIII are Eastern Florida and Santa Fe, both of whom earned at-large selections after falling to Northwest Florida in Clearwater. Eastern Florida enters as the No. 9 seed, while Santa Fe earned the No. 11 seed.
The opening two rounds of the tournament will stream on the NJCAA Network before coverage shifts to ESPN+ for the remainder of the event. All games will be played at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.
The tournament will once again follow a double-elimination format, meaning the Raiders will need five wins to capture the program's second consecutive national championship.