South Carolina softball learns NCAA path. Gamecocks headed to West Coast
South Carolina softball’s 2026 NCAA Tournament path is set.
The Gamecocks are the No. 2 seed in the Los Angeles Regional being hosted by No. 1 seed and No. 8 overall seed UCLA, it was announced Sunday.
South Carolina will play its first game of the double-elimination regional against No. 3 Cal State Fullerton on Friday (7:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN2). No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 Cal Baptist will play later Friday (10 p.m. Eastern, ESPN2).
If South Carolina and UCLA meet in the regionals, it’ll be a rematch of last year’s super regionals in Columbia, a series the Bruins won 2-1.
The Gamecocks finished the season 30-26 and 7-17 in the SEC. USC lost to Ole Miss in the opening round of the conference tournament earlier this week.
South Carolina has reached the NCAA Tournament four years in a row and both seasons under coach Ashley Chastain Woodard, a USC alum hired away from Charlotte to replace former coach Beverly Smith in 2024.
Last year, the Gamecocks hosted a regional and were one win away from reaching the Women’s College World Series before losing to UCLA in the super regionals. South Carolina last reached the WCWS in 1997.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 7:22 PM.
