Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Earns NCAA Tournament Bid, Heading to Austin Regional
5/12/2024 6:42:00 PM | Softball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern earned a berth in the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament, securing one of 32 at-large bids on Sunday night, and will head to the Austin Regional hosted by the No. 1 overall seed Texas.
NU will open in Austin on Friday, May 17, against Saint Francis (PA) at 5:30 pm CT on ESPN+. The host Texas will play Siena in the other Austin Regional first-round contest. The winner of the Austin Region will advance to face the winner of the College Station Region, hosted by No. 16 seed Texas A&M.
This marks the 22nd overall tournament appearance in program history, as well as the 17th appearance in the 23-year Drohan era, including the ninth in the past 10 tournaments. Northwestern has advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals seven times under the Drohans and made three trips to the Women's College World Series, most recently in 2022.
Northwestern finished the regular season with a 33-11 record, going 19-3 in conference play (including 8-0 in conference series for the second year in a row) en route to the Wildcats' third-consecutive outright Big Ten regular season championship. It marked the 'Cats' first time three-peating as Big Ten champions since a four year run from 1984-87 under the legendary Sharon Drysdale. It marked the Wildcats' 10th Big Ten title in program history, as well as the fifth under Kate and Caryl Drohan.
Kate Drohan was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for a third-straight season and the sixth time in her career, the second-most in Big Ten history. Drohan's five career Big Ten titles move her into a tie with Drysdale for the third-most in conference history, behind only Gayle Blevins and Carol Hutchins.
In addition to Drohan's Coach of the Year award, Ashley Miller was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and a unanimous First Team selection, Kelsey Nader and Kansas Robinson each took home First Team All-Big Ten selections, and Emma Raye was named named to both the conference's All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team.
Northwestern has advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments, including each of the last two seasons. This marks the Wildcats' second trip to Austin in postseason play, having also traveled there in 2012.
The 64-team NCAA Tournament field is divided into 16, four-team double-elimination regionals which will take place this weekend. The 16 regional winners advance to best-of-three super regionals (to be played May 24-26 on the campus of the higher-seeded school), with the eight remaining schools competing May 30-June 7 in the NCAA Women's College World Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
Full Schedule (all times listed in central):
Friday, May 17
Game 1 - Texas vs. Siena - 3 p.m. CT - Longhorn Network
Game 2 - Northwestern vs. Saint Francis (PA) - 5:30 p.m. CT - ESPN+
Saturday, May 18
Game 3 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 12 p.m. CT
Game 4 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 2:30 p.m. CT
Game 5 - Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 - 5 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 19
Game 6 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 - TBD
Game 7 (if necessary) - TBD
NU will open in Austin on Friday, May 17, against Saint Francis (PA) at 5:30 pm CT on ESPN+. The host Texas will play Siena in the other Austin Regional first-round contest. The winner of the Austin Region will advance to face the winner of the College Station Region, hosted by No. 16 seed Texas A&M.
This marks the 22nd overall tournament appearance in program history, as well as the 17th appearance in the 23-year Drohan era, including the ninth in the past 10 tournaments. Northwestern has advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals seven times under the Drohans and made three trips to the Women's College World Series, most recently in 2022.
Northwestern finished the regular season with a 33-11 record, going 19-3 in conference play (including 8-0 in conference series for the second year in a row) en route to the Wildcats' third-consecutive outright Big Ten regular season championship. It marked the 'Cats' first time three-peating as Big Ten champions since a four year run from 1984-87 under the legendary Sharon Drysdale. It marked the Wildcats' 10th Big Ten title in program history, as well as the fifth under Kate and Caryl Drohan.
Kate Drohan was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for a third-straight season and the sixth time in her career, the second-most in Big Ten history. Drohan's five career Big Ten titles move her into a tie with Drysdale for the third-most in conference history, behind only Gayle Blevins and Carol Hutchins.
In addition to Drohan's Coach of the Year award, Ashley Miller was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and a unanimous First Team selection, Kelsey Nader and Kansas Robinson each took home First Team All-Big Ten selections, and Emma Raye was named named to both the conference's All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team.
Northwestern has advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments, including each of the last two seasons. This marks the Wildcats' second trip to Austin in postseason play, having also traveled there in 2012.
The 64-team NCAA Tournament field is divided into 16, four-team double-elimination regionals which will take place this weekend. The 16 regional winners advance to best-of-three super regionals (to be played May 24-26 on the campus of the higher-seeded school), with the eight remaining schools competing May 30-June 7 in the NCAA Women's College World Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
Full Schedule (all times listed in central):
Friday, May 17
Game 1 - Texas vs. Siena - 3 p.m. CT - Longhorn Network
Game 2 - Northwestern vs. Saint Francis (PA) - 5:30 p.m. CT - ESPN+
Saturday, May 18
Game 3 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 12 p.m. CT
Game 4 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 2:30 p.m. CT
Game 5 - Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 - 5 p.m. CT
Sunday, May 19
Game 6 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 - TBD
Game 7 (if necessary) - TBD
Players Mentioned
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