Tennessee softball was announced as the No. 7 national seed in the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament Sunday night when the bracket was revealed.
The Lady Vols will play host to the NCAA Knoxville Regional for the 21st consecutive season.
UT is set to welcome Virginia, Indiana and Northern Kentucky to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for the NCAA Knoxville Regional this weekend from Friday, May 15, to Sunday, May 17.
The four-team event will be double-elimination, with the winner moving on to the NCAA Super Regional round.
Tennessee will play Horizon League champion Northern Kentucky on Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Virginia will take on Indiana on Friday at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Lady Vols will make their 23rd overall and 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend. Tennessee has advanced to the postseason every year since 2004 and has hosted 21 straight regional rounds in Knoxville.
UT is one of just two teams to host regionals every season since the NCAA switched to a regional and super-regional format in 2005.
Tennessee enters the national tournament having won 40 or more games for the 23rd time under head coach Karen Weekly. The Lady Vols enter the weekend 42-10 and finished tied for fourth in the SEC.
Friday's two winners will play in Game 3 on Saturday at 3 p.m. The losers from Friday's games will play in Game 4 at 5:30 p.m., and the loser from Game 3 will face the winner from Game 4 at 8 p.m. to conclude play on Saturday.
Times for Game 6 and the if necessary Game 7 on Sunday are slated for 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
The 16 winning teams from their respective regional sites will advance the Super Regional round, which will take place from May 21-24, depending on the host site. All Super Regional sites will feature broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, May 15 5:30 p.m. – Game 1 (Northern Kentucky vs. Tennessee)8:00 p.m. – Game 2 (Indiana vs. Virginia)
Saturday, May 16 3:00 p.m. – Game 3 5:30 p.m. – Game 4 8:00 p.m. – Game 5
Sunday, May 17 2:00 p.m. – Game 6 4:30 p.m. – Game 7 (if necessary)