Softball America unveils final projected NCAA softball Field of 64

9 articles · Updated · KSR · May 10

Ahead of ESPN2’s 7 p.m. ET Selection Sunday reveal, Alabama is projected as the No. 1 national seed, followed by Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The projection lists the top 16 regional hosts, puts LSU 16th, and has Baylor, Marshall, Southeastern Louisiana and Georgia Tech as the last four at-large teams in.
It also reflects NCAA softball’s new 32-team seeding format, while projecting 12 SEC bids and leaving North Carolina, Northwestern, Purdue and ULM among the first teams out.

Does doubling the number of seeded teams create fairer matchups or simply protect top programs from early-round upsets?

As other NCAA sports adopt advanced analytics, why does softball's championship selection still rely on the antiquated RPI metric?

Will new mandatory hosting costs prevent smaller universities from bidding, creating an exclusive club of wealthy host programs?