Auburn softball punched its ticket to the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the second seed in the Tallahassee, Florida regional hosted by the No. 15 overall seed Florida State – marking 10 straight appearances in the tournament by the Tigers.
The selection means Auburn qualified for every NCAA Tournament offered during Mickey Dean’s tenure and will go to Tallahassee, FL for postseason play for the third time under Dean. The Tigers, however, have failed to advance from the regional round in all of Dean’s postseasons at Auburn.
“No matter who you face in postseason, they are going to be a talented team," said head coach Mickey Dean. "We've got to show up and play clean softball. We've been there before. We know what to expect as far as the stadium and the crowd noise.”
Following the regular season and SEC Tournament, Auburn sits at a 27-19-1 overall record and 9-15 in league play. The Tigers won just two conference series, taking two games a piece at LSU and to close the regular season at home to Alabama. Both LSU and Alabama are hosting regionals.
For the fourth time, all 13 SEC teams were selected in the tournament field with eight hosting regionals. Future conference members, Texas and Oklahoma are the first and second overall seeds. Auburn would take on the winner of Oklahoma’s regional if the Tigers advance out of Tallahassee, FL.
Auburn is scheduled to take on the UCF Knights at JoAnne Graf Field in the first round of the regional on Friday, May 17 at 1 p.m. CST. Television coverage will be provided on ESPNU and the matchup can be heard on the Auburn Sports Network.
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
