When does 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament start? Schedules, venues, TV info for WCWS

In just a handful of hours, the clock to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series will start for 64 different NCAA Division I softball teams.

Knowing whether that clock starts or not — with the latter meaning teams have entered "offseason mode" and back to the drawing board to see what their needs are in the transfer portal — comes at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 10 with the unveiling of the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament bracket on ESPN2.

There will be 31 teams automatically elected to the NCAA Softball Tournament bracket by the time Sunday's selection show starts, with 34 teams learning their fates and paths during the bracket reveal show.

Patty Gasso's Oklahoma Sooners are expected to be named the No. 1 team in the bracket, with Kendall Wells and Ella Parker leading the way on offense and Audrey Lowry being the ace in the circle. Nijaee Canady, who is top-six in the country in ERA, looks to get Texas Tech back to the WCWS championship series after falling two games short of the national championship title last season to Texas.

Here's what you need to know about when the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament begins, including important dates, venue sites and more:

When does the NCAA Softball Tournament start in 2026?

• Start date: Friday, May 15
• End date: Thursday, June 4/Friday, June 5

The 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament gets underway on Friday, May 15 at 16 different regional sites with double-elimination, regional round play. The best-of-three super regional round of the NCAA Softball Tournament gets started on Thursday, May 21 and will run through either Friday, May 22 or Saturday, May 23.

The WCWS in Oklahoma City will start on Thursday, May 29 at Devon Park.

Here's a breakdown of the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament schedule:

• Regionals: Friday, May 15 through Sunday, May 17
• Super Regionals: Thursday, May 21 through Sunday, May 24
• Women's College World Series: Thursday, May 28 through Thursday, June 4/Friday, June 5 *

* Note: The championship series of the WCWS can end as early as Thursday, June 4 depending on how Game 1 and Game 2 of the series go.

When is the WCWS in 2026? Full schedule

• 2026 WCWS start date: Thursday, May 28
• 2026 WCWS end date: Thursday, June 4/Friday, June 5 *

The 2026 Women's College World Series will get underway on Thursday, May 28 in Oklahoma City at Devon Park. The best of three championship series of the WCWS will start on Wednesday, June 3 at 8 p.m. ET.

Here's a full breakdown of the WCWS schedule, per NCAA.com:

Thursday, May 28

• Game 1: TBD vs. TBD | Noon ET | ESPN (Fubo)
• Game 2: TBD vs. TBD | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN (Fubo)
• Game 3: TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN2 (Fubo)
• Game 4: TBD vs. TBD | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2 (Fubo)

Friday, May 29

• Game 5: TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN2 (Fubo)
• Game 6: TBD vs. TBD | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2 (Fubo)

Saturday, May 30

• Game 7: TBD vs. TBD | 3 p.m. ET | ABC (Fubo)
• Game 8: TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN (Fubo)

Sunday, May 31

• Game 9: TBD vs. TBD | 3 p.m. ET | ABC (Fubo)
• Game 10: TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN2 (Fubo)

Monday, June 1

• Game 11: TBD vs. TBD | Noon ET | ESPN (Fubo)
• Game 12: TBD vs. TBD | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN (Fubo) **
• Game 13: TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN2 (Fubo)
• Game 14: TBD vs. TBD | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2 (Fubo) **

WCWS

• Game 1: Wednesday, June 3 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN (Fubo)
• Game 2: Thursday, June 4 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN (Fubo)
• Game 3: Friday, June 5 | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN (Fubo) **

* Note: The championship series of the WCWS can end as early as Thursday, June 4, depending on how Game 1 and Game 2 of the series go.

** Denotes if Necessary

2026 NCAA Softball Tournament venue sites

Apart from the actual Women's College World Series, which will be held once again in Oklahoma City at Devon Park, the venue sites for the regional and super regional rounds of te NCAA Softball Tournament are unknown going into Sunday's bracket reveal sow.

The reasoning behind this is that the top 16 teams selected by the NCAA Selection Committee are rewarded with hosting a regional round, and the top eight teams left in the bracket following the regional round are rewarded with hosting a super regional round.

How to watch 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament? TV channel, streaming options for WCWS

• TV channel: ESPN Family of Networks
• Streaming options: ESPN app | ESPN+ | Fubo (free trial)

The ESPN family of networks — ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 — will broadcast the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament. Streaming options for select games include ESPN+, ESPN's subscription streaming service.

Other streaming options for all 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament games include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.