{"id":266318,"date":"2026-05-11T06:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/266318\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T06:53:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:53:16","slug":"famu-softball-to-play-in-ncaa-tournaments-florida-gators-regional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/266318\/","title":{"rendered":"FAMU softball to play in NCAA Tournament’s Florida Gators Regional"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida A&M softball<\/a> will remain in-state for the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, May 10, the day after the Rattlers won their first Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament title<\/a>, the NCAA announced they will play in the Gainesville Regional, hosted by the No. 6 overall seed, the Florida Gators<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida A&M Rattlers players hoist the NCAA Southwestern Athletic Conference Softball Tournament championship trophy after beating the Southern Jaguars at the Gulfport Sportsplex in Gulfport, Mississippi, Saturday, May 9, 2026.<\/p>\n

FAMU held a selection show watch party on campus at Bragg Memorial Stadium to learn its tournament fate via ESPN2\u2019s broadcast.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re super excited about advancing,\u201d FAMU\u2019s second-year head coach, Brittany Beall, told the media. \u201cThe momentum we have right now is something that is going to be great for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

FAMU (32-20) shares the four-team double-elimination field with Florida<\/a> (48-10), Georgia Tech (30-27), and Texas State (38-20).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re coming to fight hard,\u201d said graduate student pitcher and utility player Samantha Smith, the SWAC Tournament\u2019s Most Valuable Player.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to go down easy. We\u2019re coming to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gainesville regional starts with the Rattlers against the Gators at 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 15, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The national tournament\u2019s regional ends on Sunday, May 17.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida A&M Rattlers head coach Brittany Beall returned to her alma mater, Auburn, to face the Tigers in a NCAA college softball game at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Alabama on Monday, March 23, 2026. Beall lettered four times as a member of the Auburn Tigers softball team from 2005 to 2008. The Tigers defeated the Rattlers 8-3 in the non-conference matchup.<\/p>\n

FAMU faced Florida a year ago during the 2025 season. The Gators won that March 2025 game 9-1 in six innings.<\/p>\n

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The Gators are also a known adversary to Beall, who played in the Southeastern Conference<\/a> as an Auburn Tiger in college.<\/p>\n

\u201cFacing Florida, an SEC opponent, is going to be tough,\u201d Beall admitted. \u201cWe played at Florida last year. We\u2019re familiar with the field area, the atmosphere, and I think we\u2019ll be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

How FAMU softball made the NCAA tournament<\/p>\n

FAMU earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017<\/a> by picking up an automatic qualifier by winning the SWAC Tournament on May 9.<\/p>\n

The Rattlers beat Southern for the SWAC crown with a 2-1 walkoff victory<\/a> in Gulfport, Mississippi.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout the tournament, we just knew what the assignment was \u2015 have that heart, grit, and dog in us,\u201d said senior Neriah Lee, an All-SWAC Tournament team member.<\/p>\n

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FAMU had been to two SWAC Tournament championship rounds the two years prior, but fell short to Jackson State both times. The Rattlers have been in the SWAC since the 2021-2022 season.<\/p>\n

FAMU enters the NCAA Regional led by SWAC Player of the Year Amari Brown and the MVP Smith. Both are offensive and defensive forces as pitchers and utility players.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida A&M Rattlers utility player Amari Brown competes in the Leonard Moody HBCU Collegiate Invitational for the 2026 Whatley Cup at the Turner Lake Softball Complex in Covington, Georgia.<\/p>\n

Other SWAC honorees include Lee, Zoryana Hughes, Keeleigh Spooner, and Jamison Townsend.<\/p>\n

A look around the NCAA Tournament’s Gainesville Regional<\/p>\n

FAMU, 32-20, SWAC Champions (automatic qualifier)<\/p>\n

Florida, 48-10, at-large selection<\/p>\n

Georgia Tech, 30-27, at-large selection<\/p>\n

Texas State, 38-20, at-large selection<\/p>\n

Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the\u00a0Florida A&M Rattlers<\/a>\u00a0at the Tallahassee Democrat.<\/p>\n

Follow his award-winning coverage on\u00a0RattlerNews.com<\/a>\u00a0and contact him via email at\u00a0GDThomas@Tallahassee.com<\/a>\u00a0or on the app formerly known as Twitter\u00a0@3peatgee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU softball going to Gainesville regional in NCAA Tournament<\/a><\/p>\n