The Oklahoma Sooners' seeding for the 2026 NCAA Softball Championship ultimately doesn't matter considering they still got what they needed, but it's still irritating when outcomes make zero sense.
The Sooners were dealt the No. 3 national seed behind Alabama and Texas, respectively, while also getting the top seed in one of the four geographic quadrants, when the 64-team bracket was revealed on Sunday. OU at least still got what it wanted with home-field advantage throughout the rest of the postseason between a Regional and Super Regional at Love's Field in Norman and the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
Kansas, Michigan and Binghampton will visit the Norman Regional this weekend, with the winner facing whoever comes out of the Eugene Regional between Oregon, Mississippi State, Saint Mary's and Idaho State in Super Regionals.
NCAA again ignores logic while making decision
The head-scratching part, though, was who the committee chose to put ahead of the Sooners in overall seeding. Despite both being in the SEC, OU and top-seeded Alabama never faced off during the regular season. However, even without a head-to-head result, it's still obvious the Sooners were more deserving of anything over Bama.
The Sooners didn't lose a single conference series while claiming the SEC regular-season title for the second year in a row. Bama, meanwhile, lost two of three in a series against Tennessee and ultimately earned the No. 2 seed behind OU in the SEC Softball Tournament. Once at the conference tournament, the Crimson Tide still didn't prove themselves with a conference title after losing to 4-seed Texas in the finals on Saturday.
That SEC title ultimately boosted Texas to the No. 2 seed over OU after the Sooners slipped against Georgia in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. However, the Sooners beat Texas in a series in Austin during the regular season to prove their superiority over the Longhorns.
Texas fans also have reason to be upset about Bama getting that top spot over the Longhorns after beating the Crimson Tide just a day before, but the Sooners still proved throughout the regular season to be more No. 1-seed material than both. If anything, Big Ten champion and No. 4 Nebraska might have the most compelling gripe, especially after splitting two games with Texas early on.
In the end, the number next to a name won't really effect which team wins the national title, and the Sooners have even done it as a 3-seed before, but it was further proof that common sense is never used when the NCAA makes decisions.
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