WINONA, Minn. - The countdown is on to the first pitch of the NCAA Softball Tournament's opening round here at Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minnesota.

Saint Mary's University is excited to welcome three teams from three different states to its beautiful campus hosting their first ever softball regional. Let's get to know the teams competing in this regional.

Saint Mary's will kick off the tournament on Thursday, May 15 at 11:00 A.M., hosting Husson University from Bangor, Maine—the team that's made by far the longest journey to get here.
The Cardinals (39-3) are making their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance—and their second in a row—after capturing the 2025 MIAC title with a perfect 24-0 conference record. Riding a 29-game winning streak, they enter the tournament ranked 11th in the nation.

They lead the conference in every major statistical category and are poised to make a strong statement in the postseason.

Husson (27-10) claimed its seventh consecutive North Atlantic Conference title on Sunday with an 8-0 win over SUNY Cobleskill. 

The Eagles are still chasing their first regional championship, having come up short in the regional title series twice in the past four years. They also hosted regionals in both 2021 and 2024.

At the plate, Julia Gregoire has become the top offensive force, boasting a slashing .462/.517/.679  line along with 28 RBIs. In the circle, Sky Johnson and Ana Lang form a dominant 1-2 punch, heading into the tournament with a combined 22-7 record, a 1.42 ERA, and 235 strikeouts.

Next up on campus and playing in the second game on Thursday at 1:30 P.M. is Simpson College from Indianola, Iowa. Making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016, the Storm (31-7) earned an at-large bid after a strong season. They've surpassed the 30-win mark and notched victories over three ranked opponents along the way.

Megan Heidelbauer was honored as the A-R-C Position Player of the Year, marking the first time in program history. Simpson had eight players selected to the A-R-C All-Conference teams, with four earning first-team honors and four named to the second team.

The final team rounding out the regional is the DePauw Tigers from Greencastle, Indiana, the same place the Cardinals visited around this time last year.

DePauw (24-13) triumphed over Denison, 6-5, in the 10th inning to capture the NCAC conference championship. The Tigers are powered by infielder Katie Mathies, who posted a .411/.483/.705 slash line with four home runs and 38 RBIs.

In the circle, DePauw's pitching staff is anchored by two aces, Riley Depa and Alex Romero-Salas, who have combined for a 19-8 record and a 2.29 ERA over 174.2 innings.

WHAT'S ON THE LINE
The winner of the Simpson/DePauw game will go head-to-head with the winner of the Saint Mary's/Husson game on Friday, May 16, at 11 A.M.

The winner of the NCAA Regional will advance to the Super Regionals, with the sites for next weekend's games yet to be determined.