ESPN to Present the 2014 NCAA Division I Softball Championship

By: Caryn Robbins May. 14, 2014

ESPN will be the home of the 2014 NCAA Division I Softball Championship presented by Capital One beginning Friday, May 16, featuring exclusive coverage from seven Regional sites, all eight Super Regionals and the Women's College World Series. Regional round coverage (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3) features up to 49 games from seven campus sites (May 16 - May 18). ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will televise every game from the eight Super Regionals (May 22 - May 25) and Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. (May 29 - June 4). ESPN began televising the entire Women's College World Series in 2001 and Super Regionals in 2007.

ESPN's Regional coverage will feature six of the top 11 seeds in the tournament, including No. 2 Alabama (Tuscaloosa Regional) and No. 3 UCLA (Los Angeles Regional). Additional top seeds include No. 6 Louisiana Lafayette (Lafayette Regional), No. 7 and defending champion Oklahoma (Norman Regional), No. 8 Florida State (Tallahassee Regional), No. 9 Arizona State (Tempe Regional), and No. 11 Arizona (Tucson Regional). ESPN will carry every game from these seven Regionals - a four-team, double-elimination tournament with one team from each site advancing to the Super Regionals. A full schedule is provided below.

The 2014 NCAA Division I Softball Championship bracket was unveiled during ESPNU's NCAA Softball Championship Selection Show presented by Capital One on Sunday, May 11. The Southeastern Conference received the most bids (11), followed by the Big Ten (5), Pac 12 (5), Atlantic Coast (4), Big 12 (4), and American Athletic (3). Overall, 32 conferences are represented in the field and six teams will make their first appearance: Bryant University, Charleston Southern University, Dartmouth University, Utah Valley University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Texas Southern University. The complete 64-team bracket can be seen here.

ESPN's NCAA Division I Softball Championship Coverage Highlights

ESPN Analysts: ESPN's softball analysts are accomplished former college, Olympic and professional softball players.

· Kayla Braud - Lafayette Regional

· College: Alabama

· Honors: Three-time All American, National Champion (2012), SEC Freshmen of the Year (2010)

· Jenny Dalton-Hill - Norman Regional

· College: Arizona

· Honors: National Player of the Year (1996) and Women's College World Series MVP ('96) Four-time National Champion, winning three as a player (1993, '94, and '96) and one as an assistant coach, also with Arizona (1997)

· Amanda Freed - Los Angeles Regional

· College: UCLA

· Honors: National Champion (1999), pitched in the three other WCWS (2000, '01, '02, '03), member of gold medal-winning team at the 2004 Athens Olympics

· Jessica Mendoza - Tempe Regional

· College: Stanford

· Honors: Four-time All-American (1999, 2000, '01, '02), member of gold medal-winning team at the 2004 Athens Olympics and silver medal winning team at 2008 Beijing Olympics

· Leah O'Brien-Amico - Tuscaloosa Regional

· College: Arizona

· Honors: Won three national championships (1993, '94, '97), member of goal medal-winning teams at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics

· Amanda Scarborough - Tucson Regional

· College: Texas A&M

· Honors: Two-time All-American (2005, '07). Only player in Big 12 history to receive Freshman of the Year and Player of Year in same season (2005), played in two WCWS (2007, '08)

· Michele Smith - Tallahassee Regional

· College: Oklahoma State

· Honors: Two-time All American, member of goal medal-winning teams at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics, eight-time Japan Pro League MVP

Garland Cooper, three-time Big Ten Play of the Year, and Cheri Kempf, Hall of Famer, will be in-studio throughout the Regionals.

espnW.com -- The online destination for 2014 NCAA Division I Softball Championship coverage.

· Comprehensive Recaps: Graham Hays will provide daily recaps in a "five things you should know" format.

· Tourney Snapshots: Behind-the-scenes video and photos from teams and student athletes participating in the championship. Fans can submit their photos by tagging them #RoadtoWCWS in the Regionals and Super Regionals and then #WCWS during the Women's College World Series.

· Student-Athlete Perspective: Six student-athletes will blog throughout their championship experience: Ally Carda (UCLA) Amber Freeman (Arizona State), Victoria Hayward (Washington), Ellen Renfroe (Tennessee), Janie Takeda (Oregon), and Lacey Waldrop (Florida State).

Social Media Integration:

· @ESPNU and @espnW will provide news, game updates, photos and videos throughout the championship. Fans can join the conversation by tagging their tweets with #RoadtoWCWS in the Regionals and Super Regionals and then #WCWS during the Women's College World Series.

ESPN Regional Coverage Information (May 16 - 18)

Please note: A day-by-day Regional Schedule, can be found here

Region by Region Schedule

Tallahassee Regional