NCAA Softball Tournament bracket prediction for Gainesville Regional

The Florida softball team earned a No. 6 seed after finishing the regular-season schedule with a tidy 48-10 overall record while finishing third place in the SEC with a 17-7 mark. As a result, the Gators will host the Gainesville Regional this weekend, which also features the Texas State Bobcats, Florida A&M Rattlers and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Texas State earned the second seed in the Gainesville Regional after beating three of the six ranked teams it faced in 2026. Florida A&M was the winner of the SWAC Tournament and is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

Georgia Tech is the returner of this regional, having come back to Gainesville for the third time in five years. The Yellow Jackets have already been to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium this season, losing to the Gators twice in the Florida Classic.

Ahead of clay diamond action, a pair of USA TODAY Sports writers submitted their predictions for the first bracket in the trip to the Women's College World Series. Austin Curtright picked Florida to emerge victorious from its home field.

"The Gators get an easy draw in the Gainesville Regional, and cruise to the Super Regionals, where they'll likely face No. 11 Texas Tech and feared pitcher NiJaree Canady," he offered.

The other projections came from Mitchell Northam, who said, "Texas State is a formidable opponent in this regional, but the Gators have one of the best offenses in the country and they should be able to lean on their success at the plate in the Swamp."

So it looks like the Orange and Blue are unsurprisingly favored to advance to the Super Regionals, which will take place from May 21-24. But they cannot count their chickens before they hatch — first, Tim Walton's team has to prevail on the clay diamond.

Florida's first game of the regional is set for Friday at 11 a.m. ET against Florida A&M, which can be watched on the SEC Network. If the Gators prevail in Gainesville, they will face the winner of the Lubbock Regional hosted by the 11th-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Gainesville Regional bracket

• (6) Florida (48-10)
• Texas State (38-20)
• Georgia Tech (30-27)
• Florida A&M (32-20)

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida softball favored in Gainesville Regional predictions