The Minnesota Golden Gophers softball team was selected to the NCAA tournament on Sunday and they will open on Friday against Texas A&M.
The Gophers enter the tournament as the third seed in the Norman Regional with a record of 26-24-1. Minnesota is making its ninth straight trip to the tournament and will be battle-tested after playing the eighth-most difficult schedule in the country.
That schedule includes a pair of victories over top-10 ranked Northwestern and wins over No. 8 Arizona State, No. 16 Michigan and No. 17 UCF, while also tying No. 19 Texas.
The Aggies will be a formidable challenge, however, as they enter the tournament with a record of 29-26. Texas A&M will be making its 20th straight appearance in the tournament, despite compiling a 6-18 record in the SEC.
The team that advances will have an even bigger challenge as they will likely face Oklahoma, who was named the No. 1 overall seed with a record of 49-2. Minnesota played Oklahoma in Norman on March 7 and got thumped 9-1 in five innings.
It is double elimination, so no matter what happens in Friday’s tourney opener, the Gophers will get at least one more game. The start time of Friday’s game is to be determined.
Wisconsin, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Nebraska and Illinois will also represent the Big Ten in the tournament. South Dakota State made it, having received an automatic bid for winning the Summit League title.
