The field has officially been set for the 2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, scheduled to take place on May 8-11 at Wilkins Stadium in Wichita, Kansas. All ten teams that compete in The American in softball were seeded in the tournament field based on regular-season winning percentage in conference games during the 2024 season. No. 1 Florida Atlantic (41-13, 21-6 American) secured the No. 1 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and the regular season championship in its inaugural season in the league following a sweep of Tulsa to end the season. Florida Atlantic won every conference series this season. The Owls earn a double bye to the semifinals on May 10. Softball (team photo above via Rick Henderson) becomes the first Florida Atlantic sport to win a championship in the American Athletic Conference. This marks the first regular season conference title for FAU since 2018. The Owls have won the conference title in their first year as a member of the AAC. This is not a new accomplishment for the program; with each of their four conference changes, FAU is the first among the new members to win the regular season title. Florida Atlantic has earned their 11th 40-win season in program history and their first since 2016. 3 Owls starred in the Owls’ batting unit: Jesiana Mora, Trinity Schlotterbeck, and Kamryn Jackson. The trio had over 40 RBI each, consistently producing as some of the best hitters on the team. From the bullpen, the big three of Schlotterbeck, Ainsley Lambert, and Gabby Sacco proved to be more than effective. Schlotterbeck and Sacco combined for 14 complete games and six shutouts, while Lambert recorded the most saves with eight. No. 2 Charlotte (36-16, 21-6 American) will be the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship in its first season in the league. Charlotte ended the season with a sweep of third-place North Texas to earn a share of the regular season title. The 49ers earned a double bye to the semifinals, which will be played on May 10. No. 3 North Texas (31-23, 10-7 American) locked down the third seed in the championship during the final week of the regular season. Competing in their inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship, the Mean Green will take on No. 10 Memphis in the opening round. No. 4 Wichita State (25-21, 16-11 American) will be the fourth seed in the conference tournament after sweeping Memphis to end the 2023 regular season. The Shockers previously captured the American Softball Championship trophy in 2021. Wichita State will meet the Roadrunners in the opening round of the tournament on May 8. No. 5 Tulsa (29-22, 14-13 American) settled into the tournaments fifth seed after being swept by first place Florida Atlantic in the final series of the 2024 regular season. The Golden Hurricane previously captured the 2016, 2017 and 2018 American Softball Championship titles, defeating Houston 1-0 in the 2017 championship game in Greenville. Tulsa will take on No. 8 seed South Florida to open the conference tournament. No. 6 UAB (23-28, 14-13 American) defeated East Carolina two games to one to end the season and earn the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. The Blazers will look to keep their momentum alive against the Pirates as the Blazers will take on East Carolina for a fourth straight game in the first round of the conference tournament. No. 7 East Carolina (37-18, 13-14 American) secured the seventh seed in the conference tournament. The Pirates are in search of a second all-time appearance in the semifinal round of the American tournament after advancing at the 2019 conference championship before the remainder of the weekend was cancelled due to inclement weather. East Carolina will play UAB for a fourth straight game, after falling to the Blazers two games to one to end the season. No. 8 South Florida (34-21, 13-14 American) enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed in the field. The Bulls, the 2016 and 2019 regular-season champions and top tournament seed, are in search of their first American Softball Championship title. South Florida will collide with Tulsa in the opening game of the tournament, with the Golden Hurricane winning the series against the Bulls earlier this season, two games to one. No. 9 UTSA (15-41, 5-22 American) will be the ninth seed in the upcoming American Softball Championship, finishing the season with a series win against South Florida in Tampa. The Roadrunners will take on No. 4 seed Wichita State in its opening game in The American Championship. No. 10 Memphis (6-43, 1-26 American) rounds out the tournament field as the tenth seed following a series sweep at the hands of Wichita State in the final series of the year. The Tigers previously reached the tournaments semifinal round in both 2017 and 2018, falling to eventual champion Tulsa (2017) and runner-up South Florida (2018) on each occasion. Memphis will take on North Texas game as the Mean Green are the tournaments No. 3 seed in the tournaments first round. All games of the 2024 American Softball Championship are scheduled to air live on ESPN+ and the conference championship game set for May 11 at 12 p.m. (ET) nationally broadcast on ESPN2. 2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship (Eastern Standard Times) May 8-11, 2024 Wilkins Stadium Wichita, Kansas Wednesday, May 8 – First Round Game 1: No. 7 East Carolina 4 vs No. 6 UAB 0 – 11 a.m. (ESPN+) Game 2: No. 10 Memphis 1 vs No. 3 North Texas 7 – 2 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 3: No. 8 South Florida vs No. 5 Tulsa 2 – 5 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 4: No. 9 UTSA 0 vs No. 4 Wichita State 13 – 8 p.m. (ESPN+) Thursday, May 9 – Second Round Game 5: No. 7 East Carolina 1 vs No. 3 North Texas 9 – 1 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 6: No. 5 Tulsa 9 vs No. 4 Wichita State 11 – 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+) Friday, May 10 – Semifinals Game 7: No. 3 North Texas 0 vs No. 2 Charlotte 3 – 1 p.m. (ESPN+) Game 8: No. 4 Wichita State 12 vs No. 1 Florida Atlantic 2 – 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+) Saturday, May 11 – Championship Game 9: No. 2 Charlotte 10 vs No. 4 Wichita State 1 – 12 p.m. (ESPN2)
