Duke, UNC softball earn NCAA Tournament spots; 9 ACC teams in field
Two ACC softball teams from North Carolina made the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, the first time that’s happened during the same season.
Duke, which played its first season in 2018, gets to stay home for the first weekend of the tournament after earning the No. 14 overall seed. Meanwhile, North Carolina will make its first tournament appearance since 2019 after becoming an at-large selection.
Duke (38-16) is set to play Howard University in Durham on Friday at noon. Georgia and Coastal Carolina will also play in the Durham regional.
North Carolina (40-15) will play Ohio State at 4 p.m. Friday in Knoxville, Tennessee. No. 7 overall seed Tennessee and Miami (Ohio) are also in the regional.
Regionals begin Friday at 16 sites and run through Sunday.
Texas A&M earned the No. 1 overall seed, while four-time reigning national champion Oklahoma earned the No. 2 overall seed. Florida State was the highest-seeded ACC team, earning the No. 5 overall seed.
The ACC is well-represented in the postseason field; Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Virginia, California, Georgia Tech and Stanford heard their names called on Selection Sunday. The Tigers defeated the Seminoles — who won the regular season — to earn their first ACC Championship in school history.
Duke stays home to dance
Duke finished the regular season ranked No. 4 in the ACC after finishing 16-8 in league play. It went 1-1 in the ACC Championship. It shut out Stanford, 7-0, on Thursday in the tournament quarterfinals before losing to Florida State, 3-2, on Friday in the conference tournament semifinals.
It went 7-10 against teams in the RPI Top 25 and 8-2 against teams in the RPI Top 50. The Blue Devils ranked No. 2 in non-conference strength of schedule, trailing only Charlotte. Oklahoma State featured the second-highest non-conference strength of schedule out of all Power Four programs. It ranked No. 10 in overall strength of schedule to lead the ACC.
Duke’s resume includes wins over Florida, UCLA, Clemson, Stanford, Nebraska, Mississippi State, Liberty, Kentucky and Howard.
The Blue Devils roster includes five All-ACC selections. Dani Drogemuller earned All-ACC Second Team for her performances in the regular season and ACC All-Tournament honors. During the conference tournament, Drogemuller threw two complete games, including seven strikeouts, two earned runs, one walk and nine hits.
Thessa Malau’ulu was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team honoree. Ana Gold and D’Auna Jennings were All-ACC Second Team members, while Aminah Vega received first-team recognition.
The Blue Devils hosted the first weekend of the tournament last season, defeating Morgan State and South Carolina. The selection committee left Duke out of the top eight seeds, forcing the Blue Devils to play Missouri on the road in the Super Regionals. Duke, however, won the three-game series to earn the program’s first trip to the Women’s College World Series.
Tar Heels head to tournament
North Carolina ended the regular season ranked No. 6 in the conference standings after finishing 15-9. The Heels defeated Notre Dame, 2-0, in the ACC Tournament first round before falling to Virginia Tech, 4-0, in the quarterfinals.
The Tar Heels finished 4-12 against teams in the RPI Top 50. Its lone Top 25 win came against Clemson on March 15.
UNC ranked No. 72 in strength of schedule and No. 134 in non-conference strength of schedule. It has wins over Georgia Tech, Coastal Carolina, Radford and Southern Illinois.
Kat Rodriguez earned First Team All-ACC honors after one of the best single seasons in Carolina and ACC history. Rodriguez led the nation with 83 RBI, which set a single-season program and ACC record. She led the conference in batting average with .464, the second-highest in program history. Rodriguez ranked in the ACC T0op 15 in runs, doubles, slugging percentage and sacrifice flies.
Carlie Myrtle earned third-team All-ACC honors after putting up 16 home runs and 56 RBI.
This story was originally published May 11, 2025 at 8:17 PM with the headline "Duke, UNC softball earn NCAA Tournament spots; 9 ACC teams in field."
