Virginia Tech Softball: Meet the Hokies' Opponents in the 2025 Tuscaloosa Regional

The Hokies earned their spot in the tournament with an at-large ACC conference bid to take on the competition in the Tuscaloosa Regional.

Filling out the rest of the region are the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Jackson State Tigers, and the Belmont Bruins.

Tech is now a perfect six-for-six in making the NCAA tournament under the tenure of head coach Pete D'Amour, with the 2020 season not having a tournament. D'Amour has a regional tournament record of 12-7 in his six trips.

The Hokies dropped to an at-large placement with a loss in the ACC semifinals against the ultimate champions, the Clemson Tigers.

The Hokies are no strangers to Tuscaloosa, picking up a win against the Crimson Tide during the last week of February.

Headlining the Hokies' offense is ACC Player of the Year Cori McMillan, who, alongside her teammate Emma Lemley, was selected in the first round of the Inaugural AUSL Draft.

Tech and Belmont open the Tuscaloosa Regional with a 3:30 p.m. EST matchup in Rhoads Stadium. Coverage will be available on ESPN+ as the Hokies look to return to the Supers for the third time in four seasons.

The Bruins earned their bid by winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament--getting the automatic bid for doing so.

Following the matchup between the two-and-three seeds, the Tigers will step into the jungle of Bama at 6 p.m. EST.

Competition in the regionals can be cutthroat, with one team advancing out of a double-elimination pool of four top national programs.

Get to know the Hokies' opponents:

Meet the No.15 Alabama Crimson Tide

Record: 37-21 (12-12 SEC)

Head Coach: Patrick Murphy

Notable Wins: Washington (5-1 on February 7, 7-3 on February 8), Virginia Tech (9-1 on February 23), Mississippi State (7-4 on March 14), Texas A&M (2-1 on March 22), Georgia (5-4 on March 29, 8-5 on March 30), LSU (8-5 on April 6), Oklahoma (6-1 on April 13, 2-1 on April 14), Florida (7-4 on April 17), South Carolina (13-1 on May 1).

Ace in the Circle: Jocelyn Briski

Alabama packs a tough 1-2 punch in the circle, but the sophomore Briski takes the ace role over the two-way Ole Miss transfer Catelyn Riley. Both have impressive pitching lines themselves, but where Briski shines is the strikeouts, nearly doubling Riley's count with 110 K's on the season. With a K rate of 18.5% and an opponent batting average of just .239--Briski is a good arm to sit behind in a regional.

Standout Slugger: Kali Heivilin

Heivilin, the senior, leads the Crimson Tide in most of the major slugging categories. First in team OPS (1.183), home runs (13), RBIs (42), and slugging percentage (.724). When Heivilin's teammates reach base successfully in front of her, she looks to increase Alabama's score with one swing of her scorching bat.

Meet the Jackson State Tigers

Record: 29-23 (15-9 SWAC)

Head Coach: Kevin Montgomery

Notable Wins: Bethune-Cookman (4-1 on March 7, 6-1 on April 26, 4-2 on May 4, and 8-0 on May 7), Alabama State (9-4 on March 21, 9-8 on March 22, 10-2 on April 12, and 2-1 on May 8), Florida A&M (5-4 on April 4, and 3-1 on May 11)

Ace in the Circle: Brooklyn Morris

Another solid duo in the circle puts another sophomore ahead as the ace. Morris leads the Tigers' pitching squad in almost every category: ERA (3.53), WHIP (1.41), complete games (15), K's (49), and opponent batting average (.286).

Standout Slugger: Jace Jackson

On the opposite side of the action for the Tigers, Jackson and her sophomore teammate Ka'Liyah Gipson square up evenly in all but one statistic, slugging. Where Gipson slaps around singles to get herself aboard, Jackson has more than double the home runs hit by any of her teammates. Showing her true slugging prowess, along with cracking triple digits for total bases on the year, a perfect 100 for a .671 slugging percentage.

Meet the Belmont Bruins

Record: 40-14 (20-7 MVC)

Head Coach: Laura Matthews

Notable Wins: Arizona State (5-1 on February 15), Maryland (3-0 on February 28, and 9-1 on March 1), Southern Illinois (5-0 on March 28, and 6-2 on May 10), Bradley (8-3 on May 8), Northern Iowa (7-5 on March 9)

Ace in the Circle: Maya Johnson

The truest ace in the regional comes from the Bruins in the redshirt junior Johnson. Almost quadrupling the workload of the other arms besides her, it is clear why she leads Belmont in every pitching statistic. ERA (1.24), WHP (.62), complete games (23), K's (355), and opponent batting average (.149).

Standout Slugger: Nicole Hughes

Being with the Bruins for three seasons now, Hughes offers the most balanced approach in the lineup. Leading the team in batting average (.359) and OPS (.947) while also notching a dozen doubles with a few home runs.

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