Breaking Down Oklahoma State Softball's Regional Bracket

Oklahoma State is ready to begin its postseason journey away from home.

For the first time since 2018, OSU softball will begin the NCAA Tournament somewhere other than Stillwater. The Stillwater Regional had been a constant for Kenny Gajewski’s team across five straight trips to the Women’s College World Series.

Of course, this season hasn’t exactly been as successful as those past five runs, but the Cowgirls still have plenty of optimism moving forward. OSU will begin its NCAA Tournament journey in the Fayetteville Regional, where it will start with a matchup against Indiana on Friday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.

The Hoosiers are entering the NCAA Tournament with a 33-18 record, which is identical to the Cowgirls’ mark. While both teams have had their fair share of games at neutral sites, the Hoosiers have been much better in those matchups, going 13-1, compared to the Cowgirls’ 11-6 record.

Of course, level of competition and many other factors go into those two records, but it appears playing at a neutral site could lend Indiana a slight upper hand in this matchup. Indiana also won its first-round matchup in the Big 10 Tournament, while OSU lost its only postseason contest up to this point.

While the battle of OSU and Indiana seems to be relatively even, either team would still have to go through a tough Arkansas squad. The Razorbacks are 40-12 this season, having lost only five games on their home field.

As the host of the Regional, it would obviously be an upset if Arkansas can’t make it to the Super Regional. After beating Georgia and Tennessee in the SEC Tournament, a loss to Oklahoma cut the Razorbacks’ hopes of a conference title short.

Arkansas will begin its run in the Fayetteville Regional against Saint Louis. This season, Saint Louis earned the A-10’s automatic bid and is a heavy underdog in the Regional with only a 34-22 record.

OSU’s hopes of winning a national title are lower than years past, but the Cowgirls have plenty of reason to believe they can fight their way back to Oklahoma City.