CONWAY, Ark. – The road to Oklahoma City started on Saturday for the No. 23 Central Arkansas softball team, clinching the ASUN's automatic berth with a six-game slog over three days this past week. Sunday, the selection committee decided that the Bears deserved a place in the Tuscaloosa Region, the number two seed at Alabama's regional. Along with Middle Tennessee and Long Island, the Bears will take a crack at getting out of the No. 5 overall region in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Sunday's selection marks the first regional appearance for Central Arkansas since 2015, when the Bears won a Southland Conference title and earned a spot in the Norman Regional.
 
"This is what we've worked for all season, a chance to make the postseason," head coach Jenny Parsons said. "We talked about this after winning conference yesterday, we're not done. We feel like we've put ourselves in a position to be dangerous no matter where we went. We're looking forward to the challenge."
 
The Bears' resume includes a number of heavy hitters this season, with wins over Pac-12 Tournament Champion Utah, Arkansas twice, three wins over Liberty and a win over McNeese. All four of the aforementioned teams are in the top 50 of the NCAA's RPI, or Rating Percentage Index. These wins, among a program record 44 victories, helped set the table for a run through the team's second season in the ASUN. Central Arkansas went 22-2 in conference games, earning the ASUN Championship's No. 1 seed, resulting in the first league title after this weekend's play.
 
"I'm kind of speechless, I've been here five years and I'd say the last two seasons, we were close, but we felt like we had beaten ranked teams and should have made it, so those were heartbreak years," senior pitcher Jordan Johnson added. "This year was different, we knew that even if we didn't win the ASUN Tournament, we had done enough to earn a spot, even though we were a mid-major.
 
"I knew coming to a mid-major out of high school, I might only get one chance at something like this, so it's surreal to get this chance in my fifth year. Tuscaloosa is exciting, because Alabama is someone we haven't played and they're such a powerhouse, but we'll go to this confident that we can have a chance at an upset."
 
And indeed the Bears should feel capable of an upset, Alabama would be the third SEC opponent of the season for Central Arkansas, after splitting four games against LSU and Arkansas. The Bears are 4-6 against SEC schools in the past two seasons, with only one of those wins coming in Conway. But Alabama will be a new task for Central Arkansas; the teams have never faced each other. In fact, the Bears have only played one opponent in the Tuscaloosa Regional, being 3-0 all-time against Middle Tennessee, most recently in 2020. The Bears and Blue Raiders were set to play this season, but torrential downpours in the Murfreesboro area canceled that one.
 
Central Arkansas will open its NCAA postseason against Middle Tennessee on Friday, May 19 at 3:30 p.m. CT.