East Carolina Set To Host 2026 American Conference Softball Championship
May 03, 2026 | Softball
IRVING, Texas – The field is set for the 2026 American Conference Softball Championship, with South Florida earning the No. 1 seed. The championship will take place May 6–9 at Joyner Family Softball Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.
Â
The Bulls (40-25 overall, 21-6 American) enter the tournament on an eight-game winning streak. The defending tournament champions secured the top seed via a tiebreaker over Wichita State, having taken two of three games from the Shockers earlier this season. South Florida earns a bye to the semifinals on May 8, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Â
Wichita State (35-16 overall, 21-6 American) earned the No. 2 seed and the tournament's second semifinal bye. The Shockers closed the regular season with a sweep of Memphis and will play on May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Â
Host East Carolina (32-24 overall, 16-11 American) secured the No. 3 seed and a bye to the quarterfinals. The Pirates are slated to begin tournament play on Thursday, May 7 at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Â
Florida Atlantic claimed the No. 4 seed and the final quarterfinal bye after finishing 33-19 overall and 14-13 in conference play. The Owls will open their tournament run Thursday, May 7 at noon ET on ESPN+.
Â
Charlotte (30-25 overall, 14-13 American) earned the No. 5 seed and a bye to the second round. The 49ers will play Wednesday, May 6 at 4 p.m. ET against the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 9 UAB (21-32 overall, 8-19 American) and No. 8 Tulsa (19-31 overall, 10-17 American).
Â
North Texas (27-27 overall, 14-13 American) is the No. 6 seed and also receives a second-round bye. The Mean Green will open play Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. ET against the winner of No. 10 Memphis (18-38 overall, 6-21 American) and No. 7 UTSA (23-32 overall, 11-16 American).
Â
The 2026 American Conference Softball Championship game is scheduled for Saturday, May 9 at noon ET and will air on ESPN2. All games of the championship will be available on ESPN+.
Â
2026 AMERICAN SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Joyner Family Softball Stadium | Greenville, North Carolina
Â
Wednesday, May 6 | First and Second Round
Game 1:Â No. 8 Tulsa vs No. 9 UAB | 10 a.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Game 2:Â No. 7 UTSA vs No. 10 Memphis | 1 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Game 3:Â No. 5 Charlotte vs Game 1 Winner | 4 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Game 4:Â No. 6 North Texas vs Game 2 Winner | 7 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Â
The Bulls (40-25 overall, 21-6 American) enter the tournament on an eight-game winning streak. The defending tournament champions secured the top seed via a tiebreaker over Wichita State, having taken two of three games from the Shockers earlier this season. South Florida earns a bye to the semifinals on May 8, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Â
Wichita State (35-16 overall, 21-6 American) earned the No. 2 seed and the tournament's second semifinal bye. The Shockers closed the regular season with a sweep of Memphis and will play on May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Â
Host East Carolina (32-24 overall, 16-11 American) secured the No. 3 seed and a bye to the quarterfinals. The Pirates are slated to begin tournament play on Thursday, May 7 at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Â
Florida Atlantic claimed the No. 4 seed and the final quarterfinal bye after finishing 33-19 overall and 14-13 in conference play. The Owls will open their tournament run Thursday, May 7 at noon ET on ESPN+.
Â
Charlotte (30-25 overall, 14-13 American) earned the No. 5 seed and a bye to the second round. The 49ers will play Wednesday, May 6 at 4 p.m. ET against the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 9 UAB (21-32 overall, 8-19 American) and No. 8 Tulsa (19-31 overall, 10-17 American).
Â
North Texas (27-27 overall, 14-13 American) is the No. 6 seed and also receives a second-round bye. The Mean Green will open play Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. ET against the winner of No. 10 Memphis (18-38 overall, 6-21 American) and No. 7 UTSA (23-32 overall, 11-16 American).
Â
The 2026 American Conference Softball Championship game is scheduled for Saturday, May 9 at noon ET and will air on ESPN2. All games of the championship will be available on ESPN+.
Â
2026 AMERICAN SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Joyner Family Softball Stadium | Greenville, North Carolina
Â
Wednesday, May 6 | First and Second Round
Game 1:Â No. 8 Tulsa vs No. 9 UAB | 10 a.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Game 2:Â No. 7 UTSA vs No. 10 Memphis | 1 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Game 3:Â No. 5 Charlotte vs Game 1 Winner | 4 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Game 4:Â No. 6 North Texas vs Game 2 Winner | 7 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Thursday, May 7 | Quarterfinals
Game 5:Â No. 4 Florida Atlantic vs Game 3 Winner | 12 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Game 6:Â No. 3 East Carolina vs Game 4 Winner | 2:30 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Friday, May 8 | Semifinals
Game 7:Â No. 1 South Florida vs Game 5 Winner | 1 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Game 8:Â No. 2 Wichita State vs Game 6 Winner | 3:30 p.m. |Â ESPN+
Live Stats
Saturday, May 9 | Championship
Game 9:Â Game 7 Winner vs Game 8 Winner | 12 p.m. |Â ESPN2
Live Stats
ECU Softball vs Charlotte
Saturday, April 04
03/26/26 Inside Pirate Athletics
Thursday, March 26
03/03/26 Inside Pirate Athletics
Tuesday, March 03
ECU Softball vs Campbell
Sunday, March 01
