INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – The University of Texas at Tyler softball program sits no. 2 in the first ranked edition of the 2024 NCAA Division II South Central Regional rankings as announced by the regional advisory committee on Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday's rankings are the second of three regional rankings that will be released prior to the selection of the 2024 NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament field on Monday, May 6
th. The winners of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and Lone Star Conference (LSC) Postseason Tournaments will receive the two automatic qualifying bids into the tournament, while the final six teams of the eight-team field will receive at-large bids based on the top six remaining highest teams in the South Central Regional Rankings.
The eight-team bracket will be split into two brackets, one at each of the top two ranked teams in the rankings host site on May 9-11, with the winners of each side of the bracket advancing to the NCAA Division II Super Regionals on May 15-16.
The winner of that Super Regional Tournament will advance to the NCAA Division II World Series scheduled for May 19-25 in Orlando, Fla.
The Patriots sit 43-7 on the year and 34-5 in Lone Star Conference play and have remained within the top 10 of all 11 regular season editions of the NFCA Division II 25 Coaches Poll, recently ascending to their highest ranking at no. 4 this week. UT Tyler stands as one of seven representatives from the Lone Star Conference in the first ranked edition of the regional rankings after the first edition included the teams deemed under consideration in alphabetical order.
West Texas A&M stands as the no. 1 overall ranked team, while Colorado Christian (no. 3), Angelo State (no. 4) and Oklahoma Christian (no. 5) round out the top five behind UT Tyler. The complete NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings can be found below.
The Patriots have won 16 straight games entering the final series of the regular season this weekend against Lubbock Christian. UT Tyler sits one game back of West Texas A&M in second place in the Lone Star Conference standings with a record of 34-5.
| NCAA DIVISION II SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL RANKINGS |
| 1 |
West Texas A&M |
43-5-0 |
43-5-0 |
| 2 |
UT Tyler |
40-7-0 |
36-7-0 |
| 3 |
Colorado Christian |
45-4-0 |
45-4-0 |
| 4 |
Angelo St. |
36-13-0 |
34-13-0 |
| 5 |
Oklahoma Christian |
29-20-0 |
28-17-0 |
| 6 |
Colorado Mesa |
37-7-0 |
37-7-0 |
| 7 |
St. Mary's (TX) |
29-17-0 |
27-16-0 |
| 8 |
Lubbock Christian |
25-18-0 |
24-15-0 |
| 9 |
Texas A&M -- Kingsville |
29-21-0 |
29-21-0 |
| 10 |
MSU Denver |
36-14-0 |
36-14-0 |
