Louisville Prepares for NCAA Softball Tournament Regionals

Friday, May 15

Lincoln, Neb.

4:00 PM

University of Louisville

Grand Canyon University

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Easton Lotus and Madison Pickens celebrate a run at home plate during the game against Pitt at Ulmer Stadium on April 19th, 2026.

Photo by: Paige Kuwata | Louisville Athletics

Louisville Prepares for NCAA Softball Tournament Regionals

May 14, 2026 | Softball

Louisville Game Notes

The Cards will face Grand Canyon on Friday, May 15 at 4 p.m. ET.

By: Kennedy Knisley

LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 24 University of Louisville softball team is set to face No. 25 Grand Canyon in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Softball Championship in the Lincoln Regional on Friday, May 15. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

The Lincoln Regional features host school and No. 1-ranked Nebraska, No. 25 Grand Canyon, and Summit League champions, South Dakota.

With a win, the Cards will face the winner of Nebraska and South Dakota on Saturday, May 16 at 1 p.m. ET. With a loss to GCU, Louisville will play the losing team of the Nebraska and South Dakota game.

QUICK HITS

Madison Pickens leads the team with a .470 average, collecting 85 hits, 61 runs, 19 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, and 73 RBIs.
Chelsea Mack is second on the team with a .445 batting average, tallying 85 hits in 191 at-bats, 66 runs scored, 44 stolen bases, and 20 RBIs. Her 44 stolen bases rank second in the NCAA.
Bri Despines is third on the team with a .410 average, posting 66 hits, 17 doubles, and 70 RBIs, with a .770 slugging percentage. Camryn Lookadoo is fourth with a .384 average and leads the team with 20 doubles.
Louisville leads the ACC in stolen bases (128), triples (25), and on-base percentage (.445). The Cards rank fourth in the ACC and 11th nationally with a .351 batting average.
Through 56 games, four Cardinals have at least 40 RBIs and six have recorded at least 50 hits. Six different players have recorded 10 or more doubles this season.
Sophomore Anna Wise leads the Louisville pitching staff with a 3.18 ERA. She carries eight wins in 66.0 innings pitched, giving up just 30 earned runs and striking out 46 so far.
Senior Alyssa Zabala leads the team with 96 strikeouts and 14 wins in 127.1 innings. She has made a team-high 40 appearances in 24 starts, limiting opponents to a .266 batting average.

CARDS IN THE POSTSEASON

This marks Louisville's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2023, where the Cards went 1-2 in the Knoxville Regional.
Louisville is 17-30 all time in the NCAA Tournament and have advanced to the Regional Final five times in 15 appearances. In the first game of a regional, Louisville has a 7-8 record.
As a head coach, Holly Aprile has previously led her teams to three regional appearances, two coming at Louisville at one at Pitt. This marks the fourth overall regional for Coach Aprile.
Louisville has faced Nebraska once in the postseason, falling 3-2 in the first game of the 2016 NCAA Regional in Columbia, Missouri.
The Cards are 12-5 against teams selected for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, facing Boston (2-0), Clemson (1-2), Georgia Tech (3-0), Indiana (1-0), Northern Ky. (1-0), Stanford (2-2), South Carolina (0-1), UConn (1-0), and Wisconsin (1-0).
Louisville is a combined 3-4 against teams in the Lincoln Regional with a 1-0 record against South Dakota and a 2-4 record against Nebraska. The Cards are meeting Grand Canyon for the first time in program history.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Grand Canyon Antelopes

Series Record: First meeting
Scouting the Lopes: GCU enters the weekend with a 52-8 overall record, one of the best in the country, and with the Mountain West Conference Tournament and outright title.
Grand Canyon overcame a nine-run deficit in the tournament title game to defeat Nevada in nine innings and mark its fifth consecutive NCAA appearance.
Sophomore Oakley Vickers was named the MW Tournament Most Valuable Player and leads the team with a 2.08 ERA. Vickers and her fellow arms Natalie Fritz and Taryn Batterton are first, second and third, respectively, in the Mountain West in ERA.
Jada Cooper, Sydney McCray and Addison Shifflett each boast a .350 or above batting average, with Cooper leading the way at .370 through 146 at-bats. McCray also brings speed on the basepaths as she is a perfect 38-for-38 in stolen bases this season out of Grand Canyon's 78 total swiped bags.
Head coach Shanon Hays is in his fifth year with the club and 17th overall. Hays owns a 235-58 record with the Lopes and a 706-240-5 career record.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Series Record: Nebraska leads 4-2
Last Meeting: May 19, 2016 – The Huskers won 3-2 in the NCAA Columbia Regional opener. The Cardinals rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the third, but the Huskers used a hit, an error and a walk to load the bases for MJ Knighten's RBI hit in the bottom of the seventh.
Scouting the Huskers: Host Nebraska (46-6) earned the overall No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Huskers are making their 28th NCAA Tournament appearance and 24th in the last 31 years.
Nebraska won the Big Ten Tournament, defeating UCLA 7-2 in the title game to earn the league's automatic bid. The Huskers captured the regular season crown with a 23-1 record in conference play, marking the ninth time in school history that the Big Red has won a regular-season and tournament championship in the same season.
Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Jordy Frahm (18-4) leads the nation with 10 saves and paces the conference with a 1.24 ERA, good for fifth nationally. She has delivered 201 strikeouts on the season, leading the Big Ten and standing 13th among the NCAA. The two-way player also paces Huskers with 19 home runs and 55 runs while batting at a .426 clip.
Big Ten Freshman of the Year Alexis Jensen (22-2) carries a 2.58 ERA with 197 strikeouts in 135.2 innings of work. Jensen, Samantha Bland, Hannah Coor, Kacie Hoffmann and Ava Kuszak were named to the 2026 All-Big-Ten Second Team.
2026 Big Ten Coach of the Year Rhonda Revelle is in her 34th year at the helm.

South Dakota Coyotes

Series Record: Louisville leads 1-0
Last Meeting: March 14, 2024 – Louisville won 8-5 at Ulmer Stadium in the Cardinal Classic. In a game that featured four lead changes and a tie, the Cardinals scored two runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth en route to the 8-5 victory. Daisy Hess went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs while Chelsea Mack and Bailee Richardson tallied a pair of hits apiece to lead Louisville at the plate.
Scouting the Coyotes: South Dakota (20-34-1) earned an automatic bid after capturing the Summit League Tournament, going 4-1 in the tournament culminating with a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Omaha in the championship game to secure its first conference title. This marks the first NCAA appearance in program history for the Coyotes.
Brooke Carey leads the Coyotes with a .343 batting average while Sara Iburg has belted out five home runs with a team-best 29 RBIs and nine stolen bases. She earned 2026 All-Summit League second team honors.
Summit League All-Tournament MVP Madison Evans (15-14) carries a 3.92 ERA with 187 strikeouts in 185.2 innings of work. Her strikeout count stands second in the conference and 20th in the nation.
Robert Wagner is in his 10th season at the helm and has helped the Coyotes to 223 wins and three Summit League championship game appearances including the 2026 title.