FULL BRACKET
FORT COLLINS, CO – Tournament officials have announced the 8-team field that will head to Colorado for the 2023 National Invitational Softball Championships, a Division-I postseason softball event with action set to begin Thursday, May 18. All games will take place on the two fields at Triple Crown Sports in Fort Collins, CO, Red Rocks Field and Horsetooth Field. Tournament format features two four-team pods that will play a double-elimination slate, with winners of the two winner’s brackets and loser’s brackets advancing to a single-elim championship bracket. The semifinals are set for 9 a.m. and noon on May 20, with the championship game scheduled for 3 p.m. – all those games are on Red Rocks Field. Maryland (36-17) earned the top seed for the 2023 NISC. May 21 is available for NISC games, if needed, pending weather or other unforeseen delays. Here are the other seven teams in the field in alphabetical order: BYU (32-16) CSUN (28-22) Iowa (31-27) San José State (26-28) South Dakota State (37-17) Tarleton State (30-27) UC Davis (29-20) “We have added a second competitive diamond at Triple Crown in Colorado to add to the excitement that Baylor and Central Arkansas brought in 2022,” said Dave King, NISC director and founder of Triple Crown Sports. “This should create one of the most unique environments in the college game.” Here’s the schedule for the first two rounds: Thursday, May 18 (all times Mountain): Maryland vs. CSUN, 10 a.m. (Red Rocks Field) Iowa vs. UC Davis, 10 a.m. (Horsetooth Field) San José State vs. BYU, 1 p.m. (RR) Tarleton State vs. South Dakota State, 1 p.m. (HT) Friday, May 19 Loser’s bracket, both fields, 9 a.m. Winner’s bracket, both fields, noon Loser’s bracket, both fields, 3 p.m. The 2017 NISC was won by Liberty; the 2018 crown went to Loyola Marymount, and the 2019 title went to UT Arlington. The event was suspended for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Baylor winning the 2022 championship. About Triple Crown Sports Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing youth, high school and college events for 40 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men’s and women’s DI Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering “WNIT” concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. Triple Crown’s PV College Challenge features more than 10 of the top DI college softball teams in the country each year in Puerto Vallarta, MX. Anchored by the 1,000-team Colorado 4th of July event, TC fastpitch tournaments draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes. TCS produces one of the largest youth baseball events in the world with the Omaha SlumpBuster during the College World Series. The Triple Crown Volleyball NIT has become the top-recruited club volleyball event in the country each February when 550 teams compete in Kansas City, MO. About College Sports Evaluation College Sports Evaluation is the No. 1 verified evaluation company that puts sensor data analysis in the hands of colleges to help assess in-game performance and athletic development. With cutting-edge equipment, in-house mathematicians and three grad university partnerships, College Sports Evaluation is dedicated to improving current rosters along with the collection and analysis of longitudinal data. CSE also tests youth athletes both subjectively and objectively to aid in player development. |