Teams selected, regional sites announced for 2019 NISC

​FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The field for the 2019 National Invitational Softball Championship has been announced, with 19 determined and high-achieving Division-I programs officially bracketed and ready for Round 1 action this week.
 
This year marks the third running of the NISC. In the debut season of 2017, the championship was won by Liberty, and last year’s title went to Loyola Marymount.
 
The 2019 NISC will launch at four regional sites as play begins this week (dates and times TBA). All regionals are double elimination, with the four regional winners advancing to the NISC championship round – that double-elim bracket will be held in Fort Collins on May 24-26.
 
Here’s the list of teams that will be playing in this year’s event:
 
Appalachian State (31-23, 13-13 Sun Belt)
Eastern Kentucky (34-20, 16-6 Ohio Valley)
Fresno State (36-18, 14-10 Mountain West)
George Washington (42-16, 15-7 Atlantic 10)
Iowa State (32-23, 7-11 Big 12)
Kent State (27-24, 11-5 MAC)
Liberty (37-20, 16-5 Atlantic Sun)
Loyola Marymount (35-18, 11-4 West Coast)
Marshall (39-20, 17-7 Conference USA)
McNeese State (30-30, 19-8 Southland)
Middle Tennessee (29-28, 11-13 Conference USA)
Nevada (27-25, 11-13 Mountain West)
Purdue (31-27, 11-13 Big Ten)
Rutgers (28-24, 11-12 Big Ten)
South Dakota (33-26, 12-6 Summit)
South Dakota State (36-17, 11-7 Summit)
Stephen F. Austin (35-21, 18-9 Southland)
UC Riverside (26-25, 8-13 Big West)
UT Arlington (30-26, 17-10 Sun Belt)
 
For 11 teams, this is their first time playing in the NISC. It’s the second trip in the brackets for Eastern Kentucky, Liberty, Loyola Marymount, South Dakota State, Stephen F. Austin and UC Riverside; it’s the third time for Nevada and UT Arlington.
 
Here’s a look at which teams are playing in each regional:
 
At Nevada (Reno, NV)
Fresno State, Loyola Marymount, Nevada, UC Riverside
 
At Stephen F. Austin (Nacogdoches, TX)
McNeese State, Middle Tennessee, Stephen F. Austin, UT Arlington
 
At Iowa State (Ames, IA)
Eastern Kentucky, Iowa State, Purdue, South Dakota, South Dakota State
 
At Liberty (Lynchburg, VA)
Appalachian State, George Washington, Kent State, Liberty, Marshall, Rutgers
 
Follow all the action with scores, schedules, livestream details and recaps at www.womensnisc.com
 
About Triple Crown Sports
Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing events in youth athletics and the college ranks for more than 30 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men’s and women’s Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown also rolled out new “WNIT” concepts in D-I softball and volleyball in 2017. TCS youth fastpitch tournaments (including the 900-team Sparkler/Fireworks event) draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes.