NEW ORLEANS — Seeding, matchups and game times for the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship have been announced following the conclusion of the league’s regular season schedule Saturday evening.
 
The tournament will take place May 6-9 at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park in Lafayette, La. with 10 teams competing in the single-elimination draw. For the second year in a row, the championship game will be televised nationally on Saturday, May 9 at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2, and all nine tournament games will be available on ESPN+.
 
ULM (37-19, 19-5 SBC) won its first Sun Belt regular season championship in program history to earn the top seed in next week’s tournament. The Warhawks recorded a 20-3 record at home and their 19 conference victories are five more than the previous school record established last year. Prior to this season, ULM had never been seeded higher than fourth in the Sun Belt Softball Championship in the program’s history.
 
Marshall (39-16, 17-7 SBC) secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament for the second-straight season, and the Herd are followed by No. 3 seed Texas State (36-19, 16-8 SBC) and No. 4 seed Southern Miss (33-23, 14-10 SBC).
 
South Alabama (29-25, 13-11 SBC) won a tiebreaker over James Madison (27-23, 13-11 SBC) to earn the No. 5 seed, while Georgia Southern (24-28, 11-13 SBC) won a tiebreaker over Louisiana (28-26, 11-13 SBC) to earn the No. 7 seed. Coastal Carolina (24-30, 8-16 SBC) also won a tiebreaker over App State (29-21, 8-16 SBC) for the No. 10 seed and the final spot in the tournament.
 
The top six seeds receive byes to the Sun Belt Championship quarterfinal round.
 
Georgia Southern will face reigning tournament champion Coastal Carolina in the first round on Wednesday, May 6 at 4 p.m. CT before No. 8 seed and host Louisiana takes on No. 9 seed Troy (32-21, 10-14 SBC) at 7 p.m.

Five programs have earned the Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship title since the tournament’s inception. Louisiana holds 18 all-time tournament championships, followed by South Alabama with three, Texas State with two, reigning champion Coastal Carolina with one and former member Florida Atlantic with one. 
 
All session tickets for outfield general admission can be purchased for $75 and are available through the UL Ticket Office or by calling (337) 482-4685. All session grandstand seating with bench back seats are on sale for $100 and chairbacks for $125. Tickets for individual sessions are available at $15 for general admission, $20 for bench back seats and $25 for chairbacks. Additional fees may apply.
 
For additional information and coverage of the 2026 Sun Belt Softball Championship, please visit the Sun Belt Softball Championship Central page.
 
2026 Sun Belt Softball Championship Schedule
 
Wednesday, May 6
Game 1 – No. 7 Georgia Southern vs. No. 10 Coastal Carolina – 4 p.m. CT
Game 2 – No. 8 Louisiana vs. No. 9 Troy – 7 p.m. CT
 
Thursday, May 7
Game 3 – No. 3 Texas State vs. No. 6 James Madison – 10 a.m. CT
Game 4 – No. 2 Marshall vs. Game 1 Winner – 1 p.m. CT
Game 5 – No. 1 ULM vs. Game 2 Winner – 4 p.m. CT
Game 6 – No. 4 Southern Miss vs. No. 5 South Alabama – 7 p.m. CT
 
Friday, May 8
Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner – 3 p.m. CT
Game 8 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 6 p.m. CT
 
Saturday, May 9
Championship – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner – 1:30 p.m. CT (ESPN2)