The Michigan Wolverines are going dancing...again!
After a terrific run in the Big Ten Tournament in which the Wolverines pulled off upsets of two higher seeds, marking their first two ranked wins of the season, Michigan officially knows where they are heading for the NCAA Softball Tournament.
The back-to-back Big Ten Tournament champions will be heading to the Austin Regional hosted by the No. 6-seed Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas. Michigan takes on the UCF Knights for their first game in the regional. The last time Michigan faced the Knights in a regional was back in 2022, when UCF was hosting in Orlando and Michigan failed to beat them in the final game to move on to the Super Regional.
Dancing down to Austin!
— Michigan Softball (@umichsoftball) May 11, 2025
We’ll open up vs UCF at 1pm CT on Friday. Live on ESPN2!#GoBlue x #RoadToWCWS pic.twitter.com/Klg5jc2tBn
This is the 31st time the Wolverines have gone dancing in the NCA Tournament, all since 1992. Michigan failed to make the tournament in 2023, breaking their streak since 1995, but now in the two following seasons, they have won the Big Ten Tournament and have solid regional selections.
In the Austin Regional, Michigan will play in a single-elimination style tournament. In this style of tournament play, one loss doesn't mean the Wolverines are out of it. If Michigan were to lose its first game against UCF, it would then face the loss of Texas-Eastern Illinois. If they were to win that game, they would face the loser of UCF-Texas and so on forth until there is one team left standing.
Michigan has been to 12 Women's College World Series, has been a runner-up, and a Champion in those 12 appearances. The Wolverines certainly have experience when it comes to this tournament, and that experience could come in handy just like it did in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan is playing its best softball right now, and if this team needs to ride this high for as long as possible.