College softball rankings - 2023 NCAA Top 25 poll - ESPN

The college softball postseason is here, and the NCAA tournament begins Friday with regionals.

Oklahoma enters the postseason as the tournament's No. 1 overall seed with a 51-1 record, riding a dominant 43-game winning streak into the Norman Regional. But 63 other teams are trying to prevent the Sooners from three-peating at the Women's College World Series.

Alabama earned the No. 5 overall seed, but the status of star pitcher Montana Fouts is unclear after the nation's strikeout leader left an SEC tournament game against Arkansas with an apparent leg injury.

Duke will host an NCAA regional for the second time in program history, as the Blue Devils earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament. They won 17 of their last 19 games entering the tournament, no-hitting Clemson in the ACC tournament semifinals.

Since starting the season 37-1, Clemson has struggled, going 9-8 over its past 17 games. But while the Tigers still earned the No. 16 overall seed, they'll have their work cut out for them, as their regional also features an Auburn team that has the second-most shutouts in the country (22).

Regional schedule and TV info »10 must-watch players in the tourney »Oklahoma earns the No. 1 overall seed »College softball rankings: Top 25 poll »

Key game last week: Utah 7, UCLA 4. Though the Utes were swept by the Bruins and outscored 24-4 in late April, they exacted revenge in the Pac-12 championship game. Hailee White's pinch-hit RBI double in the sixth inning broke a 4-4 tie, and Halle Morris hit a pinch-hit two-run home run as the exclamation mark as Utah won the conference title and earned the No. 15 overall seed in the process. If both teams survive their regionals, they would meet in the super regionals.

Marquee game to