Jackson State softball wins SWAC tourney title, will face Alabama in 2025 NCAA Tournament

Jackson State softball has claimed its second consecutive SWAC.

The Tigers (29-23) beat Florida A&M 3-1 on May 11 at the Gulfport Sportsplex to win their third overall conference title and book a trip to the 2025 NCAA Tournament. They will face No. 15 overall seed and regional host Alabama at 5 p.m. CT on May 16 in Tuscaloosa.

FAMU (28-19) beat JSU on May 10 to push the SWAC finals to a second game.

“The (SWAC) East is just a dogfight, period, man, and we just try to find a way through the season,” JSU coach Kevin Montgomery said on the SWAC broadcast after the game. “Everybody gave us their best shot every game, every game, they gave us the best shot, and we just wanted to maintain.”

JSU trailed 1-0 after the first inning, but took the lead following a two-run second inning and added another run in the third. Junior infielder Ariana Murillo had two RBIs, and pitcher Brooklyn Morris went seven innings, allowing five hits and one earned run.

“I think the experience from last year’s turmoil and everything else we went through last year, it just helped us stay together more and more this year,” Montgomery said. “So we just happy to be here, man. We wanted to get this back-to-back.”

Who will Jackson State play in 2025 NCAA softball tournament?

The Tigers are the No. 4 seed in the regional and will play Alabama (37-21) on May 16 (5 p.m. CT, ESPN+) at Rhoads Stadium. They also have No. 2 Virginia Tech (41-11) and No. 3 Belmont (40-14) in the region. Alabama has reached the Women’s College World Series the past two seasons.

The regional is double-elimination, and only one of the four teams will advance to the super regional. The elimination game will be the final game on May 17. The championship game will be played on May 18. The team that comes out of the loser’s bracket must win twice.

Last season, JSU was eliminated after losing to LSU and Cal in the Baton Rouge regional.

Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.