The 2026 North Carolina high school softball state playoff brackets are out, and High School On SI has all eight brackets with matchups and schedules for every team.

The first round begins on May 5, and the playoffs will culminate with the NCHSAA state championships being played May 27-30 at Duke University in Durham.

2026 North Carolina High School Baseball State Tournament Schedule

May 5: First Round
May 8: Second Round
May 12: Third Round
May 15: Fourth Round
May 19-23: Regionals
May 27-30: State Championships

North Carolina (NCHSAA) High School Softball 2026 State Playoff Brackets, Matchups, Schedule – May 11

CLASS 1A BRACKET (select to view full bracket details)

Third Round – May 12

No. 1 Bear Grass Charter vs. No. 5 Vance Charter

No. 3 East Columbus vs. No. 2 Northside – Pinetown

No. 1 Robbinsville vs. No. 5 Falls Lake Academy

No. 6 Bethany Community vs. No. 2 Oxford Preperatory

Third Round – May 12

No. 1 North Duplin vs. No. 8 Camden County

No. 5 Rosewood vs. No. 4 East Carteret

No. 3 Perquimans vs. No. 11 Pamlico County

No. 10 Franklin Academy vs. No. 2 Manteo

No. 1 South Stanly vs. No. 9 East Wilkes

No. 5 South Stokes vs. No. 4 Starmount

No. 3 Swain County vs. No. 6 Murphy

No. 7 Highland Tech vs. No. 2 Roxboro Community

Third Round – May 12

No. 1 Midway vs. No. 9 Providence

No. 12 Wallace-Rose Hill vs. No. 4 Heide Trask

No. 3 Farmville Central vs. No. 11 Ayden – Grifton

No. 10 Northwood vs. No. 2 McMichael

No. 1 West Lincoln vs. No. 8 Union Academy

No. 5 Draughn vs No. 4 Pine Lake Preperatory

No. 3 West Davidson vs. No. 11 East Surry

No. 7 Walkertown vs. No. 2 West Wilkes

Third Round – May 12

No. 1 Randleman vs. No. 9 Nash Central

No. 5 Bunn vs. No. 4 East Duplin

No. 3 Southwest Onslow vs. No. 6 Roanoke Rapids

No. 7 Ledford Senior vs. No. 2 Central Davidson

No. 1 West Stokes vs. No. 8 Forbush

No. 5 Pisgah vs. No. 4 West Stanly

No. 19 North Surry vs. No. 11 Foard

No. 10 Mount Pleasant vs. No, 2 Bunker Hill

Third Round – May 12

No. 1 Southeast Alamance vs. No. 8 C.B. Aycock

No. 5 Seaforth vs. No. 4 Rockingham County

No. 3 Eastern Alamance vs. No. 6 West Carteret

No. 7 South Brunswick vs. No. 2 Southern Nash

No. 1 Enka vs. No. 9 Oak Grove

No. 5 Crest vs. No. 13 West Rowan

No. 3 North Davidson vs. No. 6 Franklin

No. 10 East Rowan vs. No. 2 North Lincoln

Third Round – May 12

No. 1 Union Pines vs. No. 9 South Johnston

No. 5 South View vs. No. 4 Gray’s Creek

No. 3 J.H. Rose vs. No. 6 Harnett Central

No. 7 Triton vs. No. 2 West Brunswick

No. 1 Kings Mountain vs. No. 8 Charlotte Catholic

No. 5 Alexander vs. No. 13 T.C. Roberson

No. 3 Piedmont vs. No. 6 Central Cabarrus

No. 10 A.C. Reynolds vs. No. 2 South Caldwell

Third Round – May 12

No. 1 D.H. Conley vs. No. 8 Wake Forest

No. 5 Purnell Sweet vs. No. 4 Cleveland

No. 3 Heritage vs. No. 6 Topsail

No. 7 South Central vs. No. 2 New Bern

No. 1 Weddington vs. No. 8 Mooresville

No. 5 A.L. Brown vs. No. 4 Hickory Ridge

No. 3 East Forsyth vs. No. 11 Porter Ridge

No. 7 Ronald Reagan vs. No. 2 South Iredell

Third Round – May 12

No. 1 Willow Spring vs. No. 4 Hoggard

No. 3 E.A. Laney vs. No. 2 Cornith Holders

No. 1 Providence vs. No. 4 Hough

No. 3 West Forsyth vs. No. 2 Apex Friendship

More Coverage from High School on SI

Their end is inevitable, but the Los Angeles Lakers (0-3) can stave off elimination when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder for Game 4 of the 2026 Western Conference Semifinals.

At BetMGM, Oklahoma City opened as -500 on the moneyline (Los Angeles at +375) and -10.5 favorites. However, the flood of pro-Thunder money has steamed them up to -11.5 favorites at the time of writing.

THE REFS IN THE OKC-LA SERIES WERE SO BAD, THE LAKERS HAD TO HAVE A POSTGAME MEETING WITH THEM

OKC has won every game this series by 18+ points and has a seven-game winning streak over LA. That’s despite reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not putting up his typical crazy numbers.

Shai is scoring only 21.0 points per game in this series, slightly behind Thunder big man Chet Holmgren’s 21.3 PPG average, which leads the team.

LeBron James Is Trying To Avoid Another Sweep

LeBron James has only been swept three times in his career: the 2007 NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs, the 2018 NBA Finals by the Golden State Warriors and the 2023 Western Conference Finals by the Denver Nuggets.

FLOPPING IS RUINING THE NBA AND LEBRON SHOULD TAKE SOME BLAME FOR THAT

Maybe the sweep is a foregone conclusion, like the New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers series, but I’m counting on the Lakers dying on their sword and going out with honor.

Los Angeles held a first-half lead in Games 2 and 3 and still lost by 18 and 23 points, respectively. Granted, perhaps that’s just OKC playing with its food more than anything the Lakers are doing right.

Still, it’s something for L.A. to build on.

Lakers Need Oklahoma City’s Role Players To Cool Off

The Lakers are hitting 39.3% of their 3-pointers in this series. Unfortunately for them, the Thunder are shooting 42.3% from behind the arc.

But Oklahoma City’s role players are doing most of the damage from deep. Thunder guards Jared McCain, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe, along with big man Jaylin Williams, are a combined 25 for 41 from 3-point range, good for a ridiculous 61.0%.

That’s not sustainable.

If these randoms hit fewer shots in Game 4, the Lakers can cover the spread.

Betting Market Is Overwhelmingly On OKC

Finally, 95% of the money at BetMGM is on Oklahoma City as of Monday morning, according to John Ewing.

While I’m not someone who bows at the altar of betting splits, 95% of people don’t beat the sportsbooks. We all know this.

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I know that’s simple logic, but if you blindly fade teams this popular in the betting market, you’ll probably have a positive return on investment.

Best Bet: Los Angeles Lakers +11.5

_____________________________

Follow me on X @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants.

• Attorney General Alan Wilson is one of six Republicans campaigning for governor of South Carolina.
• Wilson’s platform includes improving education, infrastructure, and healthcare access while cutting government spending.
• Recent polling indicates a close race, with Wilson among the top candidates in the Republican primary.
• The gubernatorial primary is scheduled for June 9 to decide which candidate will advance to the November general election.

Attorney General Alan Wilson started his campaign visit to the Upstate on Monday, May 11, at the Clock of Greer restaurant, where he worked the drive-through window and spoke with diners inside.

Wilson, who has been in the governor’s race since late June, has spent the past 10 months traveling the state and connecting with voters.

Wilson is one of six Republicans running to be South Carolina’s next governor. His competitors are Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace, District 1, and Ralph Norman, District 5, DOGE SC founder Rom Reddy, and State Sen. Josh Kimbrell, Spartanburg.

More: Republican candidates for governor talk gambling, abortion and energy

Wilson brought his campaign for governor to the Upstate, with less than a month left until the primary.

“You learn so much when you go on a listening tour,” Wilson said. “It’s not just about me telling people what I want to do as their governor. It’s about learning from people what they want their governor to do for them.”

Wilson’s campaign platform includes investing in education, improving infrastructure, cutting wasteful government spending, expanding rural healthcare access, and enforcing federal immigration law. After traveling the state, he believes affordability is a top issue for South Carolinians in this election cycle.

“There’s a lot of things going on around the world that we can’t control the price of,” Wilson said. “But there’s things that we can do as a state to react better to it.”

Wilson often polls as a top candidate that Republican voters would choose to support in the primary. A recent poll conducted by The Trafalgar Group, an Atlanta-based polling firm, reported that 23% of likely Republican voters would vote for him in the primaries.

The same poll found that roughly 25% of voters backed Evette, 20% backed Norman, 15% backed Mace, 10% backed Reddy, and 4% backed Kimbrell. Roughly 3% backed Jacqueline Dubose, a Republican candidate who has been disqualified from the primaries. The poll had a 2.9% margin of error.

Wilson said he is running for office to be accessible to South Carolinians and accountable for his actions. He said his experience as a combat veteran and as the state’s attorney general sets him apart from other candidates.

“I have a proven record of serving this state and a proven record of fighting for what people want,” Wilson said. “I believe I will be a great governor.”

The gubernatorial primary will be held on June 9 and will determine which Republican candidate advances to the general election in November. There are also three Democrats running: State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, Richland, Upstate business owner Billy Webster, and Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod.

Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com