The Ohio State softball team (43-12-1) found out on ESPN2 Sunday night that they are part of the 64-team NCAA Division I field. The Buckeyes are the #2 seed in the Knoxville Regional and will take on North Carolina in the first game of the double elimination regional Friday at 4:00 p.m. 

The other game in that regional, Tennessee, the #7 overall seed in the tournament, will face Miami (Ohio). Ohio State head coach Kirin Kumar came to Columbus this season after coaching the Miami RedHawks for the last four years, where she reached the NCAA tourney all four seasons.

This will be Ohio State’s 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the sixth in the last 10 seasons. The 2025 Buckeyes have one of the best power offenses in the country. They led the nation in home runs (137), slugging percentage (.707), runs scored (473), runs scored per game (8.44), and walks (268). 

North Carolina (40-15) is in the tournament for the first time since 2019. In the Knoxville Regional that year, the Tar Heels beat Ohio State before falling to Tennessee in the final. Megan Smith Lyon is in her second year as the head coach in Chapel Hill. UNC won 40 games this season for the first time since 2017.

The game Friday can be seen on ESPNU.