The American Athletic Conference softball tournament is the conference championship tournament in college softball for the American Athletic Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament, with seeding based on regular season records. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship each season. The conference regular-season champion, as determined by win-loss record, receives the #1 seed in the conference tournament.
| American Athletic Conference softball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference softball championship | |
 American Athletic Conference logo | |
| Sport | Softball |
| Conference | The American |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Wilkins Stadium |
| Current location | Wichita, KS |
| Played | 2014–present |
| Last contest | 2024 |
| Current champion | Charlotte |
| Most championships | Tulsa Golden Hurricane and UCF Knights (3 each) |
| Official website | American Softball |
| Host stadiums | |
| Wilkins Stadium (2024) USF Softball Stadium (2023) Max R. Joyner Family Stadium (2022) Collins Family Softball Complex (2021) UCF Softball Stadium (2020, canceled) Cougar Softball Stadium (2019) USF Softball Stadium (2018) ECU Softball Stadium (2017) Collins Family Softball Complex (2016) UCF Softball Complex (2015) Cougar Softball Stadium (2014) | |
| Host locations | |
| Wichita, KS (2024) Tampa, FL (2023) Greenville, NC (2022) Tulsa, OK (2021) Orlando, FL (2020, canceled) Houston, TX (2019) Tampa, FL (2018) Greenville, NC (2017) Tulsa, OK (2016) Orlando, FL (2015) Houston, TX (2014) | |
The American is one of two successors to the original Big East Conference, which split after the 2013 season. The first year of the tournament was held at Cougar Softball Stadium in Houston, Texas.[1]
Tournament
editThe American softball tournament is a single-elimination tournament held each year at various American-conference campus stadiums. Ten of the thirteen current all-sport members of the conference sponsor softball. Rice, Temple, and Tulane do not sponsor softball teams.
Champions
editYear-by-year
edit| Year | Champion | Site | MOP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Louisville | Cougar Softball Stadium • Houston, TX | Katie Keller (2B), Louisville |
| 2015 | UCF | UCF Softball Complex • Orlando, FL | Samantha McCloskey (C), UCF |
| 2016 | Tulsa | Collins Family Softball Complex • Tulsa, OK | Maddie Withee (C), Tulsa |
| 2017 | Tulsa | East Carolina Softball Complex • Greenville, NC | Emily Watson (P), Tulsa |
| 2018 | Tulsa | USF Softball Stadium • Tampa, FL | Emily Watson (P), Tulsa |
| 2019 | No champion[a] | Cougar Softball Stadium • Houston, TX | |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | ||
| 2021 | Wichita State | Collins Family Softball Complex • Tulsa, OK | Addison Barnard (OF), Wichita State |
| 2022 | UCF | Max R. Joyner Family Stadium • Greenville, NC | Jada Cody (C/3B), UCF |
| 2023 | UCF | USF Softball Stadium • Tampa, FL | Sarah Willis (P), UCF |
| 2024 | Charlotte | Wilkins Stadium • Wichita, KS | Addison Barnard (OF), Wichita State |
- ^ Tournament cancelled during opening round due to inclement weather.
By school
edit| School | Championships | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Tulsa | 3 | 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| UCF | 3 | 2015, 2022, 2023 |
| Louisville | 1 | 2014 |
| Wichita State | 1 | 2021 |
| Charlotte | 1 | 2024 |
| East Carolina | 0 | |
| Florida Atlantic | 0 | |
| Memphis | 0 | |
| South Florida | 0 | |
| UTSA | 0 | |
| North Texas | 0 | |
| UAB | 0 |
Italics indicate school no longer sponsors softball in The American.
References
edit- ^ "UH to host American Athletic Conference softball tournament". Houston Chronicle. June 29, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.