Softball Earns #4 Seed in NAIA OKC Bracket
San Antonio, TX- For the first time in A&M-San Antonio's short history competing in intercollegiate athletics, the Jaguar softball team qualified for post-season play beyond the RRAC. By virtue of their second-place finish at the RRAC tournament, the Jaguar's received one of two automatic bids to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) softball tournament. They were selected as the #4 seed in the Oklahoma City Bracket, where they will take on #1 seed Oklahoma City University (OCU) on Monday May, 15th.
To be sure, the Jaguar softball team has seen a meteoric rise from a start-up program just three years ago to now playing for an opportunity to go to the NAIA Softball World Series. They certainly have outpaced expectations and the amount of respect, perhaps, given by RRAC foes. After a solid performance in the 2022 RRAC tournament, which saw the Jaguars fight through to a semi-final game appearance, the Jaguar's were picked to finish sixth in the 2023 RRAC Pre-Season Coach's Poll. Even after finishing second in the regular season, and earning the #2 seed in the RRAC tournament, apparently there were still doubters within the RRAC as the Jaguar's were only awarded with one individual selection to the All-RRAC Team (Ebbie Rodriguez was selected to the All-RRAC second team). After their run to the championship game of the 2023 tournament, however, the Jaguars did receive some much due recognition by having four (Peyton Vasquez, Ebbie Rodriguez, Melissa Gonzalez, and Yaya Jones) named to the All-Tournament Team. Whether the Jaguar's now have everyone's attention or not, the future is undoubtingly bright.
Coach Nicole Dufour said, "For us to qualify to the regional bracket just exemplifies the tremendous growth we have seen as a program and in athletics in general. It shows what's on the horizon for not just softball but all of our athletic programs."
It is the Jaguar's first go at a regional bracket, but there is some history with a couple of the teams making up the Oklahoma City Bracket. "We are excited about the bracket as we are familiar with two of the three teams, and we look forward to being able to continue competing."
In addition to A&M-San Antonio, the Oklahoma City Bracket is comprised of the #1 seed OCU, the #2 seed Midland University (Nebraska), and the #3 seed Mount Mercy University (Iowa). OCU finished the regular season at #5 in the final NAIA softball poll, while Midland and Mount Mercy both finished just outside the top 25. The Jaguars played Midland twice in February of 2023 dropping both games to the Warriors. In March of 2022, the Jaguar's dropped a single game to the Stars of OCU.
Oklahoma City Bracket information can be found at https://www.ocusports.com/sports/2022/5/10/naia-softball-championship-opening-round-oklahoma-city-bracket.aspx. Additionally, follow www.tamusasports.com as well as Jaguar social media for up-to-date information, to include live streaming links.