Duke softball begins NCAA Tournament at home. Where, when the Blue Devils play
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- Duke softball earned an NCAA Tournament regional and will host at Smith Family Stadium.
- Duke will open the Durham Regional at noon Friday against MEAC champion Howard.
- Durham Regional includes Arizona and Marshall; its winner will play Fayetteville's winner.
Duke softball is headed to the postseason once again, and it gets to stay home for the first weekend of play.
The Blue Devils (39-14) have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament field for the sixth straight time, and for a fifth consecutive season, Duke will host a regional at Smith Family Stadium — not bad for a nine-year-old program.
No. 3-seed Duke will open its Durham Regional against Howard (28-17), which won the MEAC, for the second straight season. First pitch is scheduled for noon on Friday.
The regional also includes No. 6 seed Arizona (35-16) from the Big 12 and Marshall (37-17), an at-large selection from the Sun Belt. The Wildcats and Thundering Herd play at approximately 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Entering the selections, Duke ranked No. 12 in the RPI after picking up 10 wins over ranked opponents and holding a 12-9 record over teams in the RPI Top 25. Its resume-boosting wins came against LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, UCF, Clemson and South Carolina, all of which made the tournament field.
“Every year, we’re fighting for that notoriety and recognition, and so this helps with that,” Blue Devils head coach Marissa Young said following the team’s 6-3 home win on April 15. “It also gives us that postseason feel, which we’re we’re looking forward to, as well.”
The Blue Devils rank No. 11 in the nation for runs per game (8) and No. 12 in for batting average (.364).
Jessica Oakland, Aminah Vega and D’Auna Jennings boast batting averages above .420, while Tyrina Jones leads the team with 20 home runs.
Lefty pitcher Cassidy Curd has pitched 139.1 innings. She has given up 91 runs, including 87 earned runs, and struck out 120 batters. Curd holds a 4.37 ERA.
The winner of the Durham Regional will play the winner of the Fayetteville Regional, which includes Arkansas (42-11) and Washington (36-18). A year ago, Georgia upset Duke to win the Durham regional and advance to the Super Regionals.
UNC was among the First Four Out
North Carolina (32-19), hoping to make its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, found its way to the wrong side of the bubble. The Tar Heels finished No. 43 in the RPI and collected ranked wins over Virginia, Duke and Clemson.
Mid-major bid stealers, including Marshall, and UNC’s 2-15 record against teams in the RPI Top 25 pushed the Tar Heels just out of the field. They were the second team out, according to the selection committee.
Carolina struggled down the stretch, going 2-8 in its final 10 games of the season. The team, led by Megan Smith-Lyon, finished with an upset win over No. 22 Clemson in the ACC Tournament.
The Tar Heels fell to the Blue Devils, 16-8, during the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, but led 2-0 in the first inning and were up 8-4 entering the bottom of the fourth. Duke rattled off six runs in the fourth and sixth innings to push past its cross-town rival.
Other ACC, NC postseason teams
UNC-Greensboro also made the tournament after winning the Southern Conference. It faces Clemson in the Athens Regional.
The ACC was well-represented in the field, but it did not have a team among the top 8 seeds. Florida State earned the league’s automatic bid after winning the conference championship and will also host a regional. The Seminoles finished as the No. 9 overall seed, just outside the Super Regional host cutoff. FSU had the head-to-head win against UCLA, which earned the final spot, but the selection committee chair Natalie Honnen cited the Bruins’ overall resume for the decision.
Louisville, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Stanford, Clemson and Virginia Tech also made the tournament field.
This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 8:28 PM with the headline "Duke softball begins NCAA Tournament at home. Where, when the Blue Devils play."
