Pac-12 Conference softball tournament

The Pac-12 Conference softball tournament was the conference tournament in softball for the Pac-12 Conference. The winner received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I softball tournament. After several years of consideration, the tournament began in 2023 and ended the next year.[1]

Pac-12 Conference softball tournament
SportSoftball
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Number of teams9
FormatSingle-elimination tournament
Current stadiumBoyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium
Current locationStanford, California
Played2023–2024
Last contest2024
Current championUCLA
Most championshipsUCLA
Utah (1)

History

edit

The Pac-12 was one of the few conferences to not host a conference tournament at the end of the regular season. The inaugural tournament was held in 2023 at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. The Pac-12 softball tournament was a single-elimination tournament and all nine of the Pac-12 schools which field softball teams qualified for the tournament. The winner earned the Pac-12's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[1]

The 2024 Pac-12 Conference tournament was the final tournament, as eight of the nine softball-sponsoring members of the Pac-12 Conference will leave for other conferences in 2025. Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah will join the Big 12 Conference.[2] California and Stanford will join the Atlantic Coast Conference.[3] Oregon, UCLA, and Washington will join the Big Ten Conference.[4][5]

Champions

edit
Year School Site MVP
2023 Utah Rita Hillenbrand Memorial StadiumTucson, Arizona Mariah Lopez
2024 UCLA Boyd & Jill Smith Family StadiumStanford, California Sharlize Palacios

By school

edit
School Championships Years
UCLA 1 2024
Utah 1 2023
Arizona 0
Arizona State 0
California 0
Oregon 0
Oregon State 0
Stanford 0
Washington 0

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Arizona to host inaugural Pac-12 Softball Tournament in 2023". pac-12.com. June 13, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "Big 12 Conference Adds Arizona, Arizona State and Utah" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Atlantic Coast Conference Welcomes the University of California, Berkeley, Southern Methodist University and Stanford University as New Members" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  4. ^ "Big Ten Conference Statement" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. June 30, 2022. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  5. ^ "University of Oregon and University of Washington to Join Big Ten Conference in 2024" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. August 4, 2023. Archived from the original on August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023.