UNC is back in the NCAA Softball Tournament.

The Tar Heels earned an at-large bid to the tournament Sunday night, ensuring a trip to the postseason for the first time since 2019. It’s the 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history.

The Tar Heels will compete as one of four teams in the Knoxville Regional, along with No. 7 overall seed Tennessee, Ohio State and Miami-Ohio. UNC will face the Buckeyes in its first game, scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU. For a full look at the tournament field, click here.

In just their second season under head coach Megan Smith Lyon, the Tar Heels have won 40 games, their most in a single year since 2017. UNC also set a program record for runs scored with 378. Two players have tied individual records as well: infielder Kat Rodriguez’s 83 RBIs are tied for the most in a single season in school history, while Rodriguez and outfielder Alex Coleman have both tied the program record for runs scored in a single season with 67.

Smith Lyon, a UNC alumna, came back to Chapel Hill after stints at Western Carolina, Kansas and Marshall. In each stop, she led her team to at least 40 wins in a season. This will be her third appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, after making the field twice at Kansas.

UNC enters the field with a 40-15 overall record and a 15-9 record in ACC play. The Tar Heels are also 4-1 in neutral-site games.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini

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