With the 2025 NCAA softball tournament bracket here, Michella Chester and D1Softball's Jenna Becerra and Amanda Lorenz picked teams that could surprise as a dark horse. They limited their picks to teams that were seeded No. 3 or No. 4 in their regionals.
Unseeded teams to keep your eye on 👀 and ’s and pick their dark horse teams in the 2025 tournament!
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball)
Michigan
Lorenz went with Michigan. The Wolverines are coming off a strong Big Ten tournament, going 4-0 with impressive shutout wins over No. 9 national seed UCLA and No. 16 seed Oregon and are a team that is playing its best softball right now.
READ MORE: Bracket picks for the 2025 softball tournament, from regionals through the WCWS
North Carolina
Becerra picked North Carolina. This is the Tar Heels' first NCAA tournament appearance since 2019, so there is some extra motivation. UNC has had some big wins this season, taking a game from No. 11 national seed Clemson in ACC play and winning a series over another tournament team in Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels have some big-time impact players like Kat Rodriguez, who leads the nation with 83 RBI and tops the ACC in batting average (.453).
UNC also has talent in the circle with Kenna Raye Dark, who went almost 13 innings pitched without an earned run in the ACC tournament, going toe to toe with Virginia Tech's Emma Lemley.
BRACKET: Click or tap here for the interactive bracket
Grand Canyon
Chester picked Grand Canyon. The Antelopes are a team that didn't make too much noise when compared with some other teams, but they've got an RPI of 32 and are 46-6 on the season. So they know how to win — and they have played top-ranked teams and even beaten some. Grand Canyon lost only 6-4 to No. 3 national seed Florida and beat Arizona State. Grand Canyon also has a lead-off batter hitting over .500 in Savannah Kirk and an ace in the circle with Megan Golden boasting a 0.92 ERA.
