Indiana to Open Play in NCAA Knoxville Regional on Friday

Friday, May 15

Knoxville, Tenn.

8:00 PM

Indiana University

Virginia

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COLLEGE PARK, MD - May 07, 2026 - catcher\utility Avery Parker #18 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the quarter finals of the Big Ten tournament between the Washington Huskies and the Indiana Hoosiers at Robert E. Taylor Stadium in College Park, MD. Photo By Mason Munn/Indiana Athletics

Indiana to Open Play in NCAA Knoxville Regional on Friday

5/12/2026 2:30:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––– Indiana will play in its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament this weekend in the NCAA Knoxville Regional at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

Regional host and No. 1 Seed Tennessee is the No. 7 overall national seed of the entire tournament. The Hoosiers are the No. 3 Seed of the region, alongside No. 2 Seed Virginia, No. 4 Seed Northern Kentucky.

Indiana will open regional play against Virginia on Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

The start of Indiana's current NCAA Tournament streak began with a 2023 Regional appearance in Knoxville where Indiana reached the regional final.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Friday, May 15
Gates open at 4:30 p.m.
5:30 p.m. – Game 1 (Northern Kentucky vs. Tennessee)
8:00 p.m. – Game 2 (Indiana vs. Virginia)

Saturday, May 16
Gates open at 2:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m. – Game 3
5:30 p.m. – Game 4
8:00 p.m. – Game 5

Sunday, May 17
Gates open at 1:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. – Game 6
4:30 p.m. – Game 7 (if necessary)

QUICK HITTERS:

IU's offense ranks top-15 nationally in many statistical categories: No. 12 Batting Average (.349), No. 4 On Base Percentage (.454), No. 7 RBI (410), No. 5 Scoring (8.00), No. 1 Hit By Pitch (72), No. 4 Total Runs (448), No. 4 Stolen Bases (128), No. 4 Triples (25).
At the Big Ten Tournament, Indiana defeated Washington 9-2 to reach the semifinals for the third time in the last four years. The Hoosiers then heard their name called for the fourth-straight season on Selection Sunday.
Avery Parker became the program's career home run leader last weekend when she hit home run No. 46 at Iowa on April 19 and since then has hit seven home runs to bring her career total to 53.
Of Indiana's 42 wins this year, 21 of them have been by run rule.
Against Portland State in the Littlewood Invitational (Feb. 12), VanBrandt hit for the cycle as part of a 5-for-5 day where she also totaled two home runs.

LAST TIME OUT:

Indiana had a good showing at the Big Ten Tournament. After having a bye in the first round as the No. 4 Seed, Indiana routed No. 5 Seed Washington in a 9-2 win in the quarterfinals before reaching the tournament's semifinals. No. 1 Seed Nebraska won that game 5-0.
In the win over Washington, both Aly VanBrandt and Alex Cooper each hit a home run. VanBrandt's came in the third inning while Cooper's sealed the win in the bottom of the sixth.
In that game, Parker became the career RBI leader with her hit to shortstop, scoring two Hoosiers and putting her career total at 206 RBI.
Ella Troutt was excellent in the circle as she went 5.0 innings and only allowed four hits and two runs in the win.
Indiana's Alex Cooper, Madalyn Strader and Aly VanBrandt all earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:

Virginia enters the regional with a 38-13 record and a 13-10 mark in ACC play. The Cavaliers are in the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight year and the fourth time in its program's history. They won their first ACC Tournament against Pittsburgh before losing to Virginia Tech in the quarterfinal.
Tennessee is making its 23rd overall and 22nd straight NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend. They have hosted 21 straight regional rounds in Knoxville.
The Lady Vols have a 42-10 record and were 16-8 in the SEC. They dropped their first game in the SEC Tournament in a 4-1 loss to Ole Miss.
Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens was drafted No. 1 overall by the Carolina Blaze in the 2026 AUSL College Draft on Monday, May 3.
Northern Kentucky is 26-23 and won the Horizon League Championship to clinch their NCAA bid.

SERIES HISTORY:

Indiana owns an all-time record of 2-1 against Virginia with the last meeting being in 2019. Indiana and Tennessee have met six times in their program histories with Tennessee having a 6-0 record in the series. Indiana and Northern Kentucky have never faced one another in softball.