CLEMSON — Fresh off its first ACC Tournament Championship, the Clemson Softball team learned where and who it will be playing in next week’s NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers (44-12) were selected as the No. 11 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

They were selected as the one seed in the Clemson Regional and are set to face No. 4 USC Upstate (39-14) in their opening game of the double-elimination regional Friday at McWhorter Stadium at 4:30 p.m., on the ACC Network. The Kentucky Wildcats (29-26) will play Northwestern (29-18-1) as the number two and three seeds, respectfully, in the regional with first pitch slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Clemson Regional is paired up with the Austin Regional, which is being hosted by No. 6 overall seed Texas.

This year marks Clemson’s fifth consecutive year earning an NCAA Tournament berth, and its first as an automatic qualifier. The Tigers were awarded the league’s automatic bid thanks to Saturday’s come-from-behind, 2-1, victory over No. 3 Florida State in the ACC Championship Game.

Leftfielder Kylee Johnson smacked a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to lift Clemson to the dramatic win. Pitcher Brooke McCubbin then shut the door on Florida State in the bottom of the seventh after the Seminoles got their first two batters on base.

As mentioned, this is Clemson’s fifth consecutive year in the NCAA Tournament Field. The program’s inaugural season, which was in 2020, ended early due to COVID concerns cancelling the rest of the season and the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers are 9-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 9-5 record in the regional round.

In 2021, Clemson went 2-2 in the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Regional. The Tigers hosted their first NCAA Regional in 2022, as they went 3-0 and advanced to the Stillwater (Okla.) Super Regional. They went 0-2 in their first Super Regional.

Clemson hosted their second regional in 2023, as they went 3-1 and defeated Auburn in the championship game. That year, they advanced to the Norman (Okla.) Super Regional, where they lost both games to the top-ranked Sooners, including a heartbreaking, 8-7, loss in nine innings in Game 2.

The Tigers were back in Tuscaloosa in 2024, and this time they went 1-2 in the regional for an earlier than expected exit.

—photo and video courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications