The 1996

NCAA Division I softball tournament The NCAA Division I softball tournament is held annually in May/June and features 64 college softball teams in the United States, culminating in the Women's College World Series (WCWS), which is played in Oklahoma City. Tournament play and team s ...

was the fifteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1996, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a

double elimination A double-elimination tournament is a type of elimination tournament competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost ''two'' games or matches. It stands in contrast to a single-elimi ...

format. The 1996 Women's College World Series was held in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it o ...

from May 23 through May 27 and marked the conclusion of the

1996 NCAA Division I softball season The 1996 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 1996. The season progressed through the regular ...

. This marked the last time that the Women's College World Series was held in a city other than

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

, and previewed

Golden Park Golden Park is a 5,000-seat baseball stadium in Columbus, Georgia, United States, that opened in 1951. Located on the Chattahoochee River in Downtown Columbus, it is currently home to the Columbus Chatt-a-Hoots as of 2021 . The exterior of the ...

's hosting of softball events for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

won their fourth NCAA championship by defeating 6–4 in the final game. Arizona second baseman Jenny Dalton was named

Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player The Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player is an award for the best individual performance during the Women's College World Series, the college softball national championship event in the United States. The recipient of the award is ...

Qualifying

Regionals

Regional No. 1

Arizona qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 2

Michigan qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 3

Iowa qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 4

Southwestern Louisiana qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 5

California qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 6

Princeton qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 7

UCLA qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 8

Washington qualifies for WCWS.

Women's College World Series

Participants

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Bracket

Championship Game

All-Tournament Team

The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team

References

{{1995–96 NCAA Division I championships navbox 1996 NCAA Division I softball season NCAA Division I softball tournament Women's sports in Georgia (U.S. state)