MOBILE, Ala. | South Alabama, which finished last season with 39 wins, including 14 of its last 15 to close out the season and a program record 20 conference games, will certainly be tested this spring as the Jaguars are set to face 11 NCAA Regional teams in the 2024 schedule announced by head coach Becky Clark on Tuesday.

Along with Sun Belt foes Louisiana and Texas State, Alabama, Arkansas, Central Arkansas, Charlotte, McNeese State, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame and South Carolina each earned a postseason berth last May with the Crimson Tide advancing to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.

"Each year we put together an aggressive schedule and this year is no exception," Clark said. "We welcome the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in softball and feel like our non-conference segment will challenge us as a team and prepare us for another tough conference schedule."

As previously announced in September, the opening weekend slate will see the Jaguars compete at the 21st Annual NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic, which will be held on February 9-11, 2024 at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. South Alabama will take on North Carolina Central and Notre Dame on the opening day (Feb. 9) of the tournament, and then face Missouri and St. John's the following day before closing out the event with Central Arkansas on Feb. 11.

The Jaguars will return home the following weekend (Feb. 16-18) to host the South Alabama Invitational at Jaguar Field. South Alabama will take on Central Michigan on the opening day and then face Northern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky on day two, before closing out its only home tournament of the spring against in-state foe UAB on the final day. The game versus the Blazers will be the first for the Jags since 2018.

Following the home tournament, South Alabama will travel to Hammond, La., for a midweek tilt versus Southeastern Louisiana (Feb. 20), which finished with 47 wins last spring. The meeting with the Lions will mark the 15th in the all-time series, but the first between the two programs since the 2012 season.

The Jags will travel to Columbia, S.C. during the third weekend of the season (Feb. 23-25) to compete at the Gamecock Invitational hosted by South Carolina. South will open up with UMass on Friday, Feb. 23, and then take on a pair of NCAA Regional participants – Charlotte and the host Gamecocks – on Saturday, before rounding out play with a single game against fellow Sun Belt member James Madison on the final day of the tourney.

The only other time South has competed at a tournament hosted by the Gamecocks came during the 2015 season where the Jags went 4-0 at the Carolina Classic.

Week four of the season will see South Alabama compete at the second of three-straight non-conference events hosted by a Southeastern Conference opponent when the Jags travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to compete at the T-Mobile Crimson Classic (March 1-3) hosted by Alabama. South will face both the Crimson Tide and Northern Iowa twice over the first two days of the event, and then close out play with a single game against Arizona.

The Jags will play in their fifth and final non-conference tournament when they compete at the Razorback Rumble on March 8-10 hosted by Arkansas at Bogle Park. South Alabama will take on Northern Iowa and the host Razorbacks on the first day of the tournament. USA will then take on Nebraska and Arkansas on day two, and then wrap up competition at the event versus Saint Francis.

Four of South's eight Sun Belt Conference series will be at Jaguar Field this spring. The Jaguars are scheduled to open up league play versus defending regular-season and tournament champion Louisiana (March 15-17). The Ragin' Cajuns have won 19 regular-season titles and 18 tournament titles, while Louisiana and South have finished as the top two clubs in the league each of the last two seasons and five time since 2014.

In addition to the series with the Ragin' Cajuns, South Alabama will also host three-game, league series with Texas State (March 28-30), Georgia Southern (April 12-14) and Southern Miss (May 2-4).

USA is also scheduled to have league road series at ULM (March 22-24), at Appalachian State (April 5-7), at Georgia State (April 19-21) and at Troy (April 26-28). 

The Jaguars will also have a pair of single-game, non-conference contests during the SBC slate, hosting McNeese State (March 26) and traveling to Mississippi State (April 10).

This year's Sun Belt Conference Championship is scheduled to be hosted by Texas State and held in San Marcos, Texas, May 8-11 at Bobcat Stadium.

NCAA Regional (May 17-19) and NCAA Super Regional (May 24-26) rounds will be held on campus sites, while the Women's College World Series will take place on May 30-June 7 once again at USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.

2024 Softball Season tickets are on sale now by visiting usajaguars.com/tickets or by calling 251-461-1USA (1872). Prices start at just $50.00 for the upcoming season. Individual game tickets will go on sale for the 2024 schedule on Tuesday, January 17, 2024.

2024 SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
- Games (50): Home (17), Road (19), Neutral (14) 
- NCAA Regional participants (11): Alabama (Super Regional), Arkansas, Central Arkansas, Charlotte, Louisiana (Super Regional), McNeese State, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Texas State  
- Women's College World Series participant: Alabama
- Opponents who finished the 2023 season inside the Top 25 (6): Alabama (7), Arkansas (13), Louisiana (15), South Carolina (20), McNeese State (22), Central Arkansas (24)
*Highest ranking in one of the four national polls (USA Today/NFCA Coaches, ESPN.com/USA Softball, D1Softball.com, Softball America) listed
- 2023 Top 50 RBI opponents (12): Louisiana (9), Alabama (13), Arkansas (18), Central Arkansas (20), South Carolina (30), McNeese State (31), Charlotte (33), Nebraska (36), Missouri (38), Texas State (42), Notre Dame (45), Mississippi State (48)  **South Alabama (40)
- First-time series meetings (9): Arizona, Arkansas, Central Michigan, Charlotte, Nebraska, North Carolina Central, Northern Illinois, Saint Francis, UMass
- First meeting versus Southeastern Louisiana since 2012 and first meeting versus UAB since 2018
- Non-Conference Opponents: American Athletic (2), ACC (1), Atlantic Sun (2), Atlantic 10 (1), Big East (1), Big Ten (1), Mid-American (2), Mid-Eastern Athletic (1), Missouri Valley (1), Northeastern (1), Pac 12 (1), SEC (5), Southland (2)
- Non-Conference tournaments: NFCA Leadoff Classic (Feb. 9-11 | Clearwater, Fla.), South Alabama Invitational (Feb. 16-18 | Mobile, Ala.), Gamecock Invitational (Feb. 23-25 | Columbia, S.C.), T-Mobile Crimson Classic (March 1-3 | Tuscaloosa, Ala.), Razorback Rumble (March 8-10 | Fayetteville, Ark.) 
- Home SBC series: Louisiana (March 15-17, Texas State (March 28-30), Georgia Southern (April 12-14), Southern Miss (May 2-4)
- Road SBC series: ULM (March 22-24), Appalachian State (April 5-7), Georgia State (April 19-21), Troy (April 26-28)

FOLLOW THE JAGS
For complete coverage of South Alabama Softball, follow the Jags on social media @SouthAlabamaSB (Twitter), /SouthAlabamaSB (Facebook), @SouthAlabamaSB (Instagram) or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at usajaguars.com.