INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Hawai'i Hilo Softball heard its name called early Monday morning as the No. 8 seed in this year's NCAA Division II Softball Championships West Regional Round.

The Vulcans will head to the four-team sub-regional hosted by top seed and CCAA runner-up Cal State San Marcos set for May 14-16 at CSUSM Softball Field. Joining them in the double-elimination bracket is fourth seed Cal State Dominguez Hills and fifth seed Cal State Monterey Bay.

Hawai'i Hilo was one of 64 Division-II teams selected to compete in the NCAA postseason marking the program's seventh overall appearance and first regional action since 2021. The Vulcans finished in fourth place at last week's Pacific West Conference Championships postseason tournament. Hawai'i Hilo came in ranked No. 7 in the penultimate regional ranks released earlier last week with games only accounted through May 3.

Other West Regional (Hayward, California): No. 2 Cal State East Bay (CCAA Champion), No. 3 Concordia (PacWest Champion), No. 6 Biola, No. 7 Western Washington (GNAC Champion).

The winners of the two sub-regional brackets will play a best two-out-of-three series on May 21-22 with a final eight teams (one per region) advancing to the National Championships bracket set for May 28 - June 3 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

NCAA West Regional Round

• May 14-16, 2026
• CSUSM Softball Field in San Marcos, California
• Double Elimination Bracket
  • First Round: Thursday, May 14
    • G1: #1 Cal State San Marcos vs #8 Hawai'i Hilo (9 AM / NOON PT)
    • G2: #4 Cal State Dominguez Hills vs #5 Cal State Monterey Bay (NOON / 3 PM PT)
  • Second Round: Friday, May 15
    • G3: Winner of G1 vs Winner of G2 (7 AM / 10 AM PT) – Winners Bracket
    • G4: Loser of G1 vs Loser of G2 (9:30 AM / 12:30 PM PT) – Elimination Game
    • G5: Winner of G4 vs Loser of G3 (NOON / 3 PM PT) – Elimination Bracket Finals
  • Championship Round: Saturday, May 16
    • G6: Winner of G3 vs Winner of G5 (8 AM / 11 AM PT)
    • G7: Winner Takes All (10:30 AM / 1:30 PM PT) – If Necessary
• Teams
  • Cal State San Marcos Cougars
    • No. 1 Seed
    • San Marcos, California
    • California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)
    • 50-8 Overall Record (28-4 CCAA)
    • CCAA Championships Runner-Up
    • CCAA Regular Season Champion
    • Latest NFCA/GoRout Ranking (May 3): No. 3
    • 2026 Matchup: UHH 0 - CSUSM 4 (Feb. 1)
  • Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros
    • No. 4 Seed
    • Carson, California
    • California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)
    • 36-22 Overall Record (17-15 CCAA)
    • CCAA Championships Fourth Place
    • CCAA Regular Season No. 4
  • Cal State Monterey Bay Otters
    • No. 5 Seed
    • Seaside, California
    • California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)
    • 33-22 Overall Record (15-17 CCAA)
    • CCAA Championships Fourth Place
    • CCAA Regular Season No. 5
    • 2026 Matchup: UHH 4 - CSUMB 5 (Jan. 31)
  • Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans
    • No. 8 Seed
    • Hilo, Hawai'i
    • Pacific West Conference
    • 26-17 Overall Record (23-11 PacWest)
    • PacWest Championships Fourth Place
    • PacWest Regular Season No. 3