colin wolves

The quest for an NJCAA Division II Softball National Championship begins on Monday, May 19, at 3 p.m. CT for the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves.

CLCC found out its opponent and game time for the opening round of the tournament in Oxford, Alabama via a selection show on Tuesday posted online.

Co-Lin, the 2023 National Champs, is seeded No. 5 and will take on No. 12 Rock Valley College in the opening round. Last year the Wolves finished four in the tournament which included a 10-2 win over Rock Valley, which is located in Rockford, Illinois.

Defending national champs, St. Johns River is the top seed and is on the same side of the bracket as Co-Lin.

If the No. 9 seed from Northwest Mississippi Community College gets past Phoenix College (Arizona) in the first round, they could potentially face St. Johns River in the second.

Des Moines Area (Iowa) Community College is seeded No. 4 and is a possible second-round opponent for Co-Lin.

DMACC was seeded ahead of Co-Lin despite going 1-2 against MACCC competition this season. Co-Lin went 27-1 against MACCC teams during the regular season.

The selection committee knocked the Wolves down a few pegs as Co-Lin was ranked No. 3 in the last national poll of the regular season.

Coach Meleah Howard and her club started the postseason with one win over Itawamba and two wins over Northwest Mississippi in a Region 23 pod hosted in Wesson.

On Sunday, Co-Lin had a long winning streak snapped by Jones College, as the Bobcats won the Region 23 title game 11-9 despite trailing 8-2 in the early goings.

Jones is seeded No. 3 and is on the same side of the bracket as No. 2 seed Murray State (Ok.) College (59-1) in Oxford.

The Bobcats open the tournament on Tuesday as they await the winner of a game on Monday.

Jones beat Co-Lin last season in the region championship game and then the Wolves lost their opener at the national tournament in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Howard’s team got hot though, winning five consecutive games before losing to Murray State. Jones went 1-2 in Spartanburg last year.

The MACCC rivals could possibly meet in the championship series, as they did in 2023 when Co-Lin won the first national championship in school history with a 7-0 win over the Bobcats from Ellisville.