1986 NCAA Division I softball tournament

1986 NCAA Division I
softball tournament

Teams	15
Finals site	Seymour Smith Park Omaha, NE
Champions	Cal State Fullerton (1st title)
Runner-up	Texas A&M (3rd WCWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Judi Garman (1st WCWS title)

The 1986 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the fifth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1986, fifteen Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured seven regionals of two teams (the last team, Creighton, qualified automatically) with the winner of each region (a total of 7 teams plus Creighton) advancing to the 1986 Women's College World Series at Seymour Smith Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

Cal State Fullerton would go on to defeat Texas A&M in the WCWS championship series.

Qualifying

Main article: 1986 NCAA Division I softball season

Regionals

West Regional
–	Cal State Fullerton	2	1	—
–	Cal Poly Pomona	0	0	—

• Cal State Fullerton qualifies for WCWS, 2–0

Mideast Regional
–	Indiana	2	5	—
–	Central Michigan	0	0	—

• Indiana qualifies for WCWS, 2–0

South Regional
–	Louisiana Tech	4	1	—
–	Florida State	0	0	—

• Louisiana Tech qualifies for WCWS, 2–0

Central Regional
–	Texas A&M	1	110	—
–	Kansas	0	0	—

• Texas A&M qualifies for WCWS, 2–0

• Midwest Regional was not held
  • Creighton qualified as eighth team.

Northeast Regional
–	Northwestern	3	6	—
–	Massachusetts	0	0	—

• Northwestern qualifies for WCWS, 2–0

Northwest Regional
–	Long Beach State	412	2	—
–	Fresno State	1	1	—

• Long Beach State qualifies for WCWS, 2–0

At-large Regional
–	UCLA	1	3	2
–	Pacific	3	0	0

• UCLA qualifies for WCWS, 2–1

Women's College World Series

Main article: 1986 Women's College World Series

See also

• NCAA Division I Softball Championship
• Women's College World Series
• NCAA Division II Softball Championship
• NCAA Division III Softball Championship
• College World Series