For the second time in three seasons, Arizona won't begin its NCAA postseason journey within the confines of Rita Hillenbrand Stadium.
The sixth-seeded Wildcats were selected to the Durham Regional hosted by Duke. Arizona will open up regional play against the Marshall Thundering Herd, an at-large bid from the Sun Belt, on Friday morning.
The third-seeded Duke Blue Devils — the 12th overall seed — will host Howard to begin regional play. The winner of the four-team regional will advance to the Super Regionals.
The top 16 overall seeds for the NCAA Tournament are Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, UCLA, Florida State, Georgia, Texas Tech, Duke, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Texas A&M and LSU. Former Arizona star outfielder Dakota Kennedy is in her senior season at Arkansas.
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Arizona is one of seven Big 12 teams to qualify for the NCAA postseason. Big 12 Tournament champion Arizona State, Big 12 regular-season champion Texas Tech, Kansas, Baylor, UCF and Oklahoma State. The Wildcats are going to the NCAA postseason for the fourth time in five seasons under head coach Caitlin Lowe.
Arizona enters the postseason with an up-and-down road résumé. The Wildcats are 8-9 in true road games — 1-3 in neutral site games; they were 26-4 at home this season. The only road series the Wildcats won was against Iowa State in Ames last month. Arizona recently went one-and-done at the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City, falling to ASU, 2-1.
The Wildcats are led by Big 12 Player of the Year and star catcher Sydney Stewart, who has a .415 batting average, which is tied for sixth in the conference. Stewart leads the Big 12 in RBIs (76) and walks (41) and is second in home runs (20).
The Wildcats celebrate after securing a 8-0 run-rule win over Houston at Hillenbrand Stadium, April 25, 2026.
Arizona had nine players receive All-Big 12 honors, including junior center fielder Regan Shockey, who was the co-Defensive Player of the Year, and senior shortstop Tayler Biehl, the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Marshall third baseman Sydni Burko was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year. Burko is 14th nationally with 21 home runs. Burko, a transfer from Indiana, was also named the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year. Marshall pitcher Jules King has 156 strikeouts this season, which ranks fourth in the Sun Belt.
Arizona (35-16) and Marshall (37-17) will play at Smith Family Stadium on Friday at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN+. The Wildcats are 8-0 against Marshall since 2005. Arizona last played against Marshall at the 2024 Hillenbrand Invitational in Tucson.
Contact Justin Spears, the Star's Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports
Justin Spears
Sports Reporter
