2023 MEAC Bracket

NORFOLK, Va., (May 8, 2023)--Norfolk State will host the 2023 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Championship on Wednesday, May 10 through Saturday, May 13 at the NSU Softball Field. The Morgan State Bears will enter tournament play as the No. 1 seed. The Lady Bears captured their third consecutive MEAC regular season crown, including the 2021 MEAC North Division title, which was the league's final year of division play. 
 
The top six teams in the regular-season standings will compete in the double-elimination tournament, which offers a chance to earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship.
 
Top-seeded Morgan State (24-19 overall, 14-4 MEAC) swept MEAC series against Coppin State, Norfolk State and Delaware State this season. After a 17-0 win over Maryland Eastern Shore on April 16, Bears coach Larry Hineline became the program's winningest coach with 162 career victories.
 
Tournament host Norfolk State enters play as the No. 2 seed. Under first-year head coach Carrie Hoeft, the Spartans went 24-21 overall and 14-6 in conference contests. NSU's 24 wins this season are tied for fifth on the Spartans' all-time Division I wins list.
 
The No. 3 seed, North Carolina Central (15-32, 12-7 MEAC), won four of its seven MEAC series, sweeping South Carolina State and Delaware State and going 2-1 against both Maryland Eastern Shore and Howard.
 
Reigning MEAC champion Howard (18-24, 10-9 MEAC) will look to defend its 2022 crown as the No. 4 seed in the tournament. The Bison will be looking for their third MEAC title after claiming titles in 2007 and last season.
 
Coppin State (12-26, 9-11 MEAC), the No. 5 seed, swept MEAC series against Delaware State and North Carolina Central to qualify for this year's championship.
 
Rounding out the tournament is No. 6 seed Maryland Eastern Shore (13-28, 8-10 MEAC). The Hawks claimed their spot in the tournament after taking series from Coppin State (3-0), Delaware State (2-1) and Morgan State (2-1).
 
Norfolk State, Maryland Eastern Shore, North Carolina Central and Coppin State will all be in search of their first ever MEAC tournament title.
 
The 2023 MEAC Softball Championship begins Wednesday, May 10 at 9 a.m., when Maryland Eastern Shore battles North Carolina Central. Howard takes on Coppin State at 12 p.m., while top-seeded Morgan State will play the winner of the UMES-NCCU game at 3 p.m.
 
Wednesday's action concludes with a 6 p.m. game featuring Norfolk State and the winner of the Howard-CSU matchup.
 
The elimination round begins with two games on Thursday at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., followed by a winner's bracket game at 6 p.m.
 
Friday's semifinal games are at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
 
The championship game is set for Saturday, May 13, beginning at 12 p.m., and will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with the team from the winners' bracket needing only one win to claim the championship trophy. If the team that comes out of the losers' bracket wins the first game on Saturday, a second game will be played at a time to be determined later.
 
If necessary, the second game will also be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
Tickets are $10 per day or $35 for a tournament pass, which covers all games over the four days. All tickets must be purchased at NSUSpartansTickets.com.
 
For more information on the 2023 MEAC Softball Championship, please visit the Championship Central page.
 
 
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
 
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 52^nd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2022-23 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of eight outstanding historically Black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University.