NEWS RELEASE
Friday, April 24, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AAC Women’s Softball Tournament returns to Kingsport; Milligan set to Play
Kingsport, TN. – The 2026 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Women’s Softball Tournament returns to Kingsport for five days of games. 10 teams from Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and South Caroline will play at Brickyard Park from Monday, April 27 through Friday, May 1. Johnson University is the No. 1 seed.
Johnson and Reinhardt are the regular-season co-champions as both finished with a 19-7 conference record. Johnson receives the No. 1 seed since it swept the season series against Reinhardt. The AAC has two automatic berths to the NAIA National Championship Tournament, and Johnson receives one as the regular-season champion and No. 1 seed. The final automatic berth will be awarded to the tournament champion. If Johnson wins the tournament, the second automatic berth will go to the tournament runner-up. Ten teams advance to the double-elimination tournament.
Here are the seeds for the tournament:
- Johnson (29-16, 19-7 AAC)
- Reinhardt (23-9, 19-7 AAC)
- Brenau (27-15, 18-8 AAC)
- Bryan (26-22, 16-10 AAC)
- Pikeville (27-13, 15-11 AAC)
- Truett McConnell (26-17, 15-11 AAC)
- Milligan (20-20, 14-12 AAC)
- Columbia International (31-15, 14-12 AAC)
- Spartanburg Methodist (29-16, 12-14 AAC)
- Columbia (23-23, 9-17 AAC)
“Visit Kingsport is excited to continue our partnership with the AAC,” said Bradley Hoover, Visit Kingsport’s Sports Director. “We’re looking forward to what promises to be a week filled with great games as we name a national champion.”
Tickets are available and can be purchased by clicking here. A tournament pass is available for $25. Daily tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. If unable to attend in person, all games will be streamed live online. To watch, click here.
Tournament Schedule
Monday, April 27
Game 1 – No. 8 Columbia International vs. No. 9 Spartanburg Methodist, 11 am
Game 2 – No. 7 Milligan vs. No. 10 Columbia, 1 pm
Game 3 – No. 4 Bryan vs. No. 5 Pikeville, 3 pm
Game 4 – No. 3 Brenau vs. No. 6 Truett McConnell, 5 pm
Tuesday, April 28
Game 5 – Game 2 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser, 11 am
Game 6 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 1 pm
Game 7 – No. 1 Johnson vs. Game 1 Winner, 3 pm
Game 8 – No. 2 Reinhardt vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 pm
Wednesday, April 29
Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser, 11 am
Game 10 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser, 1 pm
Game 11 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 3 pm
Game 12 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 5 pm
Thursday, April 30
Game 13 – Game 9 Winner vs. Game 11 Loser, 11 am
Game 14 – Game 10 Winner vs. Game 12 Loser, 1 pm
Game 15 – Game 11 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner, 3 pm
Game 16 – Game 13 Winner vs. Game 14 Winner, 5 pm
Friday, May 1
Game 17 – Game 15 Loser vs. Game 16 Winner, 11 am
Game 18 – Championship Game 1 – Game 15 Winner vs. Game 17 Winner, 1 pm
Game 19 – Championship Game 2 – Game 18 Winner vs. Game 18 Loser, 1 hour after Game 18 (if necessary, if it is Game 18 Loser’s first loss of the tournament)
