2026 Nebraska state softball tournament preview: brackets, times and seeds

The NSAA State Softball Championships open Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Bill Smith Softball Complex in Hastings. Eight teams in each of Classes A, B and C play a double-elimination bracket on Oct. 14, 15 and 16, and the three championship games are Monday, Oct. 19, at Bowlin Stadium (NSAA 2026 state softball bracket, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026; NSAA Softball Championships HQ, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026). The NSAA 2026-27 activities calendar lists the finals in Lincoln (NSAA 2026-27 calendar, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026).

Seeds, records and first-round times below are as published on the NSAA bracket (NSAA 2026 state softball bracket, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026).

Class A: Wednesday, Oct. 14, first round

• 9:00 a.m., Smith Complex Field #2: No. 1 Millard North (30-4) vs. No. 8 Elkhorn North (18-10)
• 11:30 a.m., Smith Complex Field #2: No. 4 Millard West (25-6) vs. No. 5 Papillion-La Vista (25-9)
• 2:00 p.m., Smith Complex Field #2: No. 3 Elkhorn South (25-6) vs. No. 6 Omaha Westview (17-8)
• 4:30 p.m., Smith Complex Field #2: No. 2 Lincoln Southwest (24-6) vs. No. 7 Lincoln East (18-12)

The Class A championship game is Monday, Oct. 19, at 7:00 p.m. at Bowlin Stadium. Game 15 is the only game listed for Monday, and the bracket marks Games 12 and 14 on Friday as “if necessary” games (NSAA 2026 state softball bracket, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026).

Class B: Wednesday, Oct. 14, first round

• 9:00 a.m., Smith Complex Field #4: No. 1 Gretna East (25-4) vs. No. 8 Beatrice (18-8)
• 11:30 a.m., Smith Complex Field #4: No. 4 Northwest (22-3) vs. No. 5 Crete (27-3)
• 2:00 p.m., Smith Complex Field #4: No. 3 Gretna (22-5) vs. No. 6 Skutt Catholic (21-4)
• 4:30 p.m., Smith Complex Field #4: No. 2 Hastings (26-4) vs. No. 7 Wahoo (23-3)

The Class B championship game is Monday, Oct. 19, at 3:30 p.m. at Bowlin Stadium. Game 15 is the only game listed for Monday, and the bracket marks Games 12 and 14 on Friday as “if necessary” games (NSAA 2026 state softball bracket, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026).

Class C: Wednesday, Oct. 14, first round

• 9:00 a.m., Smith Complex Field #1: No. 1 Kearney Catholic (22-3) vs. No. 8 Yutan/Mead (22-7)
• 11:30 a.m., Smith Complex Field #1: No. 4 Hastings St. Cecilia (18-7) vs. No. 5 DC West (20-9)
• 2:00 p.m., Smith Complex Field #1: No. 3 Bishop Neumann (20-4) vs. No. 6 Fort Calhoun (19-6)
• 4:30 p.m., Smith Complex Field #1: No. 2 Ashland-Greenwood (19-6) vs. No. 7 CCV (22-7)

The Class C championship game is Monday, Oct. 19, at 12:00 p.m. at Bowlin Stadium. Game 15 is the only game listed for Monday, and the bracket marks Games 12 and 14 on Friday as “if necessary” games (NSAA 2026 state softball bracket, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026).

How the bracket works

First-round winners meet in Thursday winners-bracket games, and first-round losers play elimination games the same day. Friday decides who reaches Monday from each half of the bracket, with an “if necessary” game after each Friday semifinal (NSAA 2026 state softball bracket, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026). NSAA posts daily box scores and live results on its championships page. The HQ page also links a live video webcast of Monday's finals (NSAA Softball Championships HQ, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026).

Last year's champions

In the 2025 finals, Lincoln Southwest beat Millard North 4-2 in Class A, Northwest beat defending champion Beatrice 4-3 with a walk-off in Class B, and Hastings St. Cecilia beat Central City 5-4 with a walk-off for its first title in Class C (NSAA 2025 State Softball Finals Recap, Oct. 20, 2025). Lincoln Southwest (No. 2) and Northwest (No. 4 in Class B) are back as seeded teams, and so is Hastings St. Cecilia (No. 4 in Class C) (NSAA 2026 state softball bracket, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026).

Tickets

NSAA lists adult tickets at $12 and student tickets at $9 (fees included), sold online through GoFan. Tickets are good for the whole day. Kiosks at both entrances take debit and credit cards only (NSAA Softball Championships HQ, retrieved Oct. 13, 2026).

Follow every game on the NEB Preps softball state tournament page.

Sources

• NSAA 2026 State Softball Championships bracket (2026-10-13)
• NSAA Softball Championships HQ (2026-10-13)
• NSAA 2026-27 activities calendar (2026-10-13)
• NSAA 2025 State Softball Finals Recap (2025-10-20)

DRAFT for review (week8-20261013). Not yet fact-checked by Research.