AKRON, Ohio -- The 2026 Mid-American Conference Softball Championship will take place May 6-9 at historic Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. Over the next four days, the MAC’s top six teams will face off to determine the 2026 MAC Tournament Champion and the conference’s automatic qualifier in the 2026 NCAA Softball Championship.

Opening round action begins today, with No. 4 Ohio facing No. 5 Central Michigan at Noon ET, followed by No. 3 Miami taking on No. 6 Western Michigan at 2:30 p.m. ET.. The opening day of the championship will end with the losing teams of game one and two at 5:30 p.m. ET. The 2026 MAC Championship Game is set for Saturday, May 9 at 1 p.m. ET, with the "if necessary" game scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.

The Akron Zips enter the 2026 Mid-American Conference Softball Tournament as the No. 1 seed. With a 31-23 overall record and a 21-6 mark in MAC play, the Zips are set to begin tournament action on Thursday, May 8, at 12 p.m. ET, facing the winner of the Ohio vs. Central Michigan game. Akron secured the program's second-ever softball regular season title on Saturday evening.

Making their second straight appearance at the tournament, the Northern Illinois University Huskies softball team will compete at the 2026 MAC Tournament, May 6-9 in Akron, Ohio. The Huskies No. 2 seed in the tournament is their highest since 2000 as they recorded the most wins in conference play since that same season. With the No. 2 seed, the Huskies get a first round bye and will play the winner of No. 3 Miami and No. 6 Western Michigan on Thursday, May 7. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. CT. NIU went 2-1 against Western Michigan this season. NIU and Miami have not met during the 2026 season.

The Miami RedHawks earned the No. 3 seed after finishing 38-16 overall (19-8 MAC). Miami enters as the No. 3 seed after posting a 19-8 conference record and will look to defend its tournament title, having won the championship each of the past four seasons. The RedHawks will take on No. 6 Western Michigan in Wednesday's first round at approximately 2:30pm.

Ohio enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed after finishing the regular season 36-17 overall and 17-10 in MAC play. Senior outfielder Belle Hummel (Cincinnati, Ohio) leads the Bobcats with a .453 batting average, 82 hits, 17 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 38 RBI. She also has a 1.188 OPS, a .657 slugging percentage and a .531 on base percentage, while drawing 29 walks. She has stolen eight bases and has 119 total bases. This season, Hummel became the Ohio single season leader in hits and in runs scored and is five runs and five hits away from becoming the MAC single season leader in both categories. 

Central Michigan enters Akron for this year's tournament as the No. 5 seed. There have been 23 conference tournaments hosted by the MAC for softball. Central Michigan has appeared in 22 of those 23. The 2009 season is the lone season CMU did not qualify for the tournament. For the 13^th year, the tournament will be hosted in Akron, Ohio at Firestone Stadium. The Chippewas have won the most tournament and regular season titles in the history of the conference, winning 10 of each. The last tournament title for the Chippewas was 2013, and the last regular season title was in 2017. Against the other five teams in the tournament, Central Michigan holds a 35-31 record, outscoring the five opponents 163-95. In 2010, 2019 and 2024 the Chippewas were also the No. 5 seed in the tournament.

Western Michigan comes into this week's tournament as the No. 6 seed. The Brown and Gold have been the six seed in the MAC Tournament only two other times in program history as the MAC Tournament did not expand to six teams until 1998. Western Michigan was the six seed in 2002 and 2007 prior to this postseason. The Broncos have not won a tournament game as the sixth seed in their two prior postseason apperances in that spot. 

For an all session ticket the price for an adult is $60, while single all-session passes are $20. Click here to Buy Tickets

Fans who make a donation to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank via Anne's Pantry will receive a FREE youth ticket to the 2026 MAC Softball Championship.

For the latest scores, schedule updates, and more, visit Softball Championship Central.