# 2021 Southland Conference softball tournament

The 2021 Southland Conference tournament was held at North Oak Park in Hammond, Louisiana, from May 11 through 14, 2021. The tournament winner, McNeese, earned the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament. All games were broadcast on ESPN+.

## Format

The tournament was a 7 team double elimination format. The top seeded team, McNeese, received a bye in first round competition.

## Seeds

Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tie–breaker system to seed teams with identical conference records. All seven teams in the conference qualified for the tournament. Tie–breaker procedures were not required.
| Seed | School | Conference |
| 1 | Stephen F. Austin | 25–2 |
| 2 | Central Arkansas | 21–6 |
| 3 | McNeese | 18–9 |
| 4 | Northwestern State | 16–11 |
| 5 | Southeastern Louisiana | 14–10 |
| 6 | Houston Baptist | 15–12 |
| 7 | Sam Houston | 14–13 |
| 8 | Abilene Christian | 10–17 |
* Incarnate Word, Nicholls, Lamar, and Texas A&M–Corpus Christi failed to qualify as members in the tournament field. New Orleans does not sponsor a softball team.
Source:

## Tournament

Source:
| Round | Game | Time* | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Notes | Television |
| First day – Tuesday, May 12, 2021 ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 5:00 pm | No. 6 Houston Baptist vs. No. 7 Sam Houston State | 3–4 | 172 | | ESPN+ |
| 1 | 2 | 7:30 pm | No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 8 Abilene Christian | 4–3 | 222 | | ESPN+ |
| Second day – Thursday, May 13, 2021 ||||||||
| 2 |
| 2 | 3 | 11:00 am | No. 3 McNeese State vs. No. 7 Sam Houston State | 3–1 | 277 | | ESPN+ |
| 2 | 4 | 1:30 pm | No. 4 Northwestern State vs No. 5 Southeastern Louisiana | 7–4 | 343 | | ESPN+ |
| 2 | 5 | 4:00 pm | No. 2 Central Arkansas vs. No. 3 McNeese State | 5–6 | 335 | | ESPN+ |
| 6 | 7:20 pm | No. 1 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 4 Northwestern State | 4–1 | 335 | | | ESPN+ |
| Third day – Friday, May 14, 2021 ||||||||
| 3 |
| 3 | 7 | 11:00 am | No. 5 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 2 Central Arkansas | 1–2 | 275 | Elimination game (Southeastern Louisiana) | ESPN+ |
| 3 | 8 | 1:30 pm | No. 7 Sam Houston State vs. No. 4 Northwestern State | 0–8$^5$ | 242 | Elimination game (Sam Houston State) | ESPN+ |
| 3 | 9 | 4:00 pm | No. 3 McNeese vs. No. 1 Stephen F. Austin | 4–1 | 304 | | ESPN+ |
| 10 | 6:30 pm | No. 2 Central Arkansas vs. No. 4 Northwestern State | 5–2 | 339 | Elimination Game (Northwestern State) | | ESPN+ |
| Championship – Saturday, May 15, 2021 ||||||||
| 4 |
| 4 | 11 | 11:00 pm | No. 1 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 2 Central Arkansas | 4–5 | 307 | Elimination Game (Stephen F. Austin) | ESPN+ |
| 4 | 12 | 1:50 pm | No. 2 Central Arkansas vs. No. 1 McNeese | 0–1 | 345 | McNeese tournament champion | ESPN+ |
| *Game times in CDT. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding. ||||||||

## Awards and honors

Tournament MVP: Whitney Tate, McNeese
All-Tournament Teams: Source:
    Whitney Tate, McNeese - MVP
    Haylee Brinlee, McNeese
    Jenna Edwards, McNeese
    Kaylee Lopez, McNeese
    Cori McCrary, McNeese
    Toni Perrin, McNeese
    Kayla Beaver, Central Arkansas
    Mary Kate Brown, Central Arkansas
    Cylla Hill, Central Arkansas
    Kaylyn Shepherd, Central Arkansas
    Kristen Whitehouse, Central Arkansas
    Mackenzie Bennett, Stephen F. Austin