The Sun Belt Conference, a key player in mid-major athletics, was founded on Aug. 4, 1976, primarily as a basketball league. It began sponsoring softball in 2000, launching the sport with four teams. Mid-major powerhouse Louisiana dominated the inaugural tournament, outscoring opponents 19–0 over three games.
Louisiana went 1–2 in its first NCAA Tournament as a Sun Belt member, marking its 10th appearance in 11 seasons. The Ragin’ Cajuns have qualified for every tournament since joining, except in 2020 when the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Louisiana won every Sun Belt tournament until 2007, when Florida Atlantic claimed the title in its first year after joining from the Atlantic Sun Conference. Despite their tournament win, the Owls did not receive an NCAA bid. Instead, Louisiana — despite going 0–2 in the tournament — received the conference’s only berth.
#MondayMemories Holly Tankersley approaching home plate after hitting go-ahead HR in 2008 WCWS win over Florida. pic.twitter.com/sFFOae7cL5
— Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns® Softball (@RaginCajunsSB) January 25, 2016
Two other programs briefly disrupted Louisiana’s dominance. Between 2012 and 2015, South Alabama won three of four Sun Belt tournaments—despite never winning the regular-season title. Each time South Alabama won, it reached the NCAA Regional final—but failed to advance beyond it. However, they failed to advance beyond that round. In 2012, they hosted the regional but were eliminated by Florida State in a winner-take-all Game 7.
In 2024, Texas State defeated top-seeded Louisiana 9–5 to win its second Sun Belt title, marking the first time Louisiana failed to win back-to-back tournaments since 2012–13.
The 2025 season featured a historic first: a play-in team winning the tournament. James Madison and Coastal Carolina both upset top-four seeds, including Louisiana and Texas State, respectively. Seventh-seeded Coastal Carolina edged ninth-seeded James Madison 3–2—after a three-hour rain delay—to win its first Sun Belt title.
𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘.
A wild pitch scores Clara Hudgens from third and sends @CoastalSoftball to the @NCAASoftball Tournament. #SunBeltSB ☀️🥎 pic.twitter.com/gOLpKCKeWn
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) May 11, 2025
Coastal Carolina’s win ended Louisiana’s streak of 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. As a result, the Sun Belt had just one representative in the tournament for only the third time since 2019.
Louisiana has been the driving force behind the Sun Belt’s NCAA success, reaching eight Super Regionals and three Women’s College World Series appearances during its 24-year run. It also made three Women’s College World Series appearances. The Ragin’ Cajuns advanced to five straight Super Regionals from 2012 to 2016, including their most recent WCWS trip in 2014. Their lone win in Oklahoma City came in 2008, when they defeated Florida in the opening game.
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