INDIANAPOLIS — The University of Florida, the two-time defending national champion, was named the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship today when the NCAA Division I Softball Committee announced the 64-team field. The Gators will host Alabama State University, an automatic qualifier from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Thirty-two conferences were awarded an automatic qualification, while the remaining 32 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites this weekend.

Team pairings were determined by geographic proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during regional competition.

The Southeastern Conference  led all leagues for the second straight year with 11 teams selected to the championship tournament. The Pac-12 Conference placed eight teams in the championship tournament, respectively. Five teams are making their first appearance in the tournament: Alabama State , Butler University, California State University, Bakersfield, University of Mississippi and Samford University.

Only 12 schools have been crowned the NCAA Division I softball champion since the tournament started in 1982, and all 12 will compete in this year’s bracket.