John Rittman believes ACC gets 'a little overlooked'

The Clemson Tigers are one of five teams from the ACC to make the cut for the NCAA Softball Tournament. Securing their fourth straight NCAA postseason appearance ahead of their regional round matchup against Southeastern Louisiana hosted by Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Only two ACC programs will be hosting regionals as top 16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, a stark difference between a conference like the SEC that had all 13 teams make the tournament and will be hosting eight regional rounds across the country. With that in mind, Tigers head coach John Rittman was asked for his thoughts on the ACC’s standing regarding the NCAA Tournament.

“Every year you can pick apart the bracket, I think the NCAA selection committee has a very tough job to do. Obviously, there’s a bunch of different criteria that play into it,” Rittman said.

“Do I feel like Duke is a top-eight seed?” He asked. “Definitely. I feel like Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Virginia, all the teams that are representing our conference are going to be tough opponents for the regionals that they’re going to.”

Duke not securing a top-eight seed came as a surprise to many across the college softball landscape. Earning a No. 10 seed ahead of the tournament after posting an impressive 47-6 record on the season, winning the ACC Championship, and having the conference’s Coach, Player, Pitcher, and Defensive Player of the Year Award winners following the regular season.

Plenty of factors go into the selection committee’s decision when creating the NCAA Tournament bracket, leaving plenty of room for conferences and teams to feel overlooked yearly when the field of 64 is released. But at the end of the day, Rittman believes that the ACC’s teams will be able to show their strength on the field once regional play begins.

“I’m proud of our conference, I think we do get a little overlooked at times in comparison to the Pac-12, the Big 12, and the SEC,” Rittman admitted. “But at the same time, you gotta go out and earn it. This time of year you gotta beat a good team to get to where you want to go and this year is no different. And I know our conference will be well-represented in postseason and I know we’ll do well.”

Clemson kicks off the postseason on Friday at 2 p.m. ET versus Southeastern Louisiana in a Tuscaloosa Regional matchup airing ACC Network.