ESPN botches live shot during NCAA Softball Tournament bracket reveal, leading to mass confusion

In an otherwise smooth production by ESPN for the reveal of the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament bracket, one hiccup left one team very confused. And it was all caught on camera.

As the final stages of the bracket reveal took place live on ESPN2, the Worldwide Leader was providing live look-ins to various teams selected for the field. With only two regional sites remaining, things were getting tense for a few teams waiting to hear their destination.

One of them included Binghamton. The Bearcats knew they were in the field, courtesy of winning the America East.

But they didn’t know where they’d be playing. Or who they’d be playing against.

So you can imagine their confusion when they suddenly appeared live on ESPN2’s camera feed prior to their selection in this year’s softball bracket being announced. Instead, ESPN2’s production crew inadvertently paired a shot of Binghamton with the announcement for Jackson State.

That left a very bewildered Binghamton squad gesturing wildly at the TVs. It was as if players were saying, ‘Wait, what is this?’

You can check out one such reaction below. An unfortunate goof for ESPN.

In any case, Binghamton would later hear its name called in the final regional pairing for the postseason softball event. And this time players would celebrate wildly upon hearing the selection.

Binghamton will take on Stanford in the opening game of the Eugene Regional out west. Jackson State, meanwhile, will take on host Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional.

You can view both softball regional pairings below. We’ve also included start times and TV networks for all games.

Tuscaloosa Regional

(15) Alabama
Jackson State
Friday 6 p.m. ET – ESPN+
Belmont
Virginia Tech
Friday 3:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+

Eugene Regional

(16) Oregon
Weber State
Friday 7:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+
Binghamton
Stanford
Friday 5 p.m. ET – ESPN+