Duke's Jala Wright: NCAA Softball Tournament selection show 'tough to watch' after seeding snub

Duke softball is going to have to take a harder path if it wants to secure its first-ever berth in the Women's College World Series.

Despite winning the ACC regular season and tournament titles, the Blue Devils were awarded the No. 10 overall seed in the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament, and will host the Durham Regional. However, due to not getting a top-eight ranking, Duke will have to travel for a potential Super Regional, despite finishing with the No. 3 RPI in the nation.

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Duke starting pitcher Jala Wright said there was disappointment within the program at Duke's watch party when the Blue Devils were announced as the No. 10 seed. Wright spoke to ESPN's Holly Rowe on ESPN2 following the selection show.

"It was tough, very tough to watch," Wright said. "We were definitely hoping to be a higher seed, especially with the season we had. We won the regular season, we just won the ACCs yesterday. You would think we would be a little higher but it's OK. We've faced a lot of adversity this year, we've been successful. This is just another test. We're always going to compete with whoever steps on the field with us."

Wright led the Blue Devils with a 17-1 record and a 1.20 ERA in 2024. She earned the start against Florida State in the ACC championship game, in which Duke earned a comeback 6-3 victory to win its second-ever ACC Softball Tournament championship game.

Despite finishing the season at 47-6 and toppling defending ACC champion and WCWS runner-up Florida State, the Blue Devils did not get the respect in the bracket they thought they deserved. Kurt McGuffin, chair of the Division I softball selection committee, explained the decision on the bracket reveal on ESPN2:

"Well, what drove Duke to 10 ... we had them in the top 10, looking at eight seeds. But Duke was basically a non-conference strength of schedule where they didn't play as many games in the top 25 as we'd like to see," McGuffin said. "They had two games in the top 25 in their non-conference strength of schedule. And then 58% of their games were in Quad 3 and 4. And we'd like to see more with a team like Duke, in the first and second quads."

Duke softball hosting the Durham Regional

Despite being snubbed for hosting a Super Regional, the Blue Devils are not backing down from their competition. They open at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday against Morgan State. South Carolina and Utah are the other teams in the regional. With 47 wins, the Blue Devils are just one win off the program record of 48, set last season. They have reached the Super Regional twice in team history, both in the last two seasons.

However, they are seeking to break through to the WCWS in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for the first time. Wright said if they continue to play the way they have, they will take care of the result.

"We're just ourselves; we're having fun," Wright said. We're competing, we're unleashing, we're just being everything Duke softball is. That's being a 'free swaggy dog.' We're having fun and being the best versions of ourselves."

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke softball's Jala Wright: Selection show was 'very tough to watch'