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Start time for Super Regionals does Florida fans a massive disservice

Game one against Texas Tech will be an early one
ByBenjamin Henderson|
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May 17, 2026; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators infielder Gabi Comia (10) and Florida Gators pitcher Caroline Stanton (1) celebrate with teammates placing the Florida sticker on the NCAA Regionals bracket after the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
May 17, 2026; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators infielder Gabi Comia (10) and Florida Gators pitcher Caroline Stanton (1) celebrate with teammates placing the Florida sticker on the NCAA Regionals bracket after the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

For the third straight season, the Florida Gators are set to host Super Regionals with a berth to the WCWS on the line. The Gators will also have one of the more intriguing matchups of the weekend as Texas Tech and star pitcher NiJaree Canady come to town. This weekend will also be a reunion with 2B Mia Williams, who transferred out from Florida to Texas Tech after last season. 

Game two of this series is on ABC at 12:30 PM on Saturday and will be a major opportunity for Florida to showcase its program. The problem is that for the third season in a row, game one has been scheduled for a time that is far from convenient for most Gator fans.

Florida and Texas Tech get an early start time for game one

Game one of Florida’s Super Regional against Texas Tech is slated for Friday at 11 AM.

No, that is not a misprint.

This is now back-to-back years Florida has hosted Super Regionals and has had game one start at 11 AM on a Friday. This is after game one against Baylor in 2024, which was at 12 PM on Friday.

The reason for the early start time is simple:

ESPN wants all-day coverage of Super Regionals to fill the airwaves, and for the sport of softball as a whole, it is a massive step forward to get wall-to-wall coverage like this. It wasn’t that long ago that Super Regionals were crammed into a two-day event, rather than having one game a day to spread things out.

But the problem is that for Florida fans who have followed this program all season long, or even for Florida fans who want to jump on the bandwagon and support the team, 11 AM on a Friday does nobody any favors except for TV executives.

Sure, there will be people who will have the day off since Friday leads into Memorial Day Weekend, but a good chunk of Gator fans will still have work at 11 AM on Friday. 

The reality is that there also isn’t much Florida could have done to get out of the 11 AM timeslot, as Tennessee is the only other Super Regional host even in the Eastern Time Zone, and as long as ESPN keeps insisting on 11 AM games on a Friday, Florida is going to keep getting slotted into it.

The one bright spot is that Florida got a taste of early softball all weekend during the Regional round, and it is going to be 10 AM local time for Texas Tech when they take the field.

Game one will be on ESPN2, with game two at 12:30 PM on ABC. If there is a game three, that will be on Sunday at a time to be determined. 

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