ST. LOUIS - The field for the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Softball Championship, presented by Catch Des Moines, hosted by Drake University, is set for the upcoming week’s events in Des Moines, Iowa (Wednesday-Saturday, May 7-10).
Southern Illinois won the MVC softball regular-season championship and earned the No. 1 seed for the league championship for a second-straight year. The Salukis finished the season with an overall record of 31-19 and a conference record of 21-5. This marks the sixth time in Southern Illinois' history that it has earned the No. 1 seed and regular-season crown. The Salukis look to win their third-straight MVC Softball Championship and begin play on Thursday, May 8, at 10:00 AM CT versus the winner of No. 8 Drake-No. 9 Murray State.
On Wednesday, May 7, the championship begins with the host institution Drake taking on Murray State at 10:00 AM CT. Shortly after, No. 5 Missouri State takes on No. 12 UIC at 1:00 PM CT. No. 7 Bradley will take on No. 10 Valparaiso at 4:00 PM CT, and No. 6 Indiana State will play No. 11 Evansville at 7:00 PM CT to end the first day.
Following the first game of the day on Thursday (SIU vs. Drake/Murray State), the winner of the No. 5 Missouri State and No. 12 UIC contest will move on to face No. 4 Illinois State on Thursday, May 8, at 1:00 PM CT. Second-seeded Belmont will await the winner of Bradley-Valparaiso game at 4:00 PM CT. The winner of the Indiana State-Evansville contest will play No. 3 UNI at 7:00 PM CT on Thursday.
Top-seeded SIU is seeking its sixth MVC tournament trophy. Over the last five seasons, SIU has five total softball titles, with three tournament titles (2021, 2023, 2024) and now back-to-back regular-season titles (2024, 2025). SIU, in its history, has six regular-season titles and five tournament titles. Second-seeded Belmont is seeking its first MVC Tournament title in softball, while third-seeded UNI has two previous softball tourney crowns. Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Illinois State and fifth-seeded Missouri State each have six previous MVC tournament championships in softball.
There were two ties in the standings. Illinois State (16-11) won the tiebreaker against Missouri State (16-11), as the Redbirds earned a series win against the Bears. And Evansville (5-22) won the tiebreaker against UIC (5-22) due to strength of conference schedule.