LSU bounced back from a poor season last year to return to the NCAA Women's Tournament.
California survived a poor conference season this year to get into the tournament.
Both teams are happy to continue their recent history of playing in the big dance as the No. 8-seeded Tigers (20-11) and the No. 9-seeded Golden Bears (19-13) meet in a first-round game in the Oklahoma City Regional on Saturday in Waco, Texas.
Both teams felt some anxiety as they waited to hear for sure that they had received at-large bids.
"This team has worked extremely hard to put themselves in this position to see our name called," LSU coach Nikki Fargas said.