Defending champion Texas played with fire, defending runner-up Texas Tech really played with fire, and for the first time in over a decade, Oklahoma, the dynasty, got burned.
It looked for a little while Sunday as if each of the top three teams in the preseason softball poll was going to miss out on a trip to the Women’s College World Series, but even if two of them managed to survive, the Sooners, six-time champions in the past decade alone, won’t be in Oklahoma City.
Who will take advantage? Will we see a Longhorn repeat? Will Tech rediscover its pitching and take the final step? Will top-ranked Alabama keep rolling after outscoring its first five NCAA tournament opponents by a combined 31-1? Can Nebraska keep riding the great Jordy Frahm to a first title? Is it finally Tennessee’s turn? Will Arkansas keep run-ruling almost everyone it sees? Can UCLA bash its way to its first title in seven years? After taking down the big dog, is Mississippi State simply destiny’s team?
The WCWS will feature lots of heavyweights (and plenty of SEC teams). Who best manages the moment? Here’s what you need to know about each quarterfinalist.
Jump to:
Alabama | Texas | Nebraska
Arkansas | Tennessee | UCLA
Texas Tech | Mississippi State
No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide
Record: 54-7
Head coach: Patrick Murphy (1,371-403 career)
Best WCWS result: National champion (2012)
First WCWS opponent: No. 8 UCLA (Thursday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
The Alabama softball program has existed for 29 years and Patrick Murphy has been the head coach for 27 of them. His Tide are almost always excellent, but they might now be staring at their best chance at a national title since their last finals appearance in 2014. With other favorites struggling last weekend in the super regionals, Bama simply mauled LSU, winning two drama-free games by a combined score of 11-1.
Biggest strength: They’re the No. 1 seed, and they look like it. It’s hard to top a 0.21 ERA, but that’s what Bama has posted in the postseason so far. Jocelyn Briski (23-3 with a 1.03 ERA for the season) has pitched 17 scoreless innings with 23 K’s, while freshman Vic Moten (21-4, 1.66) has given up just one run and seven baserunners in 10 innings.
Their bats haven’t quite sizzled like some others’, but they’ve still gotten a combined six postseason home runs and 17 RBIs, with a 1.361 OPS, from the combo of center fielder Audrey Vandagriff, second baseman Jena Young and catcher Alexis Pupillo. First baseman Brook Wells hasn’t gotten going in the NCAAs yet — she’s 3-for-18 with eight K’s and nine left on base — but she still has a 1.364 OPS and a team-leading 23 homers for the season.
Potentially fatal flaw: Swing-and-misses. There are some excellent strikeout pitchers in the WCWS, and Bama’s batters are more than happy to whiff a bit. Out of 308 Division I teams, Bama ranks 195th with a 14.1% strikeout rate for the season, and Ambrey Taylor (23.4%), Vandagriff (19.0%), catcher Marlie Giles (17.0%) and Wells (14.6%) are even higher than that. Briski and Moten don’t need a ton of help, but it’s possible that the bats go cold at an inopportune time.
No. 2 Texas Longhorns
Record: 47-11
Head coach: Mike White (363-104-2 career)
Best WCWS result: National champions (2025)
First WCWS opponent: No. 7 Tennessee (Thursday, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
After a brilliant 31-1 start, Mike White’s Longhorns wobbled, losing seven of 11 games at one point and dropping a series to Arkansas late in the regular season. They won the SEC tournament and swept three NCAA regional games by a combined 25-1, but then they lost the opening game of the super regionals to Arizona State and fell behind 3-2 heading into the sixth inning of the second game. Victoria Hunter’s two-run, pinch-hit home run saved the day, however, and after a Game 3 win they’re heading back to OKC.
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Victoria Hunter gives Texas the lead with a 2-run homer
Victoria Hunter gives Texas the lead with a 2-run homer
Biggest strength: Knowledge. Of the eight teams in this WCWS field, only Texas and UCLA have won a national title in the past 10 years, and five have never won it at all. Of the 10 starters from last year’s title decider, seven are still on the Texas team. This roster is the most battle-tested in OKC. Ace Teagan Kavan has been knocked around a few times this season, but she shut out ASU in last weekend’s decider. For the season, Texas has had basically the fourth-best offense of any WCWS team and the fourth-best pitching, but the Longhorns are as likely as anyone to raise their game when it matters.
Potentially fatal flaw: Do we trust the bats? No WCWS team has struck out more in the NCAA tournament than Texas, and no team has swung and missed more. The Longhorns are clearly good offensively, but they have a couple of blind spots near the bottom of the lineup, and Reese Atwood — among the biggest standouts of last year’s title run — has swung at almost half the pitches she has seen this year and has left over 100 players on base. They needed a pinch hitter with only 26 at-bats all season to save them against ASU. That has to be cause for just a little bit of concern.
No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Record: 51-6
Head coach: Rhonda Revelle (1,221-686 career)
Best WCWS result: National runner-up (1985)
First WCWS opponent: No. 5 Arkansas (Thursday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
On Thursday, it will have been two months since Nebraska last lost a game. That game was a 6-5 loss to UCLA that the Huskers avenged, 8-4, the next day. They swept their last five Big Ten opponents, then rolled through three Big Ten tournament games and five NCAA tournament games. In her 34th season in charge in Lincoln, Rhonda Revelle has her best team to date, and it wouldn’t be particularly surprising if Nebraska’s ninth WCWS appearance were its most successful.
Biggest strength: Jordy Frahm has been here. Frahm was 44-2 with a 0.99 ERA in two national title-winning seasons at Oklahoma before transferring back home; honestly, in the three seasons since, the Sooners haven’t figured out how to replace her. But after an injury redshirt, Frahm and a delightful 2025 transfer haul transformed the Huskers. This season, two more key transfers — center fielder Hannah Coor (an OU backup in 2024 and 2025) and catcher Jesse Farrell (UNLV) — have teamed with a big batch of veterans to create the Big Ten’s most complete team.
Frahm is still the star, though. Not only is she 20-4 with a 1.14 ERA and 234 strikeouts in 171.2 innings, but she’s also by far the Huskers’ best hitter, with 19 HRs and a 1.338 OPS. Frahm and Alexis Jensen have struck out 53 batters in 33 postseason innings, and NU might be the best defensive team in the WCWS, too. But it starts with the champ.
Potentially fatal flaw: Most of Frahm’s teammates haven’t been here. Texas Tech rode NiJaree Canady’s arm (and occasional hitting) to within one game of a national title last season, and Frahm is a better hitter than Canady. So we know there’s precedent for a team unused to the moment making a run. But a lot of players new to this stage will need to come up big.
No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks
Record: 47-11
Head coach: Courtney Deifel (406-190 career)
Best WCWS result: First appearance
First WCWS opponent: No. 4 Nebraska (Thursday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Finally, a breakthrough. After four super regional defeats in eight years — including losses at home to an unseeded conference foe in both 2022 and 2025 — Courtney Deifel’s Arkansas Razorbacks left no doubt over the past two weeks, run-ruling five straight opponents by a combined 51-10 to reach their first WCWS. In terms of raw dominance, no one has been better thus far in the NCAAs.
Biggest strength: The bats are peaking at the right time. Fifty-one runs in five games! Five run-rule wins! This is some hitting.
The Hogs’ bats had cooled off in April; they were held to one run in three of their past six SEC games. But second baseman Karlie Davison is 7-for-13 with four HRs and 13 RBIs in the NCAAs, while first baseman Tianna Bell has three HRs, and left fielder Dakota Kennedy is 10-for-17 with two homers. Among WCWS teams, the Razorbacks rank third in OPS, behind only the otherworldly UCLA and Texas Tech offenses. But they’re as hot as anyone.
Potentially fatal flaw: They give up dingers, too. Hogs pitchers have produced a solid 2.52 ERA for the season — 12th nationally but seventh among WCWS teams. They don’t give up a ton of baserunners, but they’ve allowed a home run rate of 3.0%, 224th nationally. Ace Robyn Herron has allowed 3.6%. Hell, even in the five recent run-rule wins, they allowed five homers. Needless to say, there will be plenty of power hitters in OKC, and the Razorbacks’ bats might need to remain smoking hot to account for that.
No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers
Record: 47-10
Head coach: Karen Weekly (1,389-457-3 career)
Best WCWS result: Two-time national runner-up (most recent: 2013)
First WCWS opponent: No. 2 Texas (Thursday, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Texas needed three trips to the national finals before finally enjoying a breakthrough last season. Karen Weekly’s Volunteers hope the third time’s the charm for them, too. They reached the WCWS semis in 2023 and 2025, and they’re back with the best pitching in the nation: Co-aces Karlyn Pickens and Sage Mardjetko are a combined 29-9 this season with a 1.34 ERA and 345 K’s in 251.1 innings pitched.
Biggest strength: It’s Pickens’ moment (or maybe it’s Mardjetko’s?). Pickens was one of the stars of last year’s postseason. She was an absolute workhorse, but in Mardjetko — and, honestly, No. 3 pitcher Erin Nuwer as well — she has backup this time. She has thrown only 132.1 innings to date, far fewer than last year, and she was certainly fresh in the super regionals, pitching a complete-game, 3-1 win with 10 strikeouts against Georgia.
Pickens is ready, but amazingly, Mardjetko might be better: She has a 1.12 ERA with a higher strikeout rate and a lower walk rate. No one can match Pickens’ velocity, but Mardjetko can carry a team, too. Both keep the ball low — they have the third-highest ground ball-to-fly ball ratio in the country — and are comfortable working deep into counts. This duo is ridiculous.
Potentially fatal flaw: Can they score? Tennessee has lost 10 games this season and scored three or fewer wins in all 10. While we’re at it, the Volunteers have scored three or fewer runs in 12 wins. They’re 104th nationally in runs per game, seventh among WCWS teams (and nearly a full run per game behind the sixth team). Only three primary batters have an OPS over 1.000, and no one has hit over 13 home runs. This is a rock-fight sort of team, but it’ll take a decent number of runs to make it past the semis.
No. 8 UCLA Bruins
Record: 52-8
Head coach: Kelly Inouye-Perez (894-223-1 career)
Best WCWS result: 13-time national champions (most recent: 2019)
First WCWS opponent: No. 1 Alabama (Thursday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
This WCWS field has teams that can swing the bat but might not have the most reliable pitching in the world and teams that can pitch but aren’t quite as trustworthy with the bats. It also has UCLA, which basically plays a different sport than everyone else.
Kelly Inouye-Perez’s Bruins average 10.9 runs per game, 1.4 more than even the second-most prolific team in OKC (Texas Tech), and they allow 4.3 per game, 1.6 more than anyone else.
Biggest strength: Endless bats. You know how I said only three Tennessee players boast a 1.000 OPS or higher? UCLA has one player who doesn’t. Take stars Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery out of the picture, and the Bruins might still have the best offense in the WCWS thanks to left fielder Rylee Slimp, catcher Alexis Ramirez and even players like shortstop Aleena Garcia and third baseman Bri Alejandre, who have done more damage thus far in the NCAAs (seven homers, 19 RBIs) than Grant and Woolery.
Add the preposterous numbers of Grant (40 HRs, 87 RBIs, 1.983 OPS!) and Woolery (34 HRs, 112 RBI, 1.756 OPS), however, and everything goes to a different stratosphere.
Potentially fatal flaw: Ask Cal Baptist. UCLA’s path to the WCWS almost went off the rails immediately after the Bruins gave up a 10-run fifth inning to California Baptist in their opening game. They went from up 7-1 to down 11-7 as the Lancers small-balled their way to quite a few runs, then hit two homers to cap everything.
Of course, UCLA scored two in the sixth and three in the seventh to win 12-11. But in their eight losses this season, the Bruins have allowed 8.3 runs per game. They’ve allowed double-digit runs eight times. If everything goes awry in OKC, it’s pretty obvious what will probably happen.
To her credit, Taylor Tinsley has rallied since the CBU implosion. She gave up most of the damage in that game but has pitched all 25 innings since and has posted a solid 2.24, albeit with four homers allowed. With this offense, she just has to allow five or fewer runs.
No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders
Record: 56-7
Head coach: Gerry Glasco (110-21 career)
Best WCWS result: National runner-up (2025)
First WCWS opponent: Mississippi State (Thursday, noon ET, ESPN)
It evidently wasn’t enough to simply reach the WCWS for the second straight year — Texas Tech decided to constantly play with fire while doing so. The Red Raiders trailed in five of six games, and they trailed by eight twice. They pulled constant escape acts, rallying from 8-0 down (with two outs in the seventh!) against Ole Miss to win 10-9, blowing a 7-1 lead but beating Florida 10-8 anyway and blowing leads of 3-0 and 7-4 before run-ruling Florida 16-7. But they should probably try to go back to winning normal softball games now.
Biggest strength: They can beat you with the bats this time. Only UCLA can top what Tech’s bats bring to the table. After last year’s punchless attack still nearly won the national title, Gerry Glasco brought in some big bats — namely that of Southern Illinois transfer Jackie Lis (20 HRs, 71 RBIs, 1.477 OPS) and Florida transfer Mia Williams (24 HRs, 82 RBIs, 1.444 OPS). Against her former teammates in Gainesville last weekend, Williams was beaned five times (!) and walked once but still went 3-for-7 with two go-ahead homers. Tech can hit for power and can probably run the bases better than any other team in OKC; Mihyia Davis (37 stolen bases) and Williams (21) are particularly dangerous in this regard.
Potentially fatal flaw: Um, pitching somehow? OK, NiJaree Canady and Kaitlyn Terry, you can start pitching again.
After combining for a 1.27 ERA and a 2.3% HR rate allowed in the regular season, both have struggled terribly in the NCAAs.
Terry: 15 IP, 4.67 ERA, .974 OPS allowed, 8.3% HR rate allowed
Canady: 14.2 IP, 7.16 ERA, .973 OPS allowed, 7.2% HR rate allowed
Tech has allowed at least seven runs in four of six NCAA tournament games. Canady hasn’t been able to properly locate her rise ball and is throwing only 55% first-pitch strikes, which is getting her into obvious trouble. She did rally in the deciding game against Florida, giving up eventual runs against her first two batters but then pitching three scoreless innings. Still, the most celebrated player in softball now faces significant burden of proof before the final games of her career.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Record: 43-19
Head coach: Samantha Ricketts (241-138 career)
Best WCWS result: First appearance
First WCWS opponent: No. 11 Texas Tech (Thursday, noon ET, ESPN)
Samantha Ricketts, a two-time All-American at Oklahoma in the 2000s, led her Bulldogs to an earthshaking upset in Norman last week. It was a big deal that they even made the super regionals (for just the second time), especially after losing nine of their final 13 SEC games. But after shutting down Saint Mary’s and Oregon to win the Eugene Regional, they slayed softball’s Goliath.
Biggest strength: Team-of-destiny vibes. The two teams that beat OU in last year’s NCAA tournament met in the finals. It takes a pretty mammoth effort to take down the Sooners, but with a sudden blitz of nine runs in the final two innings, Mississippi State rallied to snag a Game 1 upset, and with a stunning pitching performance from surprise starter Delainey Everett, they won a 6-0 decider Sunday.
In her first start of the season, Everett was brilliantly stubborn, throwing nothing but curveballs and screwballs and keeping every pitch either low and undrivable or high and away. The Sooners grew increasingly impatient and went down without a major rally. The element of surprise worked beautifully, and now Ricketts knows she has a change of pace to offer opponents in addition to the sturdy work of lefty Alyssa Faircloth and righty Peja Goold.
Potentially fatal flaw: Worst bats in the WCWS. MSU pitchers have posted a 2.29 ERA for the season, eighth nationally and fifth among WCWS teams. Solid stuff. But the Bulldogs have by far the worst batting numbers: They score just 4.7 runs per game (171st nationally) with an 0.821 OPS (137th). They don’t strike out a ton, but they don’t walk much either, and Nadia Barbary and Kiarra Sells are the only two players with more than five homers. (They have 14 each.) What they did in Norman was brilliant, resourceful and timely. But it’s hard to win the whole thing with resourcefulness and the element of surprise.
