The Women’s College World Series field is set with softball’s final eight teams heading to Oklahoma City, Okla., to continue the chase for a national title.
The field is led by defending champion Oklahoma. The No. 2 Sooners will be joined by No. 1 Texas, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 6 UCLA, No. 8 Stanford, No. 10 Duke and No. 14 Alabama. Oklahoma has won the past three championships and five of the past seven.
The WCWS opens play on Thursday: UCLA versus Alabama (Noon); Oklahoma versus Duke (2:30 p.m.); Texas versus Stanford (7 p.m.); Florida versus Oklahoma State (9:30 p.m.). ESPN will broadcast all four games.
The OKC 8️⃣ 🥎#WCWS pic.twitter.com/4iFnwB1EKb
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 27, 2024
How did the teams get here?
Texas: The Longhorns pulled out Game 3 of their Super Regional series against rival Texas A&M on Sunday and did most of their work in that series late in games, scoring 16 of their 20 runs in the sixth inning or later. The teams combined for a Super Regional record of 39 runs.
Oklahoma: The Sooners’ dynasty continues as they punched their ticket to Oklahoma City with a 2-0 series win over No. 15 Florida State. This year marks Oklahoma’s 12th WCWS appearance since 2010.
Florida: It was a record-setting day in Gainesville, Fla., where Gators sophomore catcher Jocelyn Erickson tied the Florida single-season RBI record with a sacrifice fly to right field for a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Florida never looked back and won Game 3 at home over Baylor for its 12th WCWS appearance.
Oklahoma State: The Cowgirls advanced in dominant fashion over Arizona — sweeping the series by a combined score of 18-4. Oklahoma City is just an hour away from Stillwater, which is always a welcomed home-field advantage.
UCLA: The Bruins avenged a disappointing 2023 finish (a home loss in the opening round) to advance to their eighth WCWS in the past 10 seasons. The Bruins routed No. 11 Georgia by a combined 14-1 margin.
Stanford: The Cardinal outlasted No. 9 LSU with back-to-back shutouts after losing the opening game. They scored seven runs in the fifth inning of Game 3 to pull away for an 8-0 win.
Duke: The Blue Devils went on the road to upset No. 7 Missouri and advance to the WCWS for the first time in program history. Duke won the decisive game 4-3 on Sunday in nine innings. Duke lost to Oklahoma 3-0 to open the season.
Alabama: The Crimson Tide took the most unlikely path to the WCWS by upsetting No. 3 Tennessee. That series featured the longest game in Super Regional history on Saturday (14 innings), and Alabama followed that up with a 4-1 win on Sunday with four first-inning runs.
(Photo of Tiare Jennings: Bryan Terry / USA Today)
