The path to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) is a long one filled with ups and downs over the course of a grueling softball season.

For the eight teams that run through the gauntlet and qualify for the WCWS, the reward is a shot at a national championship. All that stands in each team’s way are seven other programs vying for the same title.

All the records have reset, and we’re back to a double-elimination setting for these eight programs. That means every at-bat is crucial. Every swing, every strikeout, every hit matters more.

For upperclassmen, this is their swan song. For underclassmen, the WCWS is something of a crash course in grit, determination and greatness. For fans? It’s high-intensity fun.

When all is said and done, seven teams will leave empty handed and one will leave ecstatic, on the top of the college softball mountain. So let’s break down the field.

No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners

Record: 50-7
Head Coach: Patty Gasso (1,565-359-2)
Best WCWS Result: National champions (eight times)

The Sooners stumbled in the middle of the season after jumping out to an incredible 28-0 start. Oklahoma lost to Tennessee, Alabama and Florida before figuring it out, but as a result the Sooners finished with their most losses since 2017.

That being said, the Sooners are peaking at the right time. They’ve outscored their tournament opponents 45-7 (with a .414 batting average) and ace Sam Landry is 5-0 with a 0.88 ERA in her last five outings.

No. 3 Florida Gators

Record: 48-15
Head Coach: Tim Walton (1,109-302)
Best WCWS Result: National champions (two times)

The Gators have an explosive offense. Among the eight teams remaining, Florida is second in on-base percentage (.447), third in slugging percentage (.596), second in home runs (107) and first in walks (295).

Pitching has been a question mark at time for the Gators, but ace Keagan Rothrock was the 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year award winner and has been brilliant for most of the year.

No. 6 Texas Longhorns

Record: 51-11
Head Coach: Mike White (746-203-3)
Best WCWS Result: Runner-up (two times)

Experience is an invaluable asset when it comes to the WCWS. The Longhorns have plenty of it. Of nine Texas players with at least 100 at-bats this season, eight of them have played in the WCWS.

That experience is probably what kept the Longhorns from panicking after going 7-7 in their final 14 games of the season and then being on the verge of elimination against Clemson in the super regionals.

Teagan Kavan, Citlaly Gutierrez and Mac Morgan were electric to start the season, but have faltered of late. However, the Longhorns will need these three (who are exceptionally experienced) to buckle down and get back to their dominant ways.

No. 7 Tennessee Lady Volunteers

Record: 45-14
Head Coach: Karen Weekly (1,130-354-2)
Best WCWS Result: Runner-up (two times)

Depending on who you ask, the Lady Volunteers might just have the best player in the country in pitcher Karlyn Pickens (although this is debatable and Texas Tech would definitely take exception). The junior hurler is 24-9 with a 1.00 ERA this season, despite pitching against a who’s-who of hitters across college softball.

Tennessee will need her to be at her very best, too—on nine different occasions, the Lady Vols have scored one or fewer runs.

No. 9 UCLA Bruins

Record: 53-11
Head Coach: Kelly Inouye-Perez (871-220-1)
Best WCWS Result: National champions (13 times)

Dating back to 1982, the Bruins have missed the WCWS just nine times. That seemed so undoable that we double and triple-checked it to make sure.

That shows you just how consistently great the Bruins have been.

The 2025 Bruins aren’t necessarily a group of sluggers, but still feature a great lineup. In fact, among tournament teams, UCLA has three players in the top five in extra-base hits: Jordan Woolery, Megan Grant and Savannah Pola.

No. 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders

Record: 50-12
Head Coach: Gerry Glasco (349-99)
Best WCWS Result: N/A (first appearance)

If Pickens isn’t the best player in the nation, then NiJaree Canady is. After spending two years at Stanford, compiling a 41-10 record and 0.67 ERA, Canady joined the Red Raiders and didn’t miss a beat.

She’s currently 29-5 with a 0.89 ERA (the best in the nation) and 276 strikeouts. Canady simply doesn’t get into jams very often, and when she does her stuff is so nasty she can get out of them with relative ease.

Which is great for the Red Raiders, because their lineup might be the weakest of the teams in Oklahoma City.

No. 16 Oregon Ducks

Record: 53-8
Head Coach: Melyssa Lombardi (238-114)
Best WCWS Result: Third Place (two times)

Texas A&M stumbled and Oregon pounced. The Aggies were the No. 1 overall seed, but were upset in stunning fashion by the Liberty Flames. The Ducks had very little interest in taking part in a Cinderella story and quickly dispatched the Flames in two games.

The Ducks have two pitchers (Lyndsey Grein and Elise Sokolsky) who can be handed the ball in any situation and succeed. At the plate, they have nine players with 100+ at bats this season, seven of whom have an on-base percentage at least .415.

They’re also nightmares on the base paths. Only three teams in the WCWS have stolen 72 or more bases, but Oregon clocks in with 172 of them.

The only real downside to Oregon is that the team strikes out a lot. And in the WCWS, where every team is throwing its ace, things could get dicey.

More on Sports Illustrated

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Autumn Courtney of the Florida Atlantic softball team has been named the fifth All American in program history. The junior pitcher was selected to the NFCA All-American Third Team, as announced by the organization on Wednesday. 
 
Courtney adds the accolade to one of the most impressive seasons in Owls history (45-12) on both an individual and team basis. After being named to the NFCA Gulf All-Region First Team, she led Florida Atlantic to its first NCAA Regional victory since 2016, her 24th win of the season. 
 
In her first campaign as an Owl, Courtney finished with a record of 24-4, tied for 11th in the nation in wins, to go with an ERA of 2.03, 32nd nationally. She struck out 172 batters, 30th most in Division I and the most by an FAU pitcher since fellow All-American Kylee Hanson in 2016. Courtney also conceded just 3.97 hits per seven innings, the fourth lowest in the nation.  
 
With four American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week awards and two additional honorable mentions, Courtney was the unanimous AAC Pitcher of the Year as well as a selection to the First Team. She later earned a spot on the conference’s All-Tournament team after allowing just one hit and no earned runs to go with seven strikeouts in a complete game performance in the semifinals.
 
Arriving for her junior year after two seasons in Queens, Courtney achieved 500 career strikeouts in her eighth appearance as an Owl on February 22. She later earned her 50th career victory on March 28 against UTSA.
 
This marks the first time in program history in which Florida Atlantic has earned an All-American honor in back-to-back seasons, with Courtney following Trinity Schlotterbeck in 2024.  
 
FOLLOW THE OWLS
To follow the team socially, visit @fausoftball, or for the most up-to-date information, go to www.fausports.com.
 

Alabama baseball is coming off its best regular season in the recent history of the program.

With a roster that includes a top MLB draft prospect heading into next year in shortstop Justin Lebron, Alabama (41-16) reached 40 wins in a regular season for the first time since 2002.

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Dropping two of three to the Florida Gators to close the regular season and then losing on Day 2 of the SEC Tournament to Tennessee cost Alabama a shot at a host site regional for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but the Crimson Tide got a pretty favorable postseason draw regardless. They’re in the Hattiesburg Regional featuring No. 16 overall seed and host Southern Miss (44-14).

To look at it another way, Alabama essentially finished one spot below the host seed line and drew the lowest-seeded team of the 16 regional hosts. The Crimson Tide join the Miami Hurricanes (31-24) and Columbia Lions (29-17) from the Ivy League in Hattiesburg, only about two and a half hours by car down Interstate 59 from Tuscaloosa.

Here’s where Alabama baseball ranks in this week’s Top 25 polls entering the NCAA Tournament.

NCBWA updated Top 25 ranking for Alabama baseball

In the latest Top 25 poll from the NCBWA (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association), Alabama fell four spots to No. 19 following their 15-10 loss to Tennessee at the SEC Tournament in Hoover. The Crimson Tide enter the NCAA Tournament ranked one spot below No. 18 Northeastern (48-9) and one spot ahead of No. 20 UC Irvine (41-15).

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Southern Miss, which placed second in the Sun Belt regular season standings to Coastal Carolina and was runner-up in their conference tournament, is ranked No. 13.

LSU (43-14) tops the NCBWA poll at No. 1, followed by North Carolina (42-12) at No. 2, Vanderbilt (42-15) at No. 3, and Texas (42-14) at No. 4. Arkansas (43-13) rounds out the top five.

The SEC has 10 teams in the NCBWA poll as regionals begin, the most of any conference. The ACC is second with five teams in the NCBWA’s poll.

D1 Baseball updated Top 25 ranking for Alabama

D1 Baseball has Alabama at No. 24 in their new rankings, down one spot from last week. UC Irvine ranks one spot ahead of the Tide, while Kansas rounds out the top 25.

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UNC topped D1 Baseball’s rankings at No. 1. The Tar Heels were also No. 1 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and are the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Alabama is ranked No. 20 in the Coaches Poll, up one spot from last week.

Baseball America, Perfect Game ranking for Alabama

Baseball America and Perfect Game did not unveil new rankings after conference tournaments. In the most recent Baseball America poll on May 19, Alabama was ranked No. 18 following the regular season. The Crimson Tide were No. 20 in Perfect Game and No. 16 in The Athletic’s rankings.

Alabama’s regional schedule

The Crimson Tide, the No. 2 seed in the Hattiesburg Regional, opens the 2025 NCAA Tournament against No. 3 seed Miami at Pete Taylor Park Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on ESPN2. As the higher seed, Alabama will be the designated home team against Miami.

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After Alabama-Miami, Southern Miss will face No. 4 seed Columbia at 6 p.m.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinion.

This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama baseball’s ranking in Top 25 poll entering NCAA Tournament

The current landscape of college football has had its critiques due to the growth of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals and the NCAA Transfer Portal. USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley has been a big part of many of the changes in college football recently.

The USC Trojans were one of the many teams involved in a conference realignment in 2024. USC is one of the four teams (UCLA, Oregon, Washington, USC) to leave the Pac-12 and enter the Big Ten with Riley’s help. He has also been involved in postseason changes as well as changing rivalries.

The changes in college football have left many concerned about where the sport is heading. Riley appeared on Always College Football, and gave his opinions on the changing landscape and people should be concerned.

“If you love college football, then are you gonna scroll on your TV past USC-Ohio State? No, you’re not. All of these things have to start somewhere,” Riley told Always College Football. “So, is there some changes that I understand people are having a hard time coming to grips with? Sure. Again, I get it.”

Riley and USC have recently been under fire for not wanting to sign a multi-year extension that would keep the Trojans facing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish each season. While it is one of the most historic rivalries in college football that has only ever been put on hold twice due to unforeseen circumstances, there is a chance it could be ending. 

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One major factor as to why the USC-Notre Dame rivalry may be coming to an end is because of the conference realignment and the intense travel the Trojans have to do each season. Riley spoke about fans being frustrated about the changes, and that they should be more excited about the matchups they can watch.

“The alternative is pretty darn good. It’s creating some incredible matchups and seeing how the Playoff played out this year, and obviously, that’s going to continue to evolve and just get I think better,” Riley said. “Our sport’s in a great place.”

The College Football Playoff structure is continuing to evolve. Last season was the first time the 12-team expansion was utilized and was filled with much excitement. In the upcoming season, the structure is changing to straight-seeding, and in the future, another expansion could occur.

USC is one of the many teams monitoring to see if the structure changes so the top four teams in the conference get an automatic qualification. Riley comes from the point of view that instead of looking at what is being lost with the changes to the sport, to be more excited about what is to come.

“I know everybody’s got an opinion on NIL, rev share, and the settlement. I get it. There’s all that stuff. Listen, we just sat through 10 days of Big Ten meetings where that’s all we’re listening to, but despite all that, we still have one of the greatest products in the greatest sport in the world,” Riley continued.

The USC Trojans finished the season with a 7-6 record, going 4-5 in Big Ten conference play. With a year of playing in the Big Ten, Riley and the Trojans are looking to turn things around and make a push for the College Football Playoff.

NCAA Athens Regional  •  May 30-June 2  •  Athens, Ga.  •  Foley Field (3,633)

TV: SEC Network/ESPNU (Mike Ferrin & Jensen Lewis)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network & The Varsity App    KSPI 93.7 FM / KSPI 780 AM    okla.state/GetVarsity    (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
X: @osubaseball (in-game scoreboard/updates)
Series: vs. Duke: Cowboys lead, 2-0
             vs. Georgia: Tied, 1-1
             vs. Binghamton: Cowboys lead, 4-0

• Oklahoma State is 28-23 and has won 10 of its last 12 games. The Cowboys received an NCAA Regional at-large berth, marking their 12th consecutive NCAA tourney appearance. 

 

• OSU finished seventh in the Big 12 standings with a 15-12 conference record. 

 

• Up next, the third-seeded Cowboys open play at the NCAA Athens Regional with a matchup against No. 2 seed Duke Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT).

 

• The Pokes own a .254 team batting average and .461 slugging percentage and are averaging 6.6 runs per game. Brayden Smith leads OSU with a .312 batting average and 14 doubles, while Nolan Schubart paces the Cowboys with 17 homers and 54 RBIs. 

 

• OSU’s pitching staff sports a 4.33 ERA; the Cowboys rank among the nation’s best in shutouts (5), strikeouts per nine innings (9.8) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.64). 

 

• Host and No. 7 national seed Georgia brings a 42-15 record into the Regional. The Bulldogs posted an 18-12 record in SEC play. UGA is making the 15th NCAA Regional appearance in program history and second in a row. 
• Head coach Wes Johnson owns an 85-32 in his two seasons at UGA.

 

• Duke is 37-19 on the season, which includes a 17-13 mark in the ACC. The Blue Devils are making their third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and 12th in program history.
• In his 13th season leading the Blue Devils, head coach Chris Pollard owns a 416-294 record.  

 

• Binghamton enters tourney play with a 29-24 mark. The Bearcats went 13-11 in the America East Conference before winning the league’s tourney title. BU is making its sixth overall NCAA Regional appearance and first since 2022.
• Head coach Tom Sinicki is in his 33rd season as Binghamton’s head coach and owns a career record of 729-742-9.

Cowboys At The NCAA Baseball Championship

• Oklahoma State is making its 50th appearance in the NCAA Baseball Championship, which is tied for the third most all time with Miami (FL) and behind only Texas (64) and Florida State (61).

 

• OSU owns a 159-106 (.600) record in the NCAA tourney, with the 159 wins sixth on the all-time list. The Cowboys’ 20 College World Series appearances are tied for sixth all time.

 

• The Cowboys are seeking to advance to the sixth NCAA Super Regional in program history (1999, 2007, 2014, 2016, 2019). Should the Cowboys advance out of the Athens Regional, they will face the winner of the NCAA Oxford Regional in a Super Regional.

 

• OSU has made an NCAA Regional each season under 13th-year head coach Josh Holliday. It is the Cowboys’ 12th NCAA appearance under his direction — there was no NCAA tourney in 2020 after the remainder of the season was cancelled in March due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

 

• The Pokes are 25-23 in NCAA tourney play under Holliday — 20-17 in Regionals, 3-4 in Super Regionals and 2-2 at the College World Series. During his tenure, the Cowboys have made seven NCAA Regional finals appearances and earned three Super Regional berths. In 2016, Holliday led his alma mater to the 20th College World Series in program history.

 

• This year marks the fourth under Holliday that the Pokes are a No. 3 seed (2013, 2017 & 2018). OSU was a No. 1 seed in 2014, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023 & 2024 and was a No. 2 seed in 2016 and 2021.

STARKVILLE – Sierra Sacco is a consensus All-American after earning First Team recognition from the NFCA on Wednesday. She joins Bulldog legend Mia Davidson as the only players in school history to be recognized by three different outlets in the same season.
 
Sacco was also tabbed First Team by Softball America and Second Team by D1Softball. She is Mississippi State’s eighth player to be recognized by the NFCA, and her selection is the program’s 18th honor from the coaches’ association. She has earned State’s 13th First Team honor from the NFCA.
 
Mississippi State has had at least one All-American in three of the last four seasons, and Sacco is the first outfielder recognized since Iyhia McMichael was a First Team selection by the NFCA in 2004.
 
Sacco, who was selected with the fifth overall pick in the AUSL College Draft, signed with the Talons last week to continue her career among the professional ranks. In her final collegiate season, she posted a .450 average that ranked fourth in program history and 12th nationally. Her 1.286 OPS ranks sixth in MSU single-season history, and she finished the year second all-time for runs (64) and third for doubles (19) in a season. Sacco finished her final year among the top 20 nationally in doubles (11th), hits (12th), runs (17th) and batting average.
 
In addition to her national ranks, the First Team All-SEC selection led the conference in batting average and doubles while landing among the top five in hits (3rd), runs (5th), total bases (4th) and on-base percentage (4th). According to 643 Charts, her 5.7 wins above replacement ranked fourth nationally among outfielders.
 
Sacco collected 32 extra-base hits this year, which was more than the previous three years of her career combined (27). She posted 27 multi-hit games, which ranked sixth in State’s single-season records, and 13 multi-RBI games. Her 22 two-out RBIs were sixth in MSU single-season history.
 
Along with the impact she made at the plate, the Bulldogs’ centerfielder was perfect defensively in her MSU career. In 157 career chances at State, she made no errors while recording five outfield assists, four of which came in 2025. She is the first Bulldog outfielder with back-to-back errorless seasons while seeing at least 50 chances in both since 2014. From 2001 to her arrival in 2024, a Bulldog outfielder had been perfect with at least 50 chances only five times.
 
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching “HailStateSB.”