The 2026 Women’s College World Series ended on Thursday with the Texas Longhorns lifting the trophy for a second straight year.
This means the Red Rivalry between the Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners has claimed the last six Division I college softball championships and eight of the last 10. There was no WCWS in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was a surreal setting as the majority of Devon Park wore red and black, and the words “Raider Power” echoed into the night. But the Longhorns didn’t flinch, even when they gave up the lead in the first inning in both games.
By the end of seven innings, Texas was standing on the podium after sweeping the best-of-three series against Texas Tech by scores of 7-3 and 4-0.
The storyline entering the WCWS wasn’t even about who could win; it was about whether the event could sell without the Sooners or Oklahoma State Cowgirls playing in it.
Still, nearly 106,000 people walked through the gates of Devon Park to watch softball in Oklahoma City. Four sessions sold out, with Session 4 setting a new all-time attendance mark with 12,679 fans to watch the winner’s bracket games between Tennessee and Texas Tech and Alabama and Nebraska.
Session 4’s number cleared Session 2 and rewrote the record book with 12,605. The previous record, set in 2025, was 12,595. The 2026 WCWS averaged 11,769 overall.
On television, ESPN revealed Game 2 of the two-game championship series set a college softball viewership record.
Game 2 of the championship series between Texas Tech and Texas averaged 2.48 million viewers on ESPN and ESPNU on June 4. The game peaked at 3 million, up 16 percent from Game 2 between the same two schools last year (2.13 million).
Overall, WCWS viewership was up 20 percent from 2025, averaging 1.6 million viewers across 16 games on ESPN networks. This marks the most-watched WCWS ever, surpassing last season’s previous all-time high.
The entire three-week NCAA Tournament averaged 755,000 viewers across ESPN networks, up 28 percent year-over-year. That marks the best NCAA Softball Tournament audience since 2011.
Super Regional was the most-watched NCAA Super Regional weekend on record for ESPN, averaging 695,000 viewers, up 48 percent year-over-year and scoring three of the most-watched Super Regional games in history.
- Arizona State/Texas (May 24) – 1.3 million viewers (Peak: 1.4 million)
- Texas Tech-Florida (May 23) – 1.1 million viewers (Peak: 1.3 million)
- Nebraska-Oklahoma State (May 23) – 1.1 million viewers (Peak: 1.3 million)
Regional weekend was the best since 2016, with four of the top match-ups since 2019.
- Texas/Baylor (May 17) – 683,000 viewers (Peak: 1.1 million)
- Wisconsin/Texas (May 16) – 665,000 viewers (Peak: 1.1 million)
- Virginia/Tennessee (May 16) – 600,000 viewers (Peak: 665,000)
- Texas A&M/ Arizona State (May 17) – 569,000 viewers (Peak: 697,000)
Transfer portal chaos
The transfer portal window opened on June 8 and will close on June 22.
The number of students who entered on the first day was staggering, as more than 1,500 softball players from all three NCAA divisions were listed in the portal. It’s important that not all transfers entered the portal on the first day.
Keep track of the biggest names in the transfer portal with Softball On SI here.
This week in softball
Two college softball programs will not play Texas Tech following athletic director statements
Former Oregon softball Gold Glove winner announces breast cancer diagnosis
The biggest name in softball is absent as AUSL season opens
Texas softball parts ways with key coach after back-to-back national titles
Oklahoma softball All-American outfielder reportedly enters transfer portal
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
