Welcome to the first edition of Softball Insider, a new newsletter powered by The IX Sports.
I’m your insider, Maren Angus-Coombs. If you’ve seen my name before, it has definitely been softball-related. I’m currently the publisher of Softball On SI and have been covering the sport professionally since 2016.
I am beyond excited to bring you a weekly newsletter covering hot topics in the sport, and we are launching at the perfect time. As you are reading this, I am en route to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series (WCWS).
This year’s field includes Alabama, Texas, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Tennessee and UCLA. Let’s take a look at how each of the eight teams clinched their WCWS berths.
How did we get here?
Bracket 1
- No. 5 Mississippi State Bulldogs (43-19, 9-15 SEC)
- No. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders (56-7, 21-3 Big 12)
- No. 2 Tennessee Lady Vols (47-10, 16-8 SEC)
- No. 1 Texas Longhorns (47-11, 16-8, SEC)
Mississippi State advanced through the Eugene Regional as the No. 5 seed, initially defeating Saint Mary’s (3-2), then upsetting No. 4 seed Oregon (4-0) before notching a final win over Saint Mary’s (5-0), who advanced out of elimination. But the true surprise came out of the Norman Super Regional, where the Bulldogs bested No. 1 Oklahoma in three games (11-9, 7-1 (Oklahoma), 6-0)
Texas Tech kicked things off in the Lubbock Regional, where they defeated Marist (10-3) and notched two wins against No. 6 Mississippi (10-9, 14-2). At the Gainesville Super Regional, the Red Raiders took on No. 2 Florida and advanced in three games (10-8, 10-2 (Florida), 16-7).
Tennessee started in the Knoxville Regional, with a win over Northern Kentucky (3-1) and two wins against No. 7 Virginia (7-5, 5-1). At the Knoxville Super Regional, the Lady Vols clinched back-to-back wins against No. 3 Georgia.
In the Austin Regional, Texas defeated Wagner (9-1), No. 8 Wisconsin (9-0) and Baylor (7-0), who advanced out of the elimination bracket. The Longhorns went on to defeat No. 5 Arizona State in three games (4-1 (Arizona State), 4-3, 5-0)
Bracket 2
- No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (54-7, 19-5 SEC)
- No. 2 UCLA Bruins (52-8, 20-4 Big Ten)
- No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (47-11, 15-9 SEC)
- No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (51-6, 23-1 Big Ten)
Alabama advanced out of the Tuscaloosa Regional with an initial 8-0 win over USC Upstate, a 3-0 win against Belmont, and another 9-0 win against USC Upstate, who advanced out of the elimination bracket. Then, the Crimson Tide posted back-to-back wins (7-0, 4-1) against LSU to advance out of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional.
UCLA kicked off their postseason in the Los Angeles Regional, with a win over California Baptist 12-11, and back-to-back wins against No. 7 South Carolina (7-2, 15-1), who advanced out of elimination. The Bruins added two wins over UCF (9-1, 14-4) at the Los Angeles Super Regional.
Arkansas made quick work of the Fayetteville Regional, defeating Fordham 8-0, and notching two six inning wins over South Florida (9-1, 10-2). The Razorbacks advanced to the Fayetteville Super Regional, where they posted two wins over No. 3 Duke (14-5, 10-2).
On the other side, Nebraska advanced through the Lincoln Regional with a 4-1 win over South Dakota and back-to-back wins over Grand Canyon (2-0, 1-0). Then, they powered through the Lincoln Super Regional with two wins against No. 4 Oklahoma State (8-1, 9-1)
Everyone loves a Cinderella
In this case, Cinderella is a Bulldog.
Mississippi State is dancing in Oklahoma City for the first time in program history, and the Bulldogs had to take down Oklahoma in Norman to do so.
The Norman Super Regional had everything softball fans wanted to see. OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells hit a home run, MSU danced with broccoli, and the unseeded team pulled off the upset of the century.
This year marks the first WCWS without Oklahoma since 2015, and it was Delainey Everett who rose to the occasion.
The junior pitcher entered Game 3 of the Super Regional having pitched only 12 innings all season. After undergoing shoulder surgery in December 2025, her usage was limited during the regular season. What happened on Sunday was beyond explanation.
Everett made her first start of the year and spun a three-hit gem in the first complete game of her career. It also happened to be her parents’ wedding anniversary. After the game, she spoke about her late father and dedicated the victory to him.
Brendan Everett passed away just before the 2025 season.
“He would just be so proud,” Everett said of her dad. “If he wasn’t so hard on me, I would not be here today. … Just remembering the big games that we won, all the little titles that we had just set me up for this moment, and I always know that he’s here.”
Everett’s performance was simple, efficient and gutsy. She only needed 96 pitches and gave up just three hits; she walked three batters, hit two and struck out three.
Mississippi State will take on Texas Tech in the first game of the WCWS on Thursday at 11 a.m. CT.
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Everyone also loves a villain
Just a year ago, the Texas Tech Red Raiders were the Cinderella, a team that had never been beyond Regionals, similar to Mississippi State. They reached the WCWS Championship Series and eventually lost in three games to the Texas Longhorns.
Since then, Texas Tech has loaded up on All-American transfer talent and has become a villain in less than a year later. Tech added Taylor Pannell (previously at Tennessee) and Mia Williams (Florida), along with Kaitlyn Terry (UCLA), catcher Jasmyn Burns (Ohio State) and infielder Jackie Lis (Southern Illinois).
With the financial backing of its NIL collective, The Matador Club, Tech went on an unprecedented shopping spree and managed to piss off nearly every team in college softball along the way.
But there’s no hesitation from Tech; the Red Raiders have embraced their role as the villain.
“I definitely feel like people think we’re villains,” said Terry. “We have a target on our back, for sure. We hear it a lot: ‘Oh, they just bought a team.’ But we know what we’re doing, and what other people say doesn’t matter.”
Let’s make one thing clear. Coaches aren’t mad at Tech for bringing in transfers; they’re angry about how they did it.
Softball On SI covered this topic in June 2025 after several players announced their intentions to transfer into Tech just days after the portal opened. Some of them allegedly signed a financial agreement before they went into the portal.
Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly told The Athletic this week that Tech and Pannell had a plan in place before the end of Tennessee’s season. The Lady Vols also played at the WCWS in 2025.
“There’s no question they were in contact with our player long before the season was over. … A financial agreement was signed with Texas Tech before she ever went in the portal. [She] told me that,” Weekly said.
Moves like that inspired other programs to boycott playing Tech in 2026 and resulted in the Red Raiders being on the road for Supers due to their poor strength of schedule.
Still, Tech didn’t let that derail the season; it might have actually fueled them, and if the narrative gets any louder, the Red Raiders might go on to win the whole thing.
Thanks for reading this first edition of the Softball Insider. Check in next week for a preview of the championship series.
This week in softball
Texas Tech is college softball’s new villain — and the Red Raiders don’t care
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Obscene hot mic moment interrupts ESPN’s broadcast of Arizona State-Texas softball tournament game
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Tuesdays: Tennis
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Wednesdays: Basketball
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