OKLAHOMA CITY — Top seed Alabama, defending national champion Texas, and Big Ten champion Nebraska headline a balanced field at the Women’s College World Series.
Alabama, with star pitcher Jocelyn Briski (22-3, 1.30 ERA), is capable of knocking off the second-seeded Longhorns and six others, including newcomers Arkansas, the No. 5 seed, and unseeded Mississippi State.
The Crimson Tide (54-7) will open Thursday against No. 8 seed UCLA, which boasts NCAA single-season home run leader Megan Grant and is the highest-scoring team in the nation.
No. 4 seed Nebraska, which was ranked first in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, is making its first WCWS appearance since 2013. The Cornhuskers (51-6) have won 26 straight games and are led by USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Jordy Frahm.
Frahm led Oklahoma to a national title in 2023 as Jordy Bahl before transferring, then getting married and changing her name. Her previous team — eight-time national champion Oklahoma — won’t be making the 26-mile drive to Oklahoma City’s Devon Park for the first time since 2015.
The third-seeded Sooners, who won four of the last five national titles, were eliminated by SEC upstart Mississippi State in three games at the Norman Super Regional. The Bulldogs (43-19) are coached by former Sooners All-American Samantha Ricketts, who played for coach Patty Gasso at Oklahoma.
“This week right now has been about enjoying the moment after obviously a historic super regional for us and also just being where our feet are,” Ricketts said. “We want our players to enjoy every step of this, being present, but then really using today to lock back in and knowing that we’re not done yet.”
Mississippi State will open against 2025 runner-up Texas Tech and ace NiJaree Canady. The 11th-seeded Red Raiders (57-7) took down No. 6 seed Florida at the Gainesville Super Regional and are looking to get back to the championship series. Canady, who wore down against Texas last year, now has help from pitcher Kaitlyn Terry, a transfer from UCLA.
Arkansas, the team with the top regular-season RPI, makes its Devon Field debut. The Razorbacks hadn’t reached the WCWS despite playing in super regionals in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2025. Coach Courtney Deifel’s team racked up 26 run-rule victories this season, including five straight. The Razorbacks went undefeated in regional and super regional competition.
Texas opens defense of its title Thursday against No. 7 seed Tennessee and hard-throwing Karlyn Pickens, the No. 1 pick in the AUSL draft.
The Volunteers (47-10) are making their 10th appearance in Oklahoma City, and Pickens (15-7, 1.53 ERA, six saves) is among the reasons with 180 strikeouts in 132 1/3 innings. But the Lady Vols can throw more than just Pickens at opponents. Sage Mardjetko (0.99) and Erin Numar (1.09) rank second and fourth in ERA.
“They definitely have three pitchers that have shown they can beat anybody at any time, especially going through the SEC Tournament,” Texas coach Mike White said. “They’re dangerous. They’re well-coached.”
The Longhorns counter with Teagan Kavan, the Most Outstanding Player of last year’s WCWS. Kavan is 25-5 with a 2.47 ERA and beat Alabama in the SEC title game. Katie Stewart leads the team with a .436 average and 27 home runs.
Briski has 198 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings. She combined with Vic Moten to limit LSU to one run and seven hits in two games at the Tuscaloosa Super Regional.
“The main goal here is to just go out and win one game at a time and win each game,” Briski said. “I’m just excited to take the field. It all starts tomorrow, and we’re just focusing on that game tomorrow.”
The Tide pitching staff will be tested right away.
UCLA (52-8) features Grant, a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finalist who has 40 home runs, and Jordan Woolery, the 2026 Big Ten Player of the Year who is on pace to become the first player in NCAA history to hit .500 with 30 or more homers and 100 or more RBIs in the same season.
“A lot of the times me and Jordan are talked about as a duo, but I’m happy to say that I can finally talk about her individually because what she’s done this year is simply incredible,” Grant said. “She’s just going out there and being herself and being everything that we always knew that she could be.”
Welcome support
Alabama coach Tim Murphy invited Oklahoma fans to switch their allegiances for the next 10 days or so.
“First, to all the Oklahoma fans that are looking for a team to cheer for, it’s right here,” Murphy told reporters during media day. “We have the same color palette. ‘AMA’ at the bottom. You can almost think it says Oklahoma, pretend it does. I’ll take those 10,000 fans cheering for us.”
Big talent pool
Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco called the overall talent level “unbelievable.”
“Anyone in the field can win it, and I just don’t see anybody that’s going to be a clear-cut favorite,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a war from start to finish. There’s just so many teams that are really good here.”
