Women's College World Series storylines to watch: Pitching threats, SEC dominance and a historic chase

New York Times

29-05-2025

The Women's College World Series kicks off Thursday, and the 64-team bracket has quickly whittled down to eight survivors.
Each Power 4 conference is represented among the final teams, but the SEC unquestionably dominates the margins. When the WCWS bracket first came out, the SEC snagged seven of the top eight spots. After two rounds of postseason play, it has five teams playing in Oklahoma City.
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But the field is perhaps as level as it has been. Mike Heard, the coach of Omaha, whose team was eliminated before ever facing Oklahoma in the Norman regional, told The Athletic on Wednesday that there are six or seven — again, of eight — teams that he thinks could hoist the trophy in June.
Boston University softball coach Ashley Waters predicted Oklahoma, Florida or Tennessee as the eventual victor.
'I think Oklahoma can do it just based on the fact, regardless of experience, when they get there, they understand what it takes. Their coaching staff knows what it takes. …' Waters said. 'From a pitching perspective, Tennessee is exceptionally tough, and I think Florida is the most well-rounded.
'(But) if you're there, you have a shot. If you play your best weekend of softball, you have a shot.'
Here are the storylines to watch.
*In a row.
Despite welcoming 14 newcomers, Oklahoma has shown no signs of a reset or rebuild, thanks in large part to Sam Landry, a Louisiana transfer ace and SEC Newcomer of the Year.
The Sooners have cruised up to this point in the playoffs, advancing out of the regional round in three games and out of the super regionals — against No. 15 Alabama — in two. With Landry, they're led by Gabbie Garcia, Kasidi Pickering, Ella Parker, Ailana Agbayani and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas on offense.
The Sooners walk into their ninth straight WCWS having outscored opponents 47-5. Their plus-42 run differential is an NCAA tournament all-time seventh-best, with five of the previous six teams reaching that mark going on to win the title, according to ESPN.
'It doesn't matter how much you prepare for them. You need to play your best version of softball against them because they know how to win,' Waters said.
A .389 batting average paired with 86 RBI, tied with UCLA's Jordan Woolery for most of any NCAA player this season, was plenty for Florida's Taylor Shumaker to earn NFCA Freshman of the Year unanimously.
She also leads the team with 22 home runs, 72 runs scored, 17 doubles and an .818 slugging percentage.
T5 | TAY-SHU SHOT ™
Taylor Shumaker launches No. 2️⃣2️⃣ to tie the single-season school home run record!
Gators 5 | Bulldogs 0
📺 ESPN | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/fsGKX5r2sn
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 25, 2025
Junior ace Karlyn Pickens set the record for the fastest pitch in college softball history on March 24. She broke her record two months later.
Pickens threw a 79.4 mph flamer against Nebraska star Jordy Bahl in the super regionals, something we 'wouldn't see in MLB,' ESPN analyst Jessica Mendoza said.
'(That's) upwards of 108 to 110 mph when you're thinking about reaction time. So put yourself in the batter's box, crank up the machine to 108, 109, that's what it's like at 43 feet at 79 mph. It's incredible.'
Karlyn just hit 79.4 on the gun 🔥🔥🔥
the new fastest pitch in NCAA Softball history, breaking her own record of 78.2 pic.twitter.com/WuVWJrccdr
— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) May 24, 2025
Throughout the three games against Nebraska, Pickens posted 28 strikeouts and allowed 11 hits in just over 17 innings. She shut out the Cornhuskers in Game 3 to secure the trip to Oklahoma City. There, she now faces one of the deepest lineups in the country: Oklahoma.
'I think it'll be exciting to watch Pickens pitch to Oklahoma, because I think she is absolutely an elite pitcher and they are absolutely an elite offensive team, so that will be super fun to watch,' Heard said.
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Pickens also has the nation's second-best ERA behind Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady.
For Texas Tech, a national championship is a million-dollar pursuit.
Last summer, the school made a pricey name-image-and-likeness move in hopes of reaching its first Women's College World Series. Last week, that investment paid off.
No. 12 Texas Tech swept No. 5 Florida State in the Tallahassee super regionals behind Canady, who threw every pitch for the Red Raiders in the historic back-to-back wins and held Florida State to 5-of-49 hitting (.102) in the series.
Canady — a 6-foot junior ace — transferred from Stanford after accepting a $1,050,024 NIL offer from Texas Tech. After leading the Cardinal to the WCWS in 2023 and 2024, she's back again.
NiJaree Canady went OFF ‍🔥
She put up 4 Ks and 1 homer vs. FSU in @TexasTechSB's first Super Regional win.#RoadToWCWS pic.twitter.com/EKoC7DhNdx
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 23, 2025
Canady, who leads the nation with an .89 ERA, also became the first to repeat as the NFCA Pitcher of the Year.
The WCWS is a double-elimination format. The final two teams then play in a best-of-three series for the national championship.
All eight teams begin the double-elimination round on Thursday. All times in ET.
Bracket 1
Florida vs. Texas, noon.
Tennessee vs. Oklahoma, 2:30 p.m.
Bracket 2
Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss, 7 p.m.
Oregon vs. UCLA, 9:30 p.m.
(Photo of Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens: David Buono / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)