Previewing the WCWS: Strengths, (relative) weaknesses for every team

The 2025 NCAA softball tournament has had thing for everyone.

Do you similar upsets? Well, for the archetypal time, the tournament's wide No. 1 effect (Texas A&M) was knocked out earlier the ace regionals. Three unseeded teams took top-7 seeds to a 3rd crippled successful the ace regionals, too. Do you similar prima powerfulness and chalk instead? Well, contempt the upsets above, four-time defending nationalist champion Oklahoma has scorched its mode done the postseason, and yearly contenders similar Florida and Texas person precocious arsenic well.

Do you similar drama? Texas and UCLA person had you covered. Both teams mislaid Game 1 of their ace regionals and were successful superior occupation precocious successful Game 2 earlier redeeming themselves successful absurd manner and past winning Game 3.

Do you similar pitching? Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady and Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens are comfortably the 2 champion pitchers successful the state and person much than looked the portion successful the postseason. Do you similar location runs? Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas and Oregon can't halt hitting them.

Now, aft a mates of breathless weekends, it's clip for the Women's College World Series. One broadside of the Oklahoma City bracket volition springiness america immoderate epic heavyweight matchups -- Oklahoma versus Tennessee and Florida versus Texas -- portion the different fractional of the bracket has fallen apart, providing intriguing opportunities for either World Series newcomers (Texas Tech, Ole Miss), an explosive Oregon squad oregon the oldest of old-time heavyweights (UCLA). How volition a chaotic postseason conclude? Let's alloy ourselves by looking astatine the strengths and (relative) weaknesses of each squad remaining successful the field.

Jump to:
Oklahoma | Florida | Texas
Tennessee | UCLA | Texas Tech
Oregon | Ole Miss

No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners

Record: 50-7
Head coach: Patty Gasso (1565-359-2 career)
Best WCWS result: Eight-time nationalist champions (18th appearance)
First WCWS opponent: No. 7 Tennessee (Thursday, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

For a infinitesimal there, you could speech yourself into OU being vulnerable. After a superb 28-0 commencement successful 2025, the Sooners suffered bid losses to Tennessee astatine location and Alabama connected the road, and aft a beauteous expanse of Texas (from which Texas pitchers don't look to person recovered), they mislaid 2 of 3 astatine Florida, too. The Sooners mislaid 7 games successful the regular season, their astir since 2017, and portion a batch of that had to bash with an upgrade successful contention -- this was their archetypal play successful an perfectly atomic SEC -- it inactive felt arsenic if OU lacked the prima powerfulness of erstwhile champions. There was nary Lauren Chamberlain, nary Keilani Ricketts, nary Jocelyn Alo. They didn't adjacent get the No. 1 effect successful the NCAA tourney -- that went to A&M (which proceeded to driblet the shot successful historical fashion).

But it's a batch harder to person yourself of vulnerability present that the postseason has begun.

Biggest strength: It looks similar OU again. While different rubric contenders person wobbled oregon fallen, the Sooners person outscored 5 tourney opponents by a combined 47-5. In a rematch with Bama successful the ace regionals, they won 3-0 and 13-2. Ace Sam Landry mightiness not beryllium Ricketts oregon Paige Parker, but successful her past 5 appearances, she's 5-0 with a 0.88 ERA. The batting bid mightiness not person an Alo oregon Chamberlain, but the Sooners are batting .414 with a 1.309 OPS (on-base percent positive slugging percentage) and 13 location runs successful the postseason.

Kasidi Pickering and Gabbie Garcia person 4 of those tourney homers each, and six players person deed astatine slightest one. Pickering, Garcia and Ella Parker each present person an OPS implicit 1.200 for the season. (The nationalist OPS average: .826.) The Sooners person the champion discourtesy successful this tournament, positive an ace allowing nether 1 tally per game. They are peaking astatine the close time. (Again.)

Potentially fatal flaw: Dingers. OU tin play the powerfulness crippled arsenic good arsenic anyone, but for the play arsenic a whole, the pitching has been susceptible to the agelong shot arsenic well. OU has allowed 49 location runs, and lone 1 different WCWS squad (Ole Miss) has allowed much than 40. Landry kicked into 5th cogwheel successful caller weeks, but this is the archetypal WCWS for the Louisiana transfer, and if aged habits footwear backmost in, it's imaginable that immoderate big-swinging opponents could find occurrence turning games into way meets against the champs.

No. 3 Florida Gators

Record: 48-15
Head coach: Tim Walton (1109-302 career, 983-236 astatine Florida)
Best WCWS result: Two-time nationalist champions (13th appearance)
First WCWS opponent: No. 6 Texas (Thursday, 12 p.m., ESPN)

Florida is automatic nether 17th-year manager Walton. The Gators person missed lone 2 ace regionals since his archetypal play successful 2006, and they're present headed to OKC for the 12th clip since 2008. They astir took down the champs past year, falling to OU successful other innings successful the deciding semifinal game, and this play they took 2 of 3 from the Sooners successful the past bid earlier the postseason. Like OU, they mightiness beryllium peaking conscionable astatine the close time: In six postseason games, the Gators person scored astatine slightest 5 runs 5 times and person allowed much than 2 lone once. They're comfortably the No. 2 rubric favorite, and they cognize they're susceptible of beating the favorite, too.

Biggest strength: Florida tin people successful 100 antithetic ways. Among the 8 World Series teams, the Gators are 2nd successful on-base percent (.447), 3rd successful slugging (.596) and 2nd successful homers (107). They're besides archetypal successful walks (295), archetypal successful fewest strikeouts (196) and 3rd successful stolen bases (96). Only OU and possibly UCLA play the powerfulness crippled amended than Florida, but lone Oregon and possibly Texas Tech play tiny shot better. The Gators don't pursuit pitches, and erstwhile they swing, they marque bully contact. That's doubly existent erstwhile determination are runners successful scoring position.

The lineup is conscionable relentless -- 9 Gators person had astatine slightest 103 at-bats, six of them person produced an OPS of astatine slightest 1.027, six person deed double-digit location runs, 7 of them person walked astatine slightest 25 times, and each of them person batted successful astatine slightest 26 runs. Outfielder Taylor Shumaker is the lone power-conference hitter to harvester astatine slightest 20 location runs with astatine slightest 18 stolen bases. That's an unfair combination.

Potentially fatal flaw: They often have to people a lot. The pitching has so been coagulated successful the tournament. Keagan Rothrock, the SEC's 2024 Freshman of the Year, has handled astir of the postseason enactment and has been decent (2.63 ERA), portion 3 backups person combined for 11 innings and nary runs. But the modular for pitching is awfully precocious successful the World Series, and Florida's unit isn't among the strongest.

Rothrock missed much than a period with wounded this season, and since her instrumentality successful late-March, she's 8-5 with a shaky 4.43 ERA. She allows all-or-nothing interaction -- adjacent with coagulated numbers, she has inactive allowed 5 location runs successful the tourney -- and that's a beauteous scary thought with the fig of "all" hitters she'll spot successful the coming days.

No. 6 Texas Longhorns

Record: 51-11

Head coach: Mike White (746-203-3 career, 311-92-2 astatine Texas)
Best WCWS result: Runner-up successful 2022 and 2024 (eighth appearance)
First WCWS opponent: No. 3 Florida (Thursday, 11 a.m., ESPN)

Talk astir waiting until the past imaginable infinitesimal to get going: After going conscionable 7-7 successful their past 14 games earlier the tournament, the Longhorns rolled done regionals but dropped Game 1 of the supers to Clemson, past gave the Tigers' runners astatine 2nd and 3rd with nary outs successful the bottommost of the eighth successful Game 2. But a strikeout, lineout and groundout later, they had wriggled retired of a perchance season-ending jam. They scored 2 successful the 10th inning to unit a Game 3.

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Texas vs. Clemson: Game Highlights

Texas vs. Clemson: Game Highlights

After surviving different precocious jam successful Game 3, the Horns are headed to OKC. And they person much than capable endowment to marque a 3rd tally successful 4 years to the title series.

Biggest strength: Veteran bats and impervious of concept. Of the 9 Texas players with astatine slightest 100 at-bats this season, 8 person played successful astatine slightest 1 WCWS (and title series), and two, seniors Mia Scott and Katie Cimusz, person played successful two. When you harvester large acquisition with large prime -- 5 of these players person an OPS of astatine slightest 1.013, 3 person deed astatine slightest 14 location runs, and six person scored astatine slightest 47 runs -- you get thing beauteous unflappable and fearsome. While their wide squad OPS ranks 5th among WCWS teams, it rises to a necktie for second, down lone Oklahoma, erstwhile the Horns are behind. As Clemson conscionable learned, it's really, truly hard to sound Texas out.

Potentially fatal flaw: Where did the pitching go? With much than a combined 1,000 vocation innings and loads of high-pressure experience, the pitching trio of Teagan Kavan, Citlaly Gutierrez and Mac Morgan should beryllium arsenic seasoned and unsafe arsenic the batting order. It was astatine 1 constituent this season, but the Horns person gotten knocked astir of late. As of mid-April, Texas pitchers were 39-5 with a corporate 2.01 ERA, but since past they've gone conscionable 12-6 with a 4.63 ERA. Texas A&M knocked them astir 14-2 successful the SEC tournament, and Clemson scored 17 runs successful 3 ace determination games. Kavan, the ace who started past year's WCWS with 14 consecutive scoreless innings, has allowed astatine slightest 3 runs successful 9 of her past 13 appearances. This squad tin plaything the bats, but arsenic with Florida, their pitching is acold much questionable than expected astatine the moment.

No. 7 Tennessee Lady Volunteers

Record: 45-14
Head coach: Karen Weekly (1130-354-2 astatine Tennessee, 1343-451-2 overall)
Best WCWS result: Runner-up successful 2007 and 2013 (ninth appearance)
First WCWS opponent: No. 2 Oklahoma (Thursday, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Give a legendary manager capable clip to fig things out, and she'll astir apt bash so. After 7 WCWS appearances successful 11 years betwixt 2005-15, Weekly's Volunteers had fallen into a comparative drought, falling abbreviated of OKC successful six consecutive postseasons. But they made it backmost successful 2023 and reached the semifinals. Now, having survived a rugged docket and a three-game trial from prima Jordy Bahl and Nebraska, Tennessee is hoping to spell adjacent further with a ridiculously battle-tested radical and a pitcher who tin support them successful immoderate game.

Biggest strength: Karlyn Pickens. During a softball broadcast, you'll often perceive announcers talking astir however batters set to pitchers passim a fixed game, and there's typically thing to that. But you'll forgive Nebraska hitters if they deliberation that's each a clump of hooey. They didn't set to Pickens successful the ace regionals past play -- she adjusted to them.

After giving up 5 runs and 4 hits successful 3⅔ innings successful a 5-2 nonaccomplishment connected Friday, she responded by wholly erasing a prolific Huskers attack. In the past 2 games of the series, she pitched each 14 innings, gave up conscionable 2 runs and 7 hits, struck retired 21 and walked 2 arsenic the Vols took 3-2 and 1-0 wins. Oh yeah, and she broke her ain fastest transportation grounds (79.4 mph) successful the process.

Pickens has been the champion pitcher not named NiJaree Canady this season. The 6-foot-1 inferior is 24-9, her 1.00 ERA is 2nd successful the federation (behind Canady), and she ranks some 5th successful on-base percent allowed (.246) and archetypal successful slugging percent allowed (.219) contempt having played against top-notch opponents: She's faced Nebraska 4 times, Texas 3 times, Ole Miss 3 times, Arkansas 3 times, Oklahoma twice, Texas A&M twice, Georgia twice, UCLA and Oregon erstwhile each, etc. At this point, she's a inferior with the acquisition of a third-year pro.

Potentially fatal flaw: Pickens mightiness request to triumph a fewer much 1-0 games. Like immoderate lineup successful the WCWS, Tennessee has plentifulness of hitting talent. Taylor Pannell boasts a 1.219 OPS and 15 location runs, catcher Sophia Nugent has 17 homers, outfielder Saviya Morgan gets connected basal good and steals a lot. The Vols unsmooth up questionable pitching arsenic good arsenic anyone. But against aces, things get dicey. They've been held to zero oregon 1 runs connected 9 occasions this year, and portion Pickens has won a mates of 1-0 decisions (and mislaid a mates more), she mightiness person to bash that a fewer antithetic times successful the coming days.

No. 9 UCLA Bruins

Record: 53-11
Head coach: Kelly Inouye-Perez (871-220-1 career)
Best WCWS result: 13-time nationalist champions (33rd appearance)
First WCWS opponent: No. 16 Oregon (Thursday, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2)

Searching for a archetypal WCWS bid successful 28 years, South Carolina took the combat to UCLA successful the supers. The Gamecocks cruised to a 9-2 triumph successful Game 1, past eased to a 4-1 pb successful Game 2. UCLA's dynamite discourtesy had evidently not made the travel to Columbia, and the play was going to extremity successful meek manner for history's top softball program. (OU inactive needs 5 much NCAA titles to drawback the Bruins.)

Apparently, UCLA was conscionable waiting to marque a precocious entrance, Hollywood-style. A walk, a triple and a azygous made the people 4-3 successful the bottommost of the seventh, but the Bruins were inactive down to their last retired erstwhile South Carolina starter Sam Gress reentered the crippled to transportation to Jordan Woolery. As Gress psyched herself up, the camera panned to Woolery, who looked similar she was falling into a trance.

First pitch: walk-off.

After a 5-0 triumph implicit the shell-shocked Gamecocks connected Sunday, UCLA is someway disconnected to its 33rd WCWS; the Bruins person missed lone 9 of them going backmost to 1982. And they've got the firepower to enactment successful OKC for a fewer games.

Biggest strength: Hard hits and front-running. The Bruins don't deed location runs astatine rather the aforesaid complaint arsenic Oklahoma -- extracurricular of Megan Grant (25) and Woolery (23), nary 1 has much than 9 -- but nary 1 successful the WCWS has made much extra-base hits (215), and nary 1 has much full bases (993). Eight Bruins person had astatine slightest 110 at-bats successful 2025, and they've each made astatine slightest 10 extra-base hits. Woolery has 43 of them.

They person old-school, line-drive-in-the-gap power, and adjacent if they're precocious arriving to the party, the runs yet come. And erstwhile the Bruins instrumentality the lead, the crippled is arsenic bully arsenic over. With a trio of coagulated arms, manager Inouye-Perez is capable to find the close pitcher for the occasion, and UCLA leads the federation with a .978 triumph percent erstwhile scoring first.

Potentially fatal flaw: UCLA doesn't play fast. The Bruins' powerfulness and pitching extent are undeniable, but they don't get arsenic overmuch arsenic others retired of the velocity game. They person by acold the fewest stolen bases of immoderate WCWS squad -- Jessica Clements and Kaitlyn Terry pb the squad with conscionable 9 each -- and they've allowed the 2nd most, too. The Bruins besides turned the fewest infield treble plays (11). As galore ways arsenic imaginable to triumph a crippled heavy successful the postseason is needed, and the Bruins' Plan B isn't great.

No. 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders

Record: 50-12
Head coach: Gerry Glasco (349-99 career, 50-12 astatine Tech)
Best WCWS result: First appearance
First WCWS opponent: Ole Miss (Thursday, 6 p.m., ESPN2)

You had to consciousness for whoever drew Texas Tech successful the ace regionals. It was wide for a portion that the Red Raiders would extremity up seeded successful the No. 10-16 range, meaning idiosyncratic was going to triumph 40-something games, gain a truly bully nationalist seed, past get cursed with having to bushed pitcher NiJaree Canady doubly successful the supers. No. 5 Florida State drew the abbreviated straw; the Seminoles couldn't adjacent bushed her once.

Coach Glasco came to Lubbock aft taking Louisiana to six regionals (and 1 ace regional), and with assistance from 1 of the astir celebrated NIL deal's successful women's sports, helium astir instantaneously turned Tech a softball power. The Red Raiders had ne'er adjacent been to a ace determination earlier 2025 -- present they're connected their mode to their archetypal WCWS.

Biggest strength: Canady. Obviously. She came to Lubbock aft going a combined 41-10 with a 0.67 ERA successful 2 seasons astatine Stanford, starring the Cardinal to the WCWS some years. She has lived up to each hype (and NIL value) this season: She ranks archetypal nationally successful ERA (0.89), 2nd successful on-base percent allowed (.219), 2nd successful slugging percent allowed (.220) and 3rd successful strikeout complaint (36.2%). You tin enactment the shot successful the aerial against her -- her 9 location runs allowed are much than astir WCWS aces -- but you can't physique sustained rallies. Softball ace is astir apt the 2nd astir important presumption successful immoderate squad athletics down shot quarterback, and Tech has the champion successful the business.

Potentially fatal flaw: The bats are simply solid. Canady is conscionable 3-4 astatine the WCWS, and successful her 4 losses, Stanford scored a full of 2 runs. It's hard not to spot a akin dynamic successful 2025.

Tech comes to OKC ranked seventh among WCWS teams successful on-base percent (.401), seventh successful slugging percent (.507) and past successful location runs (59). Canady, successful fact, is the lone subordinate with double-digit homers (11). The Red Raiders tin tally -- of these 8 teams, lone Oregon has stolen much bases. And you could accidental that they payment from a dependable endowment distribution: The lineup lone has 3 players with an OPS implicit 1.000 (including Canady), but it besides has lone 1 batter beneath .850. This isn't a bad offense. But it's inactive the 2nd worst successful the WCWS.

No. 16 Oregon Ducks

Record: 53-8
Head coach: Melyssa Lombardi (238-114 career)
Best WCWS result: Third spot successful 2014 and 2017 (seventh appearance)
First WCWS opponent: No. 9 UCLA (Thursday, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2)

Texas A&M's nonaccomplishment was Oregon's gain. After Liberty upset the top-seeded Aggies, Oregon accelerated past the Flames successful the ace regionals, winning Game 1 successful other innings but scoring 10 precocious runs to triumph Game 2 by a 13-1 margin. Former Oklahoma adjunct manager (and catcher) Lombardi took a small portion to get rolling aft replacing Mike White successful Eugene, but the Ducks are backmost successful the WCWS aft a seven-year drought.

Lombardi has crafted a beautifully balanced squad successful 2025: The Ducks are explosive successful some the pitching and batting departments, and they went 19-4 successful their archetypal go-round successful the Big Ten. They recovered their backs against the partition aft a blowout nonaccomplishment to erstwhile Pac-12 rival Stanford successful the regionals, but they've since won 4 consecutive games by a combined people of 41-15.

Biggest strength: Depth and options. The Ducks person conscionable the close subordinate for immoderate occasion. At pitcher, Lyndsey Grein (29-2, 2.08 ERA) and Elise Sokolsky (16-2, 2.00 ERA) person produced akin high-level numbers. But Grein is simply a strikeouts-and-flyballs ace -- her 50 appearances are the astir successful the country, and her 31.8% strikeout complaint ranks eighth -- portion Sokolsky allows interaction but keeps the shot connected the ground.

At the plate, Oregon wears you down with sheer depth. Of the 9 Ducks with astatine slightest 100 at-bats, 7 person an on-base percent of astatine slightest .415, six slug astatine slightest .597, 4 person astatine slightest 10 location runs and 4 person astatine slightest 16 stolen bases. (Only 3 WCWS teams person stolen much than 72 bases, but the Ducks person stolen 166. There are nary escaped outs, and if you're 1 of the fewer teams susceptible of hitting Grein, they person a change-of-pace ready.

Potentially fatal flaw: Patience. Of the 8 teams successful OKC, lone Tennessee batters person struck retired much than Oregon batters. The Ducks instrumentality a batch of pitches but tin autumn down successful the number against elite pitchers. And determination are rather a fewer elite pitchers astatine the WCWS. Meanwhile, lone Florida and Ole Miss pitchers locomotion much batters. And erstwhile things get distant from the Ducks, they really get away: They haven't mislaid galore games, but the database includes a 14-1 nonaccomplishment to Stanford, 8-0 to UCLA and 5-0 to Michigan. Two of those 3 came wrong the Ducks' past 8 games.

Ole Miss Rebels

Record: 42-19
Head coach: Jamie Trachsel (523-289-1 career, 181-115 astatine Ole Miss)
Best WCWS result: First appearance
First WCWS opponent: No. 12 Texas Tech (Thursday, 6 p.m., ESPN2)

Texas and UCLA surely brought the drama, but nary squad had to grind arsenic hard arsenic Ole Miss did to get to Oklahoma City. Unseeded aft an 11-13 regular play successful the SEC, the Rebels took 2 of 3 astatine Arizona successful the regionals, past took 2 of 3 astatine No. 4-seed Arkansas successful the supers. In 7 full games, they outscored opponents lone 41-40 -- their 5 wins were by an mean of 8.0-5.2, and they mislaid games 10-1 and 4-0. It took clutch play aft clutch play for the Rebels to gain their archetypal WCWS appearance. But present they are. And they get a marquee crippled against Canady close retired of the gate.

Biggest strength: Alyiah Binford mightiness beryllium the hottest hitter successful the country. Since they're the lone unseeded squad to scope OKC, 1 would expect the Rebels' wide numbers to beryllium poorer than others successful the field. And they are. But if we look solely astatine what teams person produced frankincense acold successful the NCAA tournament, the Ole Miss bats person been hotter than anyone's too Oklahoma. The Rebels person deed 15 location runs successful the postseason, 2 much than adjacent the Sooners (albeit successful 2 much games), and they person the second-most extra-base hits and third-most full bases.

At the bosom of this occurrence is Binford. The Baylor transportation has astir apt been the Rebels' champion postseason pitcher, too, but successful 24 tourney at-bats, the free-swinging elder has deed 4 location runs (among six extra-base hits) with 9 RBIs and 8 runs scored. Her postseason OPS is 1.440.

Potentially fatal flaw: This is the worst squad successful the field. Or possibly you could much diplomatically accidental that they person the worst statistical resume. The discourtesy has so travel live of late, but, well, the Rebels person allowed 5.2 runs per crippled successful their tourney wins. And for the season, they person some the worst wide OPS and worst OPS allowed among WCWS teams.

The Rebels' seasonlong violative numbers are worse than those of some of the pitching-first teams successful the tract (Tennessee and Texas Tech), but their pitching numbers are besides comfortably the worst: Their 3.25 squad ERA is simply a half-run worse than anyone else's successful OKC, and they let acold much base-runners than anyone else. Coach Trachsel's squad is resourceful and gritty, but they'll person to gut retired rather a fewer 7-5 wins to beforehand heavy into the WCWS. It could happen.