The 2026 NCAA softball Women’s College World Series gets underway Thursday at Devon Park.
Follow along for updates on what each team at WCWS media day had to say Wednesday, May 27:
More: Jordy Frahm’s phone call, torn ACL have timing aligned for Nebraska softball entering WCWS
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Softball fans might call Texas Tech the villains of the sport. And they’re OK with it.
The Red Raiders arrived in OKC after outlasting Florida in a chippy Gainesville Super Regional. Texas Tech slugger and former UF player Mia Williams was hit by a pitch five times over three games. After the Gators were swept, they did not shake hands with the Red Raiders.
But long before last weekend, the Red Raiders were not used to being a dominant force in the NCAA, but when Gerry Glasco was hired, the tide started to change. Tech signed ace NiJaree Canady out of Stanford for a groundbreaking $1 million, and with Canady in the circle, made it to the WCWS championship series.
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Texas Tech has taken full advantage of the transfer portal era.
When Glasco took the leadership role in Lubbock, he only had three returning players on his roster.
“So what am I going to do? You have to grow the program,” Glasco said. “I think it’s confusing because we’re doing things that maybe have never been done before or at least not been done in a similar fashion. It’s confusing. But for us on the field, it’s just every day. We just work every day. We work really hard. I’m enjoying every moment.”
In addition to signing Canady, Glasco brought four of his former Louisiana players. Heading into his second season as head coach, he added UCLA’s Kaitlyn Terry, Tennessee’s Taylor Pannell and Southern Illinois’ Jackie Lis, among others, to the Red Raider rotation.
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Glasco’s use of the transfer portal was met with some backlash from rival fans, but the program believes it’s just embracing this new age of college athletics.
“The amount of support that just immediately jumped to back up Coach Glasco and NiJa when they joined the program is amazing to see for somebody from the outside,” Lis said, “So when I got a chance to be a part of it, that’s just not something you can really say no to. So it’s really just amazing to see the support from Texas Tech fans and even everybody else who doesn’t exactly support it, that’s just how the college sports world is now.”
As Red Raiders head into this tournament, they’re not really thinking of last year. 13 out of the 24 players on the roster have been in the WCWS before. And if they have to walk in with the “villain” title, so be it.
“If softball needs me to be the villain, I’m all about it,” Glasco said. “Let’s go. It’s fun. I embrace that role, like that’s fun.”
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—Isa Almeida, Staff writer
More: OU softball transfer portal tracker 2026: Who has left, joined Patty Gasso’s Sooners?
The 2026 Women’s College World Series gets under way with four games at Devon Park in OKC on Thursday, May 28.
Here’s the full schedule for the 2026 Women’s College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City:
All times Central
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Game 1: No. 11 Texas Tech vs. Mississippi State, 11 a.m., ESPN (Fubo)
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Game 2: No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 Tennessee, 1:30 p.m., ESPN (Fubo)
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Game 3: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 8 UCLA, 6 p.m., ESPN2 (Fubo)
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Game 4: No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Arkansas, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 (Fubo)
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Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 6 p.m., ESPN2 (Fubo)
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Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 (Fubo)
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Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m., ABC (Fubo)
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Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m., ESPN (Fubo)
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Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 2 p.m., ABC (Fubo)
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Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 6 p.m., ESPN2 (Fubo)
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Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 11 a.m., ESPN (Fubo)
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Game 12 (if necessary): Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 1:30 p.m., ESPN (Fubo)
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Game 13: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 6 p.m., ESPN2 (Fubo)
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Game 14 (if necessary): Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 (Fubo)
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Off day
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WCWS finals Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m., ESPN (Fubo)
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WCWS finals Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m., ESPN (Fubo)
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WCWS finals Game 3: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m., ESPN (Fubo)
Jeff Patterson is the sports editor for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jeff? He can be reached at jpatterson@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jeffpattOKC. Support Jeff’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NCAA softball live updates from Women’s College World Series media day
