The NCAA Softball Tournament began with a historic upset and ended with Texas making its first national championship in program history.
Against Texas Tech and star pitcher Nijaly Canady, the Longhorns set up a finale that won Friday’s winner with a 2-1 victory in the opening game of the Best Championship Series on Wednesday, losing 4-3 in their second game.
The Longhorns lit Canady with their first bottom five runs highlighted by Leighann Goode’s three-run explosion, earning a 10-4 victory on the decider. After keeping the distance on Thursday night, Canadi only lasted once on Friday.
To reach this point, Texas had to ward off years of disappointment at the hands of rival Oklahoma. After recording four national championships in a row heading into this year’s Women’s College World Series, the Sooners lost once to the Longhorns in the winner’s bracket game, eventually bounced back from the tournament by Texas Tech.
Meanwhile, Texas A&M became the first No. 1 seed that won’t move forward since the opening weekend, losing twice in a few days against Liberty, making suspicious college softball history.
Looking back at the tournament, here are the biggest winners and losers.
winner
Texas
The Longhorns reached the Women’s College World Series finals in 2022, and again last season. Beating Oklahoma last weekend was the emotional palate cleanser of the program, which carved out a place among the best places in the country under Mike White. Beating the Red Raiders in White’s seventh season is a groundbreaking breakthrough that Texas has been waiting for. The Sooners could potentially join as a national favorite for next year, but the championship will lock Texas as a great powerhouse and push the Longhorn into its own succession of successive wins.
Nijaree Canady
Conference never won a conference championship and never even advanced from the regional round in their previous six tournament appearances. In her first year on campus, Canady and her right-hander pushed technology to the pinnacle of the sport, delivering nearly what could have been the most unexpected national championship in college softball history. Despite the disappointment of being knocked out early in the decision game with Texas, Canady’s legacy as a transformative figure for the Red Raiders is already safe, even as he prepares for the final year of the program.
Geordie Barr
This was the third time that Oklahoma had previously moved to the Super Regional since 2014, bringing Nebraska to Super Regional. She hit four home runs at the Baton Rouge Regional, giving 23 in the year, setting a new program record. Barr added tournament victory against Southeast Louisiana and Tennessee to give her 26 victories, making her the fourth player in NCAA history, earning at least 20 home runs and 20 wins. Nebraska was unable to close volunteers after playing their first game in the Super Regional Series, but Barr and the Cornhuskers laid the foundation for their running at the national championships next season.
loser
Texas A&M
The postseason has never been easy for a team that has surged to the regular season finish line by crushing Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida. After dropping the regional opener freely, the Aggies needed a controversial blockage call, six Liberty errors, and an additional inning to beat the flames 14-11 in the first elimination game. Second, freshman KK Dement helped A&M move forward 3-0 in five innings, while Liberty Right Fielder Rachel Roupe hit a solo shot at the top of the fifth, making it 3-1 for the sixth. The loop went deeper again for the sixth time, moving Liberty up to 6-3 and getting back on track due to historic upset.
LSU
Bouncing back as a local host on the opening weekend and bouncing back as a southeast Louisiana regional host on the opening weekend. However, the Lions went through the Tigers 4-3 in the opener, 8-7 in the rematch, winning two of the biggest wins in program history, dropping the region finals for the Cornhuskers. And the second game against LSU was a wild game. They were 4-1 after the first inning and followed 6-4 after the fifth inning. The Tigers traded until they allowed a walk-off victory on the seventh bottom. The program remains national power under the supervision of Beth Trina, but it is the third time LSU has failed to advance from the region in four years.
Clemson
The Tigers were short on super regional against Texas after filming the first game of the series. Postseason disappointment is not a new feeling for this young program. Clemson has lost three times in Super Regional since playing his first game in 2020. The Tigers leave 17 runners at base, with 17 runners combined, allowing two unknown runs with two losses on the longhorn. That Marquee Women’s College World Series moment has yet to arrive, but the Tigers appear to be destined to finally break through at this stage after pushing the final national champion to the brink.
Arkansa
The Razorbacks finished sixth in the SEC rankings for Mississippi State’s six spots, but were unable to resolve the Rebels, which filmed the regular season series in early March and won two of the three at the Fayetteville Super Regional. This marked Arkansas’ fourth loss in the Super Regional in all four contestants since coach Courtney Deifel was hired in 2016. Arkansas is one of two SEC programs along with Mississippi as it never reaches the stage of the Women’s College World Series.