Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2024 Women’s College World Series Finals matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Oklahoma.
GAME INFO
Location: OGE Energy Field at Devon Park | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Times/Networks:
- Wed, June 5 | 7:00 p.m. CT | ESPN
- Thu, June 6 | 7:00 p.m. CT | ESPN
- Fri, June 7 | 7:00 p.m. CT | ESPN (If-Necessary)
Records: Texas (55-8); Oklahoma (57-7)
Rankings: Texas (No. 1 Seed); Oklahoma (No. 2 Seed)
Head-to-Head Record (2024): Tied, 2-2
- Oklahoma 5, Texas 2 (April 5)
- Texas 2, Oklahoma 1 (April 6)
- Texas 2, Oklahoma 1 (April 7)
- Oklahoma 5, Texas 1 (May 11)
WCWS HISTORY
TEXAS LONGHORNS
- Appearances: 7 (two in the last three years)
- Championships: 0
- All-Time NCAA Tournament Record: 82-52 (.612)
- All-Time WCWS Record: 14-13 (.519)
OKLAHOMA SOONERS
- Appearances: 21 (Eight consecutive appearances dating back to 2016)
- Championships: 7 (2000, ’13, ’16, ’17, ’21, ’22, ’23)
- All-Time NCAA Tournament Record: 163-55 (.748)
- All-Time WCWS Record: 51-24 (.680)
HOW THEY GOT HERE
TEXAS LONGHORNS
Texas ran through the Austin Regional without breaking a sweat, beating Siena 5-0 in Game 1 before stuffing Northwestern in a locker in back-to-back games, 14-2 (5) on Saturday, and 7-0 on Sunday to advance to the Supers.
There, the Longhorns ran into a much stiffer challenge—and nearly one greater than they could handle—in the Texas A&M Aggies. Texas dropped a stunner in Game 1, as A&M jumped out to a 3-0 lead and was able to hold of UT just long enough to win, 6-5. Game 2 would start much of the same way, with Texas spotting A&M three runs before storming back. This time, the Longhorns prevailed in a nine-inning thriller, 9-8. In the rubber match on Super Regional Sunday, the Aggies had an early 1-0 lead but entered the seventh down 6-2. A three-run shot from Jula Cottrill cut it to 6-5, but Texas ended up escaping shortly thereafter with the Super Regional Title.
Since arriving in Oklahoma City, the Longhorns have utterly dominated in the circle, allowing just three hits in three games and not allowing a single run to be scored. On Thursday, Texas defeated No. 8 Stanford 4-0 to move into the winner’s bracket. There, they’d face No. 4 Florida, and after knocking Keagan Rothrock out of the game just 14 pitches in, the Longhorns went on to run-rule the Gators, 10-0 (5). On Monday, UT faced NiJaree Canady again, and thanks to a single unearned run from Alyssa Washington, the Longhorns were able to outlast the Cardinal, 1-0.
OKLAHOMA SOONERS
After run-ruling Cleveland State 9-0 (6) to begin their NCAA Tournament run, Oklahoma had to face a tough Oregon squad on Saturday and Sunday. The Sooners defeated the Ducks 6-3 in their first matchup and hung on to win 3-2 on Regional Sunday to advance to Supers.
Oklahoma played host to Florida State in the Super Regionals in a rematch of the 2023 WCWS Championship Series. On Thursday, the Sooners poured it on the Noles in an 11-3 (5) beatdown. On Friday, Florida State would fight back, matching OU with a 1-1 ballgame heading into the fifth inning. The Sooners would explode for three runs, including a two-run blast from Kasidi Pickering, and FSU was only able to answer with a single run of their own in the bottom half of the frame. Oklahoma would hang on to win from there, 4-2.
The Sooners would keep their hot streak going on Thursday, run-ruling No. 10 Duke 9-1 (6) to advance to the winners’ bracket. On Saturday, OU and No. 6 UCLA faced off in an epic pitcher’s duel, with a solo shot from Tiare Jennings being the lone run scored in the game, giving the Sooners a 1-0 victory to advance to Monday. That’s when Oklahoma would run into trouble for the first time, as a red-hot Florida offense would lead the No. 4 Gators to a 9-3 victory, forcing an if-necessary game to be played on Tuesday (due to weather delays). Then, in one of the best WCWS elimination games in history, we saw Oklahoma fight back from a 5-2 deficit to walk off Florida in the eighth with a solo shot from Jayda Coleman.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
TEXAS LONGHORNS
#14 Reese Atwood, C, So.
Stats (2024): .429 AVG, 1.382 OPS, 23 HR, 90 RBI, .880 SLG%, .502 OB%
#17 Teagan Kavan, RHP, Fr.
Stats (2024): 30 APP, 23 GS, 20-2, 128.1 IP, 1.96 ERA, .95 WHIP, 44 BB, 135 K, .169 B/AVG
#55 Mac Morgan, RHP, Jr.
Stats (2024): 29 APP, 16 GS, 16-1, 103.2 IP, 1.89 ERA, .95 WHIP, 23 BB, 43 K, .194 B/AVG
OKLAHOMA SOONERS
#23 Tiare Jennings, INF, Sr.
Stats (2024): .375 AVG, 1.298 OPS, 24 HR, 66 RBI, .828 SLG%, .470 OB%
#5 Ella Parker, DP, Fr.
Stats (2024): .419 AVG, 1.261 OPS, 13 HR, 60 RBI, .737 SLG%, .524 OB%
#28 Kelly Maxwell, LHP, Gr.
Stats (2024): 34 APP, 24 GS, 22-2, 147.0 IP, 2.00 ERA, .98 WHIP, 60 BB, 155 K, .164 B/AVG
KEY STORYLINES
WILL THE IF-NECESSARY GAME AFFECT OKLAHOMA?
Texas took care of business against Stanford and had the luxury of sitting on Tuesday and watching Oklahoma fight for its life against Florida. With that, the Longhorns enter the Championship Series with a trio of fresh arms to throw at the Sooners. Meanwhile, Oklahoma ace Kelly Maxwell is coming off a 148-pitch complete game and will likely need to sit in a pivotal Game 1. Plus, the emotional win over Florida on Tuesday was both mentally and physically exhausting for both teams, and regardless of who came out of it, they were bound to be shorthanded against Texas on Wednesday. Will the Sooners have the juice to match Texas for an entire series, which could mean them playing five games in five days?
CAN TEXAS FIGURE OUT THE SOONERS’ PITCHING STAFF?
Kelly Maxwell is one of the best drop ball pitchers in college softball, and against Texas, she’s been nearly lights out. The Sooners’ left-hander has thrown 17.0 innings against UT this season, collecting 23 strikeouts and allowing eight hits, seven walks, and five runs. For a Texas team that is averaging right around eight runs per game, that’s incredibly efficient. If Texas can’t figure her out, it will be hard for them to take down the Sooners. If it’s not Maxwell in the circle, it will likely be senior Nicole May, who has performed well against the Longhorns this season. In 6.1 IP against UT, May has surrendered five hits, two runs, one walk, and nine strikeouts. Sophomore Kierston Deal has also logged some work against the Horns, going 1.2 IP over two appearances, with no hits, runs, strikeouts, or walks.
PREDICTION: A THREE-GAME THRILLER
This might be the best championship series we’ve seen in the last several years, and many folks on both sides of the Red River have plenty of reason to believe it will be their team who lifts the trophy later this week.
For Oklahoma, a series victory would make them the first team to ever win four national titles in a row, sending the best senior class is softball history having swept the sport with rings in each of their seasons.
For Texas, a series win would give the Longhorns their first national championship in program history, and it would come at the expense of their bitter rivals. What’s more, a win would put the rest of the country on notice because the core of this Longhorns team is made up of sophomores. So, they aren’t going anywhere.
So, what’s going to happen? I legitimately can’t decide which team will win this series. But what I will say is this: Don’t make any plans for Friday night because this series is going to take three games to decide, and that final game of the 2024 WCWS is going to be something that we’ll be talking about for years to come. If you forced me to choose, I’d say Texas is better situated to take the series, but picking against Oklahoma just feels dumb. So, with that, get to your seats and bust open that popcorn. This one is going to be fun.
