Women's College World Series

Women's College World Series
Women's College World Series
First played	1969 (56 years ago)
Most recently played	2025
Current champion	Texas
First Champion	John F. Kennedy College

The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The event is held at Devon Park, located within the USA Softball Hall of Fame complex.

The eight teams of the WCWS play a double-elimination tournament until two teams remain. These two teams compete in a best-of-three series to determine the Division I WCWS national champion. Previous WCWS losses do not factor into the best-of-three championship series, and the first team to win two of three games is declared the national champion.

Like the Men's College World Series in baseball, the WCWS initially divides the eight teams ranked one (the top seed) through eight and are then divided into two brackets of four teams. Those 8 teams are the final 8 out of 64 teams that advance post regular season. The teams play their first-round matchups as follows: 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5. Unique to the WCWS is that the loser of the second-round game on one side of the bracket crosses over to the losers’ bracket on the other side. Suffering a second loss eliminates a team from the WCWS.

The second round features the four winners of the first-round games against each other, with the highest remaining seed versus the lowest remaining undefeated seed. In the losers’ bracket, the four first-round losers face each other, with the two winners advancing and the two losers, who have each suffered their second defeat, being eliminated from the tournament. The third round features the two losing teams from the second round (winners’ bracket) versus second-round winners (from the losers’ bracket), while the two remaining undefeated teams get a day of rest. Once the third round is complete, four teams have been eliminated. The remaining four teams will then play each other in the semifinal round, with one team with one loss playing one team with no losses. If a team with a loss loses again, they are eliminated. If teams with no losses suffer a (first) loss, the remaining teams will then be realigned and forced to play one last time, with the winners advancing to the best-of-three championship series. If by chance one or both unbeaten teams win in round four, then that team (or both teams) advances to the best-of-three championship series. From there games are cut to one game per day over the next three days (weather permitting). This feature allows any two of the eight WCWS teams to advance to the championship series, unlike the MCWS, whose two halves remain separate until the championship series.^[1]

The WCWS takes place at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. From 1969 to 1981, the women's collegiate softball championship was also known as the Women's College World Series and was promoted as such.^[2] During 1969–1979, the series was played in Omaha, after which the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) held the series in 1980–1982 in Norman, Oklahoma. There were two competing World Series tournaments in 1982. The NCAA held its first six Division I tournaments in Omaha in 1982–1987, followed by Sunnyvale, California, in 1988–1989. The event has been held in Oklahoma City every year since then, except for 1996, when it was held at the softball venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Columbus, Georgia.

Softball was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981–82 school year, as the NCAA engaged in battle with the AIAW for sole governance of women's collegiate sports. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championship program in the same twelve (and other) sports. The 1982 softball championship tournaments of both the AIAW and the NCAA were called "Women's College World Series". However, after a year of dual women's championships, the NCAA won out over the AIAW.^[3]

Division I

NCAA

Year	Location	Champion^[4]	Title series score***	Runner-up	Semifinalists/tie-3rd		Tie-5th		Tie-7th (first 2 eliminated)
1982	Seymour Smith Park Omaha, NE	UCLA WCAA	2–0 (8 inn)	Fresno State NorPac	Cal State Fullerton WCAA	Arizona State WCAA	Nebraska Big Eight	Western Michigan MAC	Creighton Gateway	Oklahoma State Big Eight
1983	Seymour Smith Park Omaha, NE	Texas A&M Southwest	2–0 (12 inn)	Cal State Fullerton WCAA	UCLA WCAA	South Carolina Independent	Louisiana Tech Southland	Pacific NorPac	Indiana Big Ten	Missouri Big Eight
1984	Seymour Smith Park Omaha, NE	UCLA WCAA	1–0 (13 inn)	Texas A&M Southwest	Northwestern Big Ten	Nebraska Big Eight	Adelphi Atlantic 10	Fresno State NorPac	Cal Poly Pomona Independent	Utah State High Country
1985	Seymour Smith Park Omaha, NE	UCLA WCAA	2–1 (9 inn)	Nebraska* Big Eight	Cal State Fullerton PCAA	Cal Poly Pomona PCAA	Adelphi Atlantic 10	Northwestern Big Ten	Louisiana Tech Southland	Utah High Country
1986	Seymour Smith Park Omaha, NE	Cal State Fullerton PCAA	3–0	Texas A&M Southwest	California NorPac	Indiana Big Ten	Creighton Gateway	Long Beach State PCAA	Louisiana Tech Southland	Northwestern Big Ten
1987	Seymour Smith Park Omaha, NE	Texas A&M Southwest	4–1	UCLA Pac-10	Cal State Fullerton PCAA	Nebraska Big Eight	Central Michigan MAC	Fresno State PCAA	Arizona State Pac-10	Florida State Metro
1988	Twin Creeks Sports Complex Sunnyvale, California	UCLA Pac-10	3–0	Fresno State PCAA	Arizona Pac-10	Cal Poly Pomona PCAA	Nebraska Big Eight	Texas A&M Southwest	Adelphi Atlantic 10	Northern Illinois North Star
1989	Twin Creeks Sports Complex Sunnyvale, California	UCLA Pac-10	1–0	Fresno State Big West	Arizona Pac-10	Oklahoma State Big Eight	Cal Poly Pomona Big West	Oregon Pac-10	South Carolina Metro	Toledo MAC
1990	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	UCLA Pac-10	2–0	Fresno State Big West	Florida State Metro	Oklahoma State Big Eight	Long Beach State Big West	UNLV Big West	Arizona Pac-10	Kent State MAC
1991	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Arizona Pac-10	5–1	UCLA Pac-10	Fresno State Big West	Long Beach State Big West	Florida State Metro	Missouri Big Eight	UNLV Big West	Utah WAC
1992	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	UCLA Pac-10	2–0	Arizona Pac-10	Fresno State Big West	UMass Atlantic 10	California Pac-10	Long Beach State Big West	Florida State ACC	Kansas Big Eight
1993	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Arizona Pac-10	1–0	UCLA Pac-10	Southwestern Louisiana Sun Belt	Oklahoma State Big Eight	Cal State Northridge WAC	Connecticut Big East	Florida State ACC	Long Beach State Big West
1994	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Arizona Pac-10	4–0	Cal State Northridge WAC	Oklahoma State Big Eight	UCLA Pac-10	Fresno State WAC	Utah WAC	Illinois–Chicago Mid-Con	Missouri Big Eight
1995	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	UCLA** Pac-10	4–2	Arizona Pac-10	Iowa Big Ten	UNLV Big West	Cal State Fullerton Big West	Southwestern Louisiana Sun Belt	Michigan Big Ten	Princeton Ivy
1996	Golden Park Columbus, GA	Arizona Pac-10	6–4	Washington Pac-10	Iowa Big Ten	UCLA Pac-10	California Pac-10	Southwestern Louisiana Sun Belt	Michigan Big Ten	Princeton Ivy
1997	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Arizona Pac-10	10–2 (5 inn)	UCLA Pac-10	Fresno State WAC	Washington Pac-10	Iowa Big Ten	Michigan Big Ten	UMass Atlantic 10	South Carolina SEC
1998	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Fresno State WAC	1–0	Arizona Pac-10	Oklahoma State Big 12	Washington Pac-10	Michigan Big Ten	Nebraska Big 12	UMass Atlantic 10	Texas Big 12
1999	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	UCLA Pac-10	3–2	Washington Pac-10	California Pac-10	DePaul Conference USA	Arizona Pac-10	Fresno State WAC	Arizona State Pac-10	Southern Miss Conference USA
2000	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma Big 12	3–1	UCLA Pac-10	Arizona Pac-10	Southern Miss Conference USA	Alabama SEC	Washington Pac-10	California Pac-10	DePaul Conference USA
2001	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Arizona Pac-10	1–0	UCLA Pac-10	LSU SEC	Stanford Pac-10	California Pac-10	Oklahoma Big 12	Iowa Big Ten	Michigan Big Ten
2002	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	California Pac-10	6–0	Arizona Pac-10	Arizona State Pac-10	Florida State ACC	Nebraska Big 12	UCLA Pac-10	Michigan Big Ten	Oklahoma Big 12
2003	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	UCLA Pac-10	1–0 (9 inn)	California Pac-10	Arizona Pac-10	Texas Big 12	Oklahoma Big 12	Washington Pac-10	Alabama SEC	Louisiana–Lafayette Sun Belt
2004	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	UCLA Pac-10	3–1	California Pac-10	LSU SEC	Stanford Pac-10	Florida State ACC	Oklahoma Big 12	Michigan Big Ten	Washington Pac-10
2005***	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Michigan Big Ten	0–5 5–2 4–1 (10 inn)	UCLA Pac-10	Tennessee SEC	Texas Big 12	Alabama SEC	Arizona Pac-10	California Pac-10	DePaul Conference USA
2006	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Arizona Pac-10	8–0 5–0	Northwestern Big Ten	Tennessee SEC	UCLA Pac-10	Arizona State Pac-10	Texas Big 12	Alabama SEC	Oregon State Pac-10
2007	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Arizona Pac-10	0–3 1–0 (10 inn) 5–0	Tennessee SEC	Northwestern Big Ten	Washington Pac-10	Baylor Big 12	DePaul Big East	Arizona State Pac-10	Texas A&M Big 12
2008	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Arizona State Pac-10	3–0 11–0	Texas A&M Big 12	Alabama SEC	Florida SEC	Louisiana–Lafayette Sun Belt	UCLA Pac-10	Arizona Pac-10	Virginia Tech ACC
2009	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Washington Pac-10	8–0 3–2	Florida SEC	Alabama SEC	Georgia SEC	Arizona Pac-10	Michigan Big Ten	Arizona State Pac-10	Missouri Big 12
2010	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	UCLA Pac-10	6–5 (8 inn) 15–9	Arizona Pac-10	Georgia SEC	Tennessee SEC	Florida SEC	Hawaii WAC	Missouri Big 12	Washington Pac-10
2011	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Arizona State Pac-10	14–4 7–2	Florida SEC	Alabama SEC	Baylor Big 12	California Pac-10	Missouri Big 12	Oklahoma Big 12	Oklahoma State Big 12
2012	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Alabama SEC	1–4 8–6 5–4	Oklahoma Big 12	California Pac-12	Arizona State Pac-12	Oregon Pac-12	LSU SEC	South Florida Big East	Tennessee SEC
2013	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma Big 12	5–3 (12 inn) 4–0	Tennessee SEC	Washington Pac-12	Texas Big 12	Michigan Big Ten	Florida SEC	Arizona State Pac-12	Nebraska Big Ten
2014	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Florida SEC	5–0 6–3	Alabama SEC	Oregon Pac-12	Baylor Big 12	Oklahoma Big 12	Kentucky SEC	Louisiana–Lafayette Sun Belt	Florida State ACC
2015	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Florida SEC	3–2 0–1 4–1	Michigan Big Ten	Auburn SEC	LSU SEC	UCLA Pac-12	Alabama SEC	Oregon Pac-12	Tennessee SEC
2016	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma Big 12	3–2 7–11 (8 inn) 2–1	Auburn SEC	Florida State ACC	LSU SEC	Michigan Big Ten	Georgia SEC	Alabama SEC	UCLA Pac-12
2017	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma Big 12	7–5 (17 inn) 5–4	Florida SEC	Oregon Pac-12	Washington Pac-12	LSU SEC	UCLA Pac-12	Baylor Big 12	Texas A&M SEC
2018	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Florida State ACC	1–0 8–3	Washington Pac-12	UCLA Pac-12	Oklahoma Big 12	Oregon Pac-12	Florida SEC	Georgia SEC	Arizona State Pac-12
2019	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	UCLA Pac-12	16–3 5–4	Oklahoma Big 12	Alabama SEC	Washington Pac-12	Arizona Pac-12	Oklahoma State Big 12	Florida SEC	Minnesota Big Ten
2020	Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma Big 12	4–8 6–2 5–1	Florida State ACC	Alabama SEC	James Madison CAA	Oklahoma State Big 12	UCLA Pac-12	Arizona Pac-12	Georgia SEC
2022	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma Big 12	16–1 10–5	Texas Big 12	Oklahoma State Big 12	UCLA Pac-12	Arizona Pac-12	Florida SEC	Northwestern Big Ten	Oregon State Pac-12
2023	USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma Big 12	5–0 3–1	Florida State ACC	Stanford Pac-12	Tennessee SEC	Washington Pac-12	Oklahoma State Big 12	Utah Pac-12	Alabama SEC
2024	Devon Park Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma Big 12	8–3 8–4	Texas Big 12	Stanford Pac-12	Florida SEC	UCLA Pac-12	Alabama SEC	Duke ACC	Oklahoma State Big 12
2025	Devon Park Oklahoma City, OK	Texas SEC	2–1 3–4 10–4	Texas Tech Big 12	Oklahoma SEC	Tennessee SEC	Oregon Big Ten	UCLA Big Ten	Florida SEC	Ole Miss SEC

* Nebraska's runner-up finish in 1985 was vacated by the NCAA.

** The 1995 title by UCLA and any related records have been vacated by the NCAA due to scholarship violations. Criticism also centered on UCLA player Tanya Harding who was recruited from Queensland, Australia, midway through the 1995 season. After UCLA captured the NCAA National Championship, Harding, the MVP of the tournament, returned to her homeland without taking final exams or earning a single college credit. Despite not violating any formal rules in recruiting Harding, the incident generated heated criticism that some foreign athletes were little more than hired guns.^[5]^[6]

*** Beginning in 2005, a best-of-three series determines the national championship.

AIAW

From 1969 to 1972, the DGWS (forerunner organization of the AIAW) recognized the WCWS, organized by the Amateur Softball Association, as the collegiate championship tournament. The AIAW assumed responsibilities from DGWS in 1973.

Year	Champion^[4]	Title series game score(s)	Runner-up
1969	John F. Kennedy College	2–0	Illinois State
1970	John F. Kennedy College	0–2 7–6	Southwest Missouri State
1971	John F. Kennedy College	6–0 4–0	Iowa State
1972	Arizona State	0–1 8–5 (11 inn)	Nihon University
1973	Arizona State	0–4 4–3 (16 inn)	Illinois State
1974	Southwest Missouri State	14–7	Northern Colorado
1975	Nebraska–Omaha	1–11 6–4	Northern Iowa
1976	Michigan State	3–0	Northern Colorado
1977	Northern Iowa	0–1 (9 inn) 7–0	Arizona
1978	UCLA	3–0	Northern Colorado
1979	Texas Woman's	1–0 1–0	UCLA
1980^[a]	Utah State	1–0 2–1	Indiana
1981^[b]	Utah State	1–6 4–3	Cal State Fullerton
1982	Texas A&M	4–1 5–3 (8 inn)	Oklahoma State

^ Officially named the "AIAW Division I National Softball Championship."^[4]^: 54
^ Officially named the "AIAW College Softball World Series."^[4]^: 58

NCAA team titles by school

Team	Number	Winning years
UCLA	12	1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2019
Arizona	8	1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007
Oklahoma	8	2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Arizona State	2	2008, 2011
Florida	2	2014, 2015
Texas A&M	2	1983, 1987
Alabama	1	2012
Cal State Fullerton	1	1986
California	1	2002
Florida State	1	2018
Fresno State	1	1998
Michigan	1	2005
Texas	1	2025
Washington	1	2009

*UCLA also won the 1995 title, but it has since been vacated by the NCAA; see above.

AIAW team titles by school

From 1969 to 1972, the DGWS (forerunner organization of the AIAW) recognized the WCWS, organized by the Amateur Softball Association, as the collegiate championship tournament. The AIAW assumed responsibilities from DGWS in 1973.

School	Championships^[4]	Years
John F. Kennedy College (NE)	3	1969, 1970, 1971 (all DGWS)
Arizona State	2	1972 (DGWS), 1973
Utah State	2	1980, 1981
Florida State	2	1981, 1982 (both slow pitch)
Southwest Missouri State	1	1974
Nebraska–Omaha	1	1975
Michigan State	1	1976
Northern Iowa	1	1977
UCLA	1	1978
Texas Woman's	1	1979
Texas A&M	1	1982

Championships & appearances by school

Color coded by current conference.
Bold indicates team championship.
Teams are listed under their current athletic brand names.

School	Championships^[4] (through 2025)	Title games/series (through 2025)	WCWS appearances (through 2025)	WCWS appearances (through 2025)
UCLA^‡	13	22	36	1978, 1979, 1981, 1982,^[a] 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025
Arizona	8	14	29	1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2021, 2022
Oklahoma	8	10	22	1975, 1980, 1981, 1982,^[b] 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Arizona State	4	4	19	1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982,^[a] 1987, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018
Oklahoma State	0	1	16	1977, 1980, 1981, 1982,^[b] 1982,^[a] 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Washington	1	4	15	1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023
California	1	3	15	1980, 1981, 1982,^[b] 1986, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012
Alabama	1	2	15	2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
Michigan	1	2	13	1982,^[b] 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016
Florida	2	5	13	2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025
Florida State	1	3	12	1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023
Fresno State	1	5	12	1982,^[a] 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999
Texas A&M	3	6	12	1979, 1980, 1981, 1982,^[b] 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2007, 2008, 2017
Northern Colorado	0	3	11	1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979
South Carolina	0	0	11	1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1989, 1997
Missouri State^[c]	1	2	10	1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982^[b]
Omaha^[d]	1	1	10	1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979
Nebraska^‡	0	0	9	1970, 1971, 1982,^[a] 1984, 1987, 1988, 1998, 2002, 2013
Cal State Fullerton	1	3	8	1980, 1981, 1982,^[a] 1983, 1985, 1986 1987, 1995
Illinois State	0	2	8	1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1981
Western Illinois	0	0	8	1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982^[b]
Oregon	0	0	9	1976, 1980, 1989, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2025
Tennessee	0	2	9	2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2023, 2025
Texas	1	3	8	1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2022, 2024, 2025
Missouri	0	0	7	1981, 1983, 1991, 1994, 2009, 2010, 2011
Cal Poly Pomona	0	0	7	1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989
Kansas	0	0	7	1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1992
Michigan State	1	1	6	1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981
Louisiana	0	0	6	1993, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2008, 2014
LSU	0	0	6	2001, 2004, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017
Utah	0	0	6	1976, 1982,^[b] 1985, 1991, 1994, 2023
Northwestern	0	1	6	1984, 1985, 1986, 2006, 2007, 2022
UMass	0	0	6	1974, 1978, 1980, 1992, 1997, 1998
Long Beach State	0	0	5	1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993
Creighton	0	0	5	1969, 1980, 1981, 1982,^[a] 1986
Georgia	0	0	5	2009, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2021
Oregon State	0	0	5	1977, 1978, 1979, 2006, 2022
Wayne State (NE)	0	0	5	1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
Utah State	2	2	4	1978, 1980, 1981, 1984
Northern Iowa	1	2	4	1973, 1975, 1976, 1977
Baylor	0	0	4	2007, 2011, 2014, 2017
Indiana	0	1	4	1979, 1980, 1983, 1986
DePaul	0	0	4	1999, 2000, 2005, 2007
Iowa	0	0	4	1995, 1996, 1997, 2001
Southern Illinois^[e]	0	0	4	1970, 1971, 1977, 1978
South Dakota State	0	0	4	1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
Stanford	0	0	4	2001, 2004, 2023, 2024
Luther (IA)	0	0	4	1970, 1971, 1972, 1974
John F. Kennedy (NE)	3	3	3	1969, 1970, 1971
Texas Woman's	1	1	3	1975, 1978, 1979
Minnesota	0	0	3	1976, 1978, 2019
Louisiana Tech	0	0	3	1983, 1985, 1986
Adelphi	0	0	3	1984, 1985, 1988
UNLV	0	0	3	1990, 1991, 1995
Western Michigan	0	0	3	1980, 1981, 1982^[a]
Nebraska–Kearney^[f]	0	0	3	1969, 1970, 1971
Minot State	0	0	3	1970, 1971, 1972
Emporia State	0	0	3	1971, 1972, 1979
Weber State	0	0	3	1973, 1974, 1975
North Dakota State	0	0	3	1973, 1974, 1975
Iowa State	0	1	2	1971, 1973
Cal State Northridge	0	1	2	1993, 1994
Princeton	0	0	2	1995, 1996
Southern Miss	0	0	2	1999, 2000
Central Michigan	0	0	2	1982,^[b] 1987
Minnesota–Duluth	0	0	2	1970, 1971
Midland Lutheran (NE)	0	0	2	1970, 1971
New Mexico	0	0	2	1980, 1981
Rutgers	0	0	2	1979, 1981
Concordia (NE)	0	0	2	1970, 1971
Upper Iowa	0	0	2	1970, 1971
Eastern Illinois	0	0	2	1971, 1974
Central Missouri	0	0	2	1971, 1972
Ball State	0	0	2	1973, 1975
Indiana State	0	0	2	1974, 1976
East Stroudsburg	0	0	2	1975, 1976
Northern State	0	0	2	1975, 1976
UT Arlington	0	0	2	1976, 1977
Sacramento State	0	0	2	1976, 1977
Texas Tech	0	1	1	2025
Auburn	0	1	2	2015, 2016
Duke	0	0	1	2024
Hawaii	0	0	1	2010
James Madison	0	0	1	2021
Kent State	0	0	1	1990
Kentucky	0	0	1	2014
Ole Miss	0	0	1	2025
Northern Illinois	0	0	1	1988
Pacific^[g]	0	0	1	1983
South Florida	0	0	1	2012
Toledo	0	0	1	1989
UConn	0	0	1	1993
UIC	0	0	1	1994
Virginia Tech	0	0	1	2008
St. Petersburg Junior College (FL)	0	0	1	1969
Black Hills State (SD)	0	0	1	1969
Midwestern (IA)	0	0	1	1970
Parsons (IA)	0	0	1	1971
Wartburg (IA)	0	0	1	1971
Wisconsin–Eau Claire^[h]	0	0	1	1971
South Dakota	0	0	1	1971
Southwest Baptist (MO)	0	0	1	1971
Buena Vista (IA)	0	0	1	1971
Simpson (IA)	0	0	1	1971
University of Tokyo–Nihon	0	1	1	1972
Keene State	0	0	1	1972
Purdue	0	0	1	1972
West Georgia	0	0	1	1974
Golden West College (CA)	0	0	1	1974
Winona State	0	0	1	1974
Nassau Community College (NY)	0	0	1	1974
Western Oregon^[i]	0	0	1	1975
Northwest Missouri State	0	0	1	1975
Ohio	0	0	1	1975
Minnesota State^[j]	0	0	1	1975
Tarkio (MO)	0	0	1	1976
Northwestern Oklahoma State	0	0	1	1976
Mayville State (ND)	0	0	1	1976
West Chester (PA)	0	0	1	1977
Springfield (MA)	0	0	1	1977
Portland State	0	0	1	1978
Stephen F. Austin	0	0	1	1978
Chapman (CA)	0	0	1	1979
New Mexico State	0	0	1	1981
Ohio State	0	0	1	1982^[b]
Rhode Island	0	0	1	1982^[b]
U.S. International (CA)^[k]	0	0	1	1982^[b]

^‡ UCLA's 1995 NCAA championship and Nebraska's 1985 runner-up finish were vacated by the NCAA and are not counted

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h NCAA WCWS participant in 1982, when both the AIAW and NCAA conducted championships with the same name
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l AIAW WCWS participant in 1982, when both the AIAW and NCAA conducted championships with the same name
^ All appearances to date made as Southwest Missouri State.
^ All appearances to date made as Nebraska–Omaha.
^ The NCAA uses "Southern Illinois" strictly to refer to the university's main campus in Carbondale. The Edwardsville campus is referred to as either "SIU Edwardsville" or "SIUE".
^ Made all appearances as Kearney State.
^ This is the Division I institution in California, in full the University of the Pacific. The Division III institution in Oregon named Pacific University is referred to as "Pacific (OR)".
^ Made only appearance as Wisconsin State University–Eau Claire.
^ Made only appearance as Oregon College of Education.
^ Made only appearance as Mankato State.
^ Now known as Alliant International; no longer sponsors athletics.

Championships and appearances by conference

This listing excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1982 (both Division I tournaments in 1982—AIAW and NCAA—were called "Women's College World Series").

Conference	Championships (Through 2025)	Title Game/Series Appearances (Through 2025)	WCWS appearances (Through 2025)
Pac-12^{[c 1]}	24	39	99
SEC	4	11	56
Big 12	8	12	44
Big Ten	1	3	27
Big West^{[c 2]}	1	4	22
ACC	1	3	13
Big Eight^{[c 3]}^{[c 4]}			12
WAC^{[c 5]}	1	2	11
Atlantic 10			6
Southwest^{[c 6]}^{[c 4]}	2	4	5
Conference USA^{[c 7]}			5
Sun Belt			6
MAC			4
Metro^{[c 7]}^{[c 4]}			4
Southland			3
Big East^{[c 8]}			3
Ivy			2
Missouri Valley^{[c 9]}			2
CAA			1
Independent			2
Summit League^{[c 10]}			1
NorPac^{[c 11]}^{[c 4]}		1	3
North Star^{[c 12]}^{[c 4]}			1
WCAA^{[c 13]}^{[c 4]}	3	3	6

Notes

^ UCLA's 1995 WCWS participation & title were vacated by the NCAA and are not included in these figures; see above. The Pac-12, which adopted its current name on July 1, 2011, retains all historical records from its years as the Pac-10. The conference had adopted the "Pac-10" name in 1978, but did not begin sponsoring women's sports until the 1986–87 school year.
^ The Big West Conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association until July 1988. Totals include all appearances by conference members under both names, but includes only appearances after the conference began sponsoring women's sports in 1984–85.
^ Nebraska's 1985 WCWS participation & title game appearance were vacated by the NCAA and are not included in these totals. The Big Eight merged with four teams from the Southwest Conference to form the Big 12 in 1996.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Conference is now defunct.
^ The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) did not sponsor women's sports until the 1990–91 academic year, after absorbing the High Country Athletic Conference (HCAC), a parallel women's-only conference. The WAC maintains all historic records from the HCAC; totals include Utah State's 1984 and Utah's 1985 appearances while in the HCAC. The WAC will rebrand as the United Athletic Conference after the 2026 season.
^ Texas A&M won two titles in four title game and five WCWS appearances while they were still members of the Southwest Conference, which is now defunct. Texas A&M was a charter member of the Big 12 in 1996, but left for the Southeastern Conference in July 2012.
^ ^a ^b Following the breakup of the Metro in 1991 by Florida State, South Carolina, Cincinnati, and Memphis, the Metro and its breakaway Great Midwest Conference reunified in 1995 as Conference USA.
^ Although the American Conference inherited the charter of the original Big East Conference following the 2013 Big East split, the current Big East Conference maintains all athletic records of the original conference in all sports that it currently sponsors.
^ Records include those of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference when it was originally a women's-only conference parallel to the MVC. In 1985, after the MVC stopped sponsoring football, the Gateway took on football as its only men's sport. In 1992, the women's portion of the Gateway merged into the MVC, which maintains all historic records of Gateway women's sports. The football side of the conference maintained the Gateway charter, first as the Gateway Football Conference and now the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
^ The Mid-Continent Conference adopted its current name of The Summit League in June 2007.
^ The NorPac, in full the Northern Pacific Conference, was a women's-only conference that operated from 1982 to 1986. The conference disbanded when the then-Pac-10, home to five of the final seven NorPac members, began sponsoring women's sports in 1986–87. The remaining two schools, which were members of the PCAA for men's sports, moved their women's sports to that conference.
^ The North Star Conference was a women's-only conference that merged into the Mid-Continent Conference, now The Summit League, in 1992. The Summit maintains all historic records of North Star sports.
^ The WCAA, in full the Western Collegiate Athletic Association, was a women's-only conference that operated from 1981 to 1986. Its final five members were all members of the conference known at the time as the Pac-10 and moved their women's sports to that league.

Championships coaches

Updated through 2025 World Series

Source:^[7]

Coach	NCAA Championships (Through 2025)	Title Game/Series Appearances (Through 2025)	WCWS Appearances (Through 2025)	Schools
Mike Candrea	8 (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007)	13	23	Arizona
Patty Gasso	8 (2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)	10	17	Oklahoma
Sharron Backus^{[d 1]}	7 (1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992)	12	14	UCLA
Sue Enquist^{[d 2]}	6 (1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2004)	13	16	UCLA
Bob Brock^{[d 3]}	2 (1983, 1987)	4	5	Texas A&M
Clint Myers	2 (2008, 2011)	3	9	Arizona State
Clint Myers	2 (2008, 2011)	3	9	Auburn
Kelly Inouye-Perez	2 (2010, 2019)	2	9	UCLA
Tim Walton	2 (2014, 2015)	3	11	Florida
Mike White	1 (2025)	3	8	Texas
Lonni Alameda	1 (2018)	3	5	Florida State
Judi Garman^{[d 4]}	1 (1986)	1	6	Cal State Fullerton
Carol Hutchins	1 (2005)	2	12	Michigan
Patrick Murphy	1 (2012)	2	14	Alabama
Diane Ninemire	1 (2002)	3	11	California
Heather Tarr	1 (2009)	2	8	Washington
Margie Wright	1 (1998)	4	10	Fresno State

Notes

^ Sharron Backus also coached UCLA to the AIAW WCWS championship in 1978.
^ UCLA's 1995 WCWS participation & title were vacated by the NCAA and are not included in these figures; see above. The Pac-12, which adopted its current name on July 1, 2011, retains all historical records from its years as the Pac-10. The conference had adopted the "Pac-10" name in 1978, but did not begin sponsoring women's sports until the 1986–87 school year.
^ Bob Brock also coached Texas A&M to the AIAW WCWS championship in 1982.
^ Judi Garman also coached Cal State Fullerton to the AIAW WCWS final in 1981.

Footnotes

References

^ "8 things to know about the 2022 Women's College World Series | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
^ Mary L. Littlewood (1998). Women's Fastpitch Softball – The Path to the Gold, An Historical Look at Women's Fastpitch in the United States (first ed.). National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Columbia, Missouri. pp. 145, 208. ISBN 0-9664310-0-6.
^ Grundy, Pamela & Shackelford, Susan (2005). Shattering the Glass. The New Press. ISBN 1-56584-822-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
^ Starr, Mark (June 12, 1995). "No Credit For UCLA". Newsweek. p. 58.
^ Montville, Leigh (June 12, 1995). "Ringer From Down Under". Sports Illustrated.
^ "CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY".

[7] Officially named the "AIAW Division I National Softball Championship."^[4]^: 54

[8] Officially named the "AIAW College Softball World Series."^[4]^: 58

[fn2-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h NCAA WCWS participant in 1982, when both the AIAW and NCAA conducted championships with the same name

[fn1-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l AIAW WCWS participant in 1982, when both the AIAW and NCAA conducted championships with the same name

[11] All appearances to date made as Southwest Missouri State.

[12] All appearances to date made as Nebraska–Omaha.

[13] The NCAA uses "Southern Illinois" strictly to refer to the university's main campus in Carbondale. The Edwardsville campus is referred to as either "SIU Edwardsville" or "SIUE".

[14] Made all appearances as Kearney State.

[15] This is the Division I institution in California, in full the University of the Pacific. The Division III institution in Oregon named Pacific University is referred to as "Pacific (OR)".

[16] Made only appearance as Wisconsin State University–Eau Claire.

[17] Made only appearance as Oregon College of Education.

[18] Made only appearance as Mankato State.

[19] Now known as Alliant International; no longer sponsors athletics.

[20] UCLA's 1995 WCWS participation & title were vacated by the NCAA and are not included in these figures; see above. The Pac-12, which adopted its current name on July 1, 2011, retains all historical records from its years as the Pac-10. The conference had adopted the "Pac-10" name in 1978, but did not begin sponsoring women's sports until the 1986–87 school year.

[21] The Big West Conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association until July 1988. Totals include all appearances by conference members under both names, but includes only appearances after the conference began sponsoring women's sports in 1984–85.

[22] Nebraska's 1985 WCWS participation & title game appearance were vacated by the NCAA and are not included in these totals. The Big Eight merged with four teams from the Southwest Conference to form the Big 12 in 1996.

[Defunct-23] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Conference is now defunct.

[24] The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) did not sponsor women's sports until the 1990–91 academic year, after absorbing the High Country Athletic Conference (HCAC), a parallel women's-only conference. The WAC maintains all historic records from the HCAC; totals include Utah State's 1984 and Utah's 1985 appearances while in the HCAC. The WAC will rebrand as the United Athletic Conference after the 2026 season.

[25] Texas A&M won two titles in four title game and five WCWS appearances while they were still members of the Southwest Conference, which is now defunct. Texas A&M was a charter member of the Big 12 in 1996, but left for the Southeastern Conference in July 2012.

[CUSA-26] Following the breakup of the Metro in 1991 by Florida State, South Carolina, Cincinnati, and Memphis, the Metro and its breakaway Great Midwest Conference reunified in 1995 as Conference USA.

[27] Although the American Conference inherited the charter of the original Big East Conference following the 2013 Big East split, the current Big East Conference maintains all athletic records of the original conference in all sports that it currently sponsors.

[28] Records include those of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference when it was originally a women's-only conference parallel to the MVC. In 1985, after the MVC stopped sponsoring football, the Gateway took on football as its only men's sport. In 1992, the women's portion of the Gateway merged into the MVC, which maintains all historic records of Gateway women's sports. The football side of the conference maintained the Gateway charter, first as the Gateway Football Conference and now the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

[29] The Mid-Continent Conference adopted its current name of The Summit League in June 2007.

[30] The NorPac, in full the Northern Pacific Conference, was a women's-only conference that operated from 1982 to 1986. The conference disbanded when the then-Pac-10, home to five of the final seven NorPac members, began sponsoring women's sports in 1986–87. The remaining two schools, which were members of the PCAA for men's sports, moved their women's sports to that conference.

[31] The North Star Conference was a women's-only conference that merged into the Mid-Continent Conference, now The Summit League, in 1992. The Summit maintains all historic records of North Star sports.

[32] The WCAA, in full the Western Collegiate Athletic Association, was a women's-only conference that operated from 1981 to 1986. Its final five members were all members of the conference known at the time as the Pac-10 and moved their women's sports to that league.

[34] Sharron Backus also coached UCLA to the AIAW WCWS championship in 1978.

[35] UCLA's 1995 WCWS participation & title were vacated by the NCAA and are not included in these figures; see above. The Pac-12, which adopted its current name on July 1, 2011, retains all historical records from its years as the Pac-10. The conference had adopted the "Pac-10" name in 1978, but did not begin sponsoring women's sports until the 1986–87 school year.

[36] Bob Brock also coached Texas A&M to the AIAW WCWS championship in 1982.

[37] Judi Garman also coached Cal State Fullerton to the AIAW WCWS final in 1981.

[1] "8 things to know about the 2022 Women's College World Series | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2024-06-11.

[2] Mary L. Littlewood (1998). Women's Fastpitch Softball – The Path to the Gold, An Historical Look at Women's Fastpitch in the United States (first ed.). National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Columbia, Missouri. pp. 145, 208. ISBN 0-9664310-0-6.

[3] Grundy, Pamela & Shackelford, Susan (2005). Shattering the Glass. The New Press. ISBN 1-56584-822-5.

[Plummer-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.

[starr-5] Starr, Mark (June 12, 1995). "No Credit For UCLA". Newsweek. p. 58.

[montville-6] Montville, Leigh (June 12, 1995). "Ringer From Down Under". Sports Illustrated.

[33] "CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY".

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