The Oklahoma Sooners, one of the most dominant programs in college softball history, will miss the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015 after falling to SEC foe Mississippi State in the Super Regionals.
The Bulldogs, led by a dominant performance from junior Delainey Everett in the circle Sunday, won games 1 and 3 of the series to knock out a Sooners program that won a record four straight national championships between 2021 and 2025. Everett pitched just 13.1 innings in the regular season, but she tossed seven shutout innings Sunday to stun the Sooners.
Mississippi State advanced to the Super Regionals for just the second time in school history after upsetting Oregon a week earlier, then beat the No. 3 overall-seeded Sooners 11-9 in Game 1 on Friday. Oklahoma answered with a 7-1 victory on Saturday to force a winner-take-all Game 3, but the Bulldogs took the rubber match, 6-0, to seal the deal and clinch the program’s first trip to the WCWS. Before this weekend’s Super Regional, Mississippi State hadn’t scored six runs in a game since April 19, and did so only twice since the start of April.
In a Sooners season that included a thrilling home run record chase by freshman phenom Kendall Wells — the catcher finished with 39, solidifying a new freshman mark – pitching was the biggest concern for coach Patty Gasso’s squad. In the Supers, Miali Guachino, Audrey Lowry and Sydney Berzon allowed a combined 18 runs — more than the Sooners had allowed in any regular-season SEC series this season.
We want some MO!!!!!!
📺 https://t.co/t2IHfOYYSu@morganb013 | #HailState pic.twitter.com/MMQ81rCHMb
— Mississippi State Softball (@HailStateSB) May 24, 2026
Mississippi State will be joined by No. 1 overall seed Alabama, Nebraska, Arkansas, Tennessee, UCLA and Texas Tech in Oklahoma City. The Red Raiders stunned No. 6 Florida in Game 3 in a tense matchup Sunday afternoon, while the Arizona State-Texas series is yet to be decided, with Game 3 underway.
Following a weekend derailed by multiple weather delays across the eight Super Regional sites, the competition at Devon Park will be a mix of perennial powerhouses and rising forces. After run-ruling Duke in two consecutive games, Arkansas, the No. 5 seed overall, punched its first ticket to the WCWS behind dominant pitching performances from Robyn Herron and Payton Burnham and relentless offensive rallies led by Tianna Bell, Dakota Kennedy and Ella McDowell.
While the Hogs and Bulldogs are the only programs headed to the WCWS for the first time, Nebraska ended a 13-year WCWS drought with a two-game sweep of Oklahoma State. Led by pitchers Jordy Frahm and Alexis Jensen, Nebraska took down the Cowgirls in their first Super Regional hosting bid. While Frahm previously won two titles with Oklahoma, the star two-way player is looking to help the Huskers win their first national championship in program history to close out her storied career.
Tennessee was the first team of the eight to punch its ticket to OKC after the three-headed monster of Karlyn Pickens, Sage Mardjetko and Erin Nuwer shut down SEC rival Georgia. The Vols advanced to their second straight WCWS and 10th in program history, finally breaking out at the plate after a lull that lasted the second half of the regular season. Sophia Knight got the scoring going with her first homer of the year in leadoff fashion in Game 1 off Georgia ace Addisen Fisher, then stayed hot in Game 2 with a two-run homer. Coach Karen Weekly is in search of her first national title in 25 years in Knoxville.
Alabama and UCLA, two of the most storied programs in the sport, are returning to the WCWS for the 16th and 34th times, respectively. The Tide have one national title under their belt from the Jackie Traina-led squad in 2012, while the Bruins lead all college softball programs with 12 national championships. Alabama has had a successful season behind the arms of SEC Pitcher of the Year Jocelyn Briski and Vic Moten, while the Bruins have broken multiple records with the dynamic bats of Megan Grant — who shattered Laura Espinoza’s single-season home run record (37) that stood for 31 years with 40 homers — and Jordan Woolery.
The action in Oklahoma City begins with four games on Thursday, with the eight teams competing in a double- elimination bracket until the final two teams are decided. The national champion will then be determined via a best-of-three series. The first four matchups are as follows:
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 8 UCLA
No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Arkansas
No. 2 Texas/Arizona State vs. No. 7 Tennessee
No. 11 Texas Tech vs. Mississippi State
This story will be updated.
