Texas softball’s path back to the championship series of the Women’s College World Series has been hard.
After cruising its way through the Austin Regional and reverse sweeping Arizona State in the Austin Super Regional, the Longhorns fell to No. 7 Tennessee in their opening game of the WCWS. That dropped them into the elimination bracket and created an uphill battle.
The Longhorns would bounce back, though, with a 4-0 shutout win over Mississippi State to stay alive in the elimination bracket. Texas then came from behind on a three-run home run from Katie Stewart to eliminate No. 4 Nebraska, a swing from Stewart that also ended a 5⅓-inning no-hitter bid from Jordy Frahm.
Then came the rematch against the Lady Vols, where the Longhorns needed two wins over their SEC foe to advance to the WCWS finals. News flash, they did, and did it grandly. Texas outscored Tennessee 9-2 in both games, while Teagan Kavan outmatched ASUL No. 1 overall pick Karlyn Pickens with seven scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts in the circle.
Now, the Longhorns are looking to win back-to-back championships. They’ll look to do so against a familiar opponent in No. 11 Texas Tech, which the Longhorns beat in the WCWS finals last season by taking two of three, making this the first time in the current WCWS bracket format era that the same two teams have met in the finals in back-to-back seasons.
Here’s what to know:
Who was the last repeat national champion of the WCWS?
The last back-to-back national champion of the Women’s College World Series is Oklahoma. The Sooners, during their dominant run as college softball’s premier powerhouse, won four consecutive titles from 2021 to 2024.
One would need to go back over a decade to find the last back-to-back national champion that wasn’t the Sooners. That program would be Florida, which won the WCWS in 2014 (defeated Alabama) and in 2015 (defeated Michigan).
Repeat WCWS champions
Here’s a list of the programs that have won back-to-back WCWS titles:
- Oklahoma: 2017-2018; and 2021-2024
- Florida: 2014-2015
- UCLA: 1984-1985; 1988-1990; and 2003-2004
- Arizona: 1993-1994; and 2006-2007
Past WCWS champions
Here’s a look at past WCWS champions, dating back to 2010:
- 2025: Texas (defeated Texas Tech)
- 2024: Oklahoma (defeated Texas)
- 2023: Oklahoma (defeated Florida State)
- 2022: Oklahoma (defeated Texas)
- 2021: Oklahoma (defeated Florida State)
- 2020: Canceled due to COVID-19
- 2019: UCLA (defeated Oklahoma)
- 2018: Florida State (defeated Washington)
- 2017: Oklahoma (defeated Florida)
- 2016: Oklahoma (defeated Auburn)
- 2015: Florida (defeated Michigan)
- 2014: Florida (defeated Alabama)
- 2013: Oklahoma (defeated Tennessee)
- 2012: Alabama (defeated Oklahoma)
- 2011: Arizona State (defeated Florida)
- 2010: UCLA (defeated Arizona)
Click here to view the full list of WCWS champions dating back to 1982.
WCWS bracket 2026
Click here to see how the WCWS bracket has played out this season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WCWS repeat champions: Texas looking to win back-to-back vs Texas Tech
