Edit Desk: My family and 2.7 million others’ softball tradition

I started playing softball when I was 4 years old living in Arizona. My mom coached every one of my teams until I made the varsity level. Practice and games always served as a bonding time for the two of us.

Following a number of health scares during my freshman year at Lehigh, the Women’s College World Series became a solace for my family. A place where the world melted away, where we picked our favorite teams to win and shared a disdain for the University of Oklahoma. 

That summer, I was unable to walk. I remained couch-ridden with only the blanket I was crocheting and the television playing the WCWS to block out the debilitating pain. 

What started as a casual watch turned into an annual tradition, and we weren’t alone.

The tournament dates back to 1982 in Omaha, Nebraska, when there were sparse crowds. For decades it moved between cities, from Sunnyvale, California, to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, struggling to find a permanent home and consistent media coverage. 

It wasn’t until Oklahoma City became the tournament’s permanent home in 1990 that the WCWS began constructing the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, now Devon Park, to give the sport a premiere venue.

While my personal opposition toward the Oklahoma Sooners may seem confusing, they have become the strongest and most successful team in all of college softball. 

Oklahoma has won the national championship eight times, making a historic run from 2021-24 before the University of Texas eliminated them from the series and claimed this year’s title. 

The Sooners’ offense set the NCAA Division I record by surpassing 100 home runs for the sixth straight season in 2025, finishing with 121 home runs to place second in the nation. 

This wasn’t just a team anymore. It was a machine that redefined what was possible in college softball.

Much of that power came from Jocelyn Alo who became the face of Oklahoma’s dynasty. Alo rewrote the record books during her career, becoming the NCAA’s all-time home run leader with 122 career homers. 

She didn’t just break the previous record. She shattered it, finishing her career 34 home runs ahead of the next top player. 

Here’s what should make every sports media executive pay attention: college softball is already beating professional baseball in the ratings game.

At the start of the 2025 season, Sunday Night Baseball averaged 1.7 million viewers.

The first two WCWS Finals games outperformed that, drawing 2.1 million viewers this year and breaking the record for viewership. 

Then in the third game, when University of Texas at Austin claimed its first national title against Texas Tech University, it peaked at 2.7 million viewers, becoming the most watched NCAA WCWS game ever. 

The debate isn’t whether college softball deserves mainstream coverage. The numbers have already answered that.

Rather, the question is how long will it take for sports media to catch up to what millions of viewers already know?

This past summer, I stayed at Villanova University for my internship. Through every game, I would call my parents to talk. 

We would stay on the phone for innings at a time, screaming during big plays that could instantly turn a game on its head. 

If we weren’t on the phone, we would be texting back and forth incessantly. 

This brought a little piece of home to my summer spent apart from my family. 

Being an hour and a half away from them, and losing my personal connection to softball with my mom, the WCWS games connected us despite the distance. 

My family and I always look forward to June because of the collegiate series. We love to pick our favorite teams, my mom’s being Florida State University, and see who the underdog is that may have a Cinderella story. 

No matter where I end up after graduation, I know my parents will be a phone call away to talk about the big game and feel like we’re all under the same roof again.

Every summer, my family still gathers around the TV for the WCWS. But now, we’re joined by millions of others who’ve discovered what we knew all along — college softball is must-watch television. It’s time for the national media to join us on that couch.