There is no doubt that college softball is growing more and more popular throughout the sports community. Softball has been compared to baseball for many years, causing a bad reputation for the sport; however, softball is a quick paced game that many people don’t realize they love. In 2021, the Women’s College World Series brought in 1.2 million viewers, which was around half a million more than baseball that year.
College softball was adopted by the NCAA in 1910, 51 one years after baseball was created. Softball grew more popular during World War ll, when women were forced to step into playing baseball while men were at war. The first world series wasn’t played until 1982 in Nebraska, but has been gaining thousands of viewers since then. Although baseball has been the dominant sport forever, many people don’t realize that college softball is more entertaining until they are forced to watch a game.
Taking a look into this year’s 2024 college softball season, Texas College sits at number one after winning a series over The University of Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma has been dominant in the softball community for years, winning the last three world series titles. The team had the longest win streak of 71 games, spanning over two seasons, and player Jocleyn Alo set the homerun record of 122 in all of college softball. The University of Oklahoma sticks out against other teams because of their impressive offensive abilities to always put up runs and aggressive plays. Texas College continues to hold their number one spot as the season progresses, while The University of Oklahoma sits at number two.
LSU, Stanford, and Duke have taken the next three spots in the rankings. UCLA has made their way up to number six in the rankings after a rough start to the season, and Tennessee moved down to eight after being in the top three at the beginning of the season. While every team has unique players and coaches, it seems that Texas College and The University of Oklahoma will be battling it out for the championship.
In 2021, a professional women’s fastpitch league was created for graduating college athletes. The Women’s Professional Fastpitch League consists of four teams, and recently announced that the league will be expanding internationally. As of now, the league is small, but is gaining a lot of attention. After Oklahoma player Jocleyn Alo joined the league, a lot more people are starting to support professional softball.
“It was fun watching all of my favorite college players play in an actual professional league. I was excited to watch everyone have a chance to continue playing beyond college.” Ella Summers said.
College softball and The Women’s Professional Fastpitch League are gaining more and more viewers each year. While the game may have had a bad reputation in the past, it continues to be an entertaining sport in the eyes of many viewers.
