For the second straight year, Texas took down Texas Tech to win the Women’s College World Series. It then became the second most-watched WCWS finals ever, ESPN announced Monday.
The two-game WCWS championship series averaged 2.2 million viewers on ESPN, the network said. Game 1 averaged 1.9 million viewers on Wednesday while Game 2 brought a record 2.5 million on average as Texas repeated as champion. The second game is now the most-watched college softball game on record.
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For comparison, last year’s WCWS finals also averaged 2.2 million viewers across a three-game series, which included 2.4 million viewers for the decisive Game 3 as Texas won its first title. It marked record viewership as college softball continued to surge in popularity. Add in record attendance at this year’s WCWS, and Texas coach Mike White said softball is still on an upward trajectory.
All eyes were on the '26 #WCWS Champ Series 📈
🥎 2nd most-watched Finals EVER
🥎 Game 2 between @TexasSoftball–@TexasTechSB 2.5M avg. viewers, most-watched college softball game ON RECORD
Complete WCWS viewership coming Tuesday#NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/UbghWdNPkT
“Hats off to the organizing committee,” White said. “They’re the ones who had a lot of work to do to keep this thing successful, and it’s still the pinnacle of our sport. We try so hard to make it back here just to compete in this tournament, and fortunately we came out on top.
“Congratulations to all the other teams throughout the year that competed. The level of softball is rising, and we’re making a sport to watch as you can see by the TV numbers.”
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The finals completed a strong run for ESPN through the WCWS in Oklahoma City. Through the semifinals, viewership was up 33% with an average of 1.5 million viewers tuning in across the first five days of the event. That includes three games which hit 2 million viewers, including two of the top five most-watched non-finals games on record.
Texas took down Texas Tech 4-1 in Game 1 of the Best of 3 championship series on Wednesday behind a strong showing from Teagan Kavan in the circle. She allowed three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out six Red Raiders hitters in the Longhorns’ 7-3 victory. Katie Stewart and Viviana Martinez drove in two RBI each to lead the charge.
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In Game 2, Texas Tech sent out NiJaree Canady to start in hopes of forcing a Game 3. The Red Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an infield hit from Lauren Allred, but a costly error in the fifth allowed Texas to score two runs and go up 2-1. Kayden Henry hit a solo home run in the seventh and Leighann Goode had an RBI single to help seal a second straight title for the Longhorns.
Kavan did not start Game 2 – Citlaly Gutierrez did and got the win – but picked up the save with another dazzling performance. She struck out five of the six hitters she faced to seal the win and win the 2026 Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player award. Kavan is the first player to ever win the award two years in a row.
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