College softball continues to soar in popularity, and the television ratings from the 2026 Women’s College World Series, released Monday, validate that.
ESPN, which broadcast the tournament, announced that the WCWS championship series between Texas and Texas Tech was the second-most-watched Women’s College World Series finals in history, with an average of 2.2 million viewers.
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Game 2, which the Longhorns won 4-1 to secure their second consecutive national title, averaged 2.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched college softball game on record, according to the network and Nielsen numbers. ESPN’s broadcast of the game peaked at 3 million viewers.
The championship series opener drew an average of 1.9 million viewers, making it the third-most-watched Game 1 on record, despite going head-to-head with Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
ESPN had previously announced that its coverage of the 14 WCWS games leading into the finals averaged 1.5 million viewers, a 33 percent increase from the year before. That included three straight 2 million-viewer games involving Texas Tech.
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The Longhorns were led by junior Katie Stewart, who hit home runs in four consecutive games during one stretch of the WCWS, and right-handed pitcher Teagan Kavan, who became the first player in Women’s College World Series history to win Most Outstanding Player honors twice.
It marked the second straight year Texas defeated Texas Tech and its million-dollar pitcher, NiJaree Canady.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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