OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s more than just a rematch. It’s Austin, Texas vs. Lubbock, Texas. Teagan Kavan vs. NiJaree Canady. Homegrown talent vs. a “super team.” It’s Texas vs. Texas Tech on the biggest stage in college softball, but what it really feels like, if you pay attention to social media, is good vs. evil. The defending champions vs. the villains.
Wednesday evening, as the Women’s College World Series finals get underway — a repeat of the 2025 championship series that saw Texas win its first national title — a postseason that’s included its share of drama on and off the field will begin its final leg. But in the grand scheme of the sport, the showdown is just getting a new kind of conversation started.
When NIL was introduced to college athletics earlier this decade, softball wasn’t immediately impacted, with most of the attention going to football and men’s basketball stars. Then came Canady, who, after leading Stanford to the WCWS in the first two years of her career, transferred to Texas Tech and became softball’s first “million-dollar player.”
Though the Red Raiders didn’t win the 2025 title, they emerged as an up-and-coming program, and coach Gerry Glasco and Canady were at the center of it. In the offseason, Tech bolstered its roster with seven transfers, including stars like Kaitlyn Terry (UCLA), Mia Williams (Florida), Taylor Pannell (Tennessee) and Jasmyn Burns (Ohio State).
“Last year, I would say we were the Cinderella story, the underdogs,” said junior outfielder Lauren Allred, who followed Glasco to Lubbock when he was hired from the University of Louisiana in 2024. “Everybody loved us at one point. Then, before the season started this year, we all knew the target was on our back. They are intimidated by us because we are so good. We’re just using that in our favor.”
Drama has followed the Red Raiders every step of this NCAA Tournament journey. First, in Game 2 of the Lubbock Regional against Ole Miss, they rallied from an 8-0 deficit in the seventh inning and sent the game into extras on an Allred grand slam with two strikes and two outs. The Raiders ultimately won 10-9 in eight innings, completing one of the most improbable comebacks in recent years.
Then, in the Super Regionals at Florida, Williams — the former Gator and the daughter of former Florida basketball star Jason Williams — was hit by a pitch five times in three games. Fans and players on both sides started barking, resulting in a social media frenzy.
WATCH: For example, Jason Williams was seen yelling toward the Florida dugout after Texas Tech hit a home run. At the end of the video, he did the Gator Chomp in mockery of where he once played.
Ugly scene during an incredible series. pic.twitter.com/oAmulNJ2sc
— Zach Moore (@zach_moore27) May 24, 2026
Then came the WCWS matchup with Tennessee. Pannell, the former Volunteer, said that Tennessee coach Karen Weekly told her in the postgame handshake line that she “made a mistake” by transferring rather than saying “good game.” Weekly claims she said no such thing.
One thing had become clear, however: Softball’s social media world had split into two sides. It was Texas Tech vs. everybody else.
Fortunately, the drama off the field failed to overshadow some of the most electric softball we have ever seen in the postseason.
The Longhorns and Red Raiders each worked their way back from early losses, giving us the first finals matchup between teams that advanced through the loser’s bracket since Florida State vs. Oklahoma in 2021. This was also the first WCWS semifinals that saw both “if necessary” games come into play. There have been three extra-inning battles so far in OKC, and six games have been decided by two runs or less. All while WCWS viewership continues to grow, averaging 1.5 million viewers per broadcast and up 33 percent year over year.
“I don’t look at social media a lot, so I’m kind of lost in my own little world,” Glasco said. “I hear the girls talk about, ‘You’re the villain.’ Man, I feel like Cinderella. We realize none of that’s relevant. … We have to block that all out and just play the game, keep the game simple, and have each other’s back all the time. Just play ball.”
Texas coach Mike White, who’s been around the college game for over two decades, understands that Texas Tech’s emergence is good for the sport. He also acknowledges that the two schools have different approaches.
“The tide is lifting all boats here, and it’s getting tougher,” White said. “But we do like to keep our recruits in the game, so to speak. We like to build from within, that’s our main strategy.”
As for Glasco, this year that meant finding pieces in the portal to build a championship contender around Canady. While that may look like “they’re buying their championship,” as senior Mihyia Davis said she’s heard it framed, she was quick to add that Texas Tech works “as hard as anybody else in the nation.”
The Raiders have also come under fire for Glasco’s behavior. On Monday, in the first game against Tennessee, he was caught on camera having an intense conversation with Canady in the dugout.
Gerry Glasco’s response when asked about the interaction with NiJa Canady in the dugout during game one: pic.twitter.com/LmYAf24qvN
— KCBD NewsChannel11 (@KCBD11) June 2, 2026
“At the end of the day, you want to win,” Glasco said. “If you want to win, you have to have a family. No matter what they do, they’re my kids. I may get onto them because we didn’t do this or we missed a signal or whatever, but while I’m getting onto them, I love them because they’re my kids. At the end of the day, they’re my lifeline to get to the World Series or to win the championship.”
We’ll find out if that happens in the next few days. Or perhaps a new storyline will emerge — or even a new villain. The Longhorns, who have reached the finals in four of the last five years, will have back-to-back titles in their pocket if they shut down Texas Tech again. The last team to repeat was the dynastic Oklahoma, which made history as the first program to win four straight titles from 2021 through 2024. Could softball have a new empire on its hands?
“There’s something to Oklahoma not being here, you know?” said ESPN broadcaster and former Texas A&M pitcher Amanda Scarborough. “It’s been Oklahoma’s national championship to lose, and now you don’t have them there. This is a big World Series, and it could possibly be a shifting point in our sport. Oklahoma has helped us rise to this level with what they’ve done, but now it’s almost like handing off the baton.”
And, of course, there’s the in-state rivalry dynamic that adds to the fun. But, like everything else that’s occurred this postseason, it will come down to the play on the field.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rivalry this deep before,” Canady said. “Sports are different in Texas, so I’m just excited to be a part of it. I feel like the best way to go out as a senior is to win a national championship in general, no matter who we’re playing.”