OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 It\u2019s more than just a rematch. It\u2019s Austin, Texas vs. Lubbock, Texas. Teagan Kavan vs. NiJaree Canady. Homegrown talent vs. a \u201csuper team.\u201d It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Wednesday evening, as the Women\u2019s College World Series finals get underway \u2014 a repeat of the 2025 championship series that saw Texas win its first national title \u2014 a postseason that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
When NIL was introduced to college athletics earlier this decade, softball wasn\u2019t immediately impacted, with most of the attention going to football and men\u2019s 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\u2019s first \u201cmillion-dollar player.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Though the Red Raiders didn\u2019t 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).<\/p>\n \u201cLast year, I would say we were the Cinderella story, the underdogs,\u201d said junior outfielder Lauren Allred, who followed Glasco to Lubbock when he was hired from the University of Louisiana in 2024. \u201cEverybody 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\u2019re just using that in our favor.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Then, in the Super Regionals at Florida, Williams \u2014 the former Gator and the daughter of former Florida basketball star Jason Williams \u2014 was hit by a pitch five times in three games. Fans and players on both sides started barking, resulting in a social media frenzy.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Ugly scene during an incredible series. pic.twitter.com\/oAmulNJ2sc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Zach Moore (@zach_moore27) May 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 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 \u201cmade a mistake\u201d by transferring rather than saying \u201cgood game.\u201d Weekly claims she said no such thing.<\/p>\n One thing had become clear, however: Softball\u2019s social media world had split into two sides. It was Texas Tech vs. everybody else.<\/p>\n Fortunately, the drama off the field failed to overshadow some of the most electric softball we have ever seen in the postseason.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s bracket since Florida State vs. Oklahoma in 2021. This was also the first WCWS semifinals that saw both \u201cif necessary\u201d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t look at social media a lot, so I\u2019m kind of lost in my own little world,\u201d Glasco said. \u201cI hear the girls talk about, \u2018You\u2019re the villain.\u2019 Man, I feel like Cinderella. We realize none of that\u2019s relevant. \u2026 We have to block that all out and just play the game, keep the game simple, and have each other\u2019s back all the time. Just play ball.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas coach Mike White, who\u2019s been around the college game for over two decades, understands that Texas Tech\u2019s emergence is good for the sport. He also acknowledges that the two schools have different approaches.<\/p>\n \u201cThe tide is lifting all boats here, and it\u2019s getting tougher,\u201d White said. \u201cBut we do like to keep our recruits in the game, so to speak. We like to build from within, that\u2019s our main strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Glasco, this year that meant finding pieces in the portal to build a championship contender around Canady. While that may look like \u201cthey\u2019re buying their championship,\u201d as senior Mihyia Davis said she\u2019s heard it framed, she was quick to add that Texas Tech works \u201cas hard as anybody else in the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Raiders have also come under fire for Glasco\u2019s behavior. On Monday, in the first game against Tennessee, he was caught on camera having an intense conversation with Canady in the dugout.<\/p>\n Gerry Glasco’s response when asked about the interaction with NiJa Canady in the dugout during game one: pic.twitter.com\/LmYAf24qvN<\/a><\/p>\n