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Texas and Texas Tech both have gone undefeated in the Women's College World Series to reach the championship matchup, which begins tonight:
Read about how Texas Tech upset Oklahoma here and how Texas reached the title series again here.
The schedule:
*If necessary
How Texas advanced to the championship series:
Regional
Super Regional
WCWS
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How Texas Tech advanced to the championship series:
Regional
Super Regional
WCWS
John and Tracy Sellers arrived in Lubbock, Texas, the evening of Monday, July 22, with dinner reservations and an intention: to woo the best college softball player in the world to play for Texas Tech.
The dinner was at Las Brisas, a white-tablecloth steakhouse just south of Texas Tech’s campus that serves up lobster guacamole and a 25-ounce bone-in ribeye. The player was NiJaree Canady, USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year.
There were six seats at the table: the Sellers, Marc McDougal (a board member of the Matador Club, a Texas Tech-affiliated name, image and likeness collective), Canady and her parents. No coaches or university administrators. Just a few well-connected Tech supporters and a family with a menu full of options. The group made fast friends over a nearly three-hour meal.
Canady, a 6-foot pitching phenom from Topeka, Kan., was visiting Lubbock for the first time. She was less than two months removed from leading Stanford to the Women’s College World Series semifinals as a sophomore, garnering mainstream headlines in the process. A few weeks later, she entered the transfer portal, the biggest star of a burgeoning sport hitting the open market.
GO FURTHER
The unprecedented million-dollar recruitment of the nation’s best softball player
A look at the Texas Longhorns:
Players to watch:
A look at the Texas Tech Red Raiders:
Players to watch:
Texas and Texas Tech will face off in a three-game series for the national championship:
*If necessary
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The scores of the Women's College World Series games from Thursday-Monday:
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Mike White is in his seventh season as Texas' coach. He previously was the coach at Oregon and has a career record of 748-198-3, including 313-92-2 at Texas.
Gerry Glasco is in his first season as Texas Tech's coach. He was previously Louisiana's coach and has a career record of 353-100, including 53-12 at Texas Tech.
Oklahoma City's Devon Park is the site of the Women's College World Series. It has a capacity of 13,000.
We gather here today to say goodbye to the Oklahoma softball dynasty, and hello to the NIL era.
Because if Texas Tech just proved anything, it’s that you can buy a championship. Last summer, the school spent a million dollars and change to lure the best player in softball to Lubbock, Texas, in hopes of making it to its first-ever Women’s College World Series.
Naturally, NiJaree Canady upped the ante.
The junior transfer from Stanford headlined a 3-2 defeat of No. 2 Oklahoma in the Women’s College World Series semifinal on Monday, ending Oklahoma’s pursuit of a fifth straight national championship. Instead, the Red Raiders will attempt to win their first, starting with Game 1 of the championship series against Texas on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Game 2 follows Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, and Game 3, if necessary, is slotted for Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
GO FURTHER
Texas Tech topples ‘historic, legendary’ Oklahoma dynasty to reach WCWS finals
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Who will claim the softball national championship trophy in Oklahoma City? Will it be the Texas Tech Red Raiders or the Texas Longhorns?
We'd love to hear from you. Email us at live@theathletic.com. We will take the best contributions and add them to the blog.
Hello, softball fans. Welcome to The Athletic's live coverage of the Women's College World Series championship matchup. We will have a new champion as Texas and Texas Tech are both looking for their first-ever title.
Follow along with our coverage from Oklahoma City.