The Women's College World Series in recent years has become one of a number of boats raised by women's sports's rising tide.
In 2024, to hear ESPN's public relations arm tell it, the event set a number of television records. An all-time high audience of two million people tuned in for the finals between Oklahoma and Texas, while the full event registered a modest year-over-year increase.
The Sooners' dynasty has been enthroned as one of college sports' most formidable, as Oklahoma has taken home the last four national championships. In 2025, it'll have the chance to do so once again at a venue set to host Olympic softball in 2028.
Here's a look at the ins and outs of a can't-miss Women's College World Series.
2025 WCWS Format Explained
As with its men's baseball counterpart, the Women's College World Series is a double-elimination event. That means teams are eliminated after losing two games in the main draw. The eight-team field is split into two double-elimination brackets, and the winners of the two brackets meet in the best of-three finals.
Teams retain their seeding from the main, 64-team NCAA tournament draw. Before the NCAA tournament, 16 teams are assigned national seeds and host four-team regionals; the 16 regional champions then play each other in super regionals. Seven of the eight Women's College World Series teams are national seeds.
Complete Bracket Overview
Here's an overview of the event in tabular form—subject to change.
First Round Matchups and Dates
All four first-round matchups will be played Thursday in succession in Oklahoma City.
The first will feature No. 6 Texas and No. 3 Florida in an all-SEC matchup. This is the second straight year these two teams have met in the Women's College World Series; the Longhorns shut out the Gators 10–0 in five innings in the second round of last year's event. No. 7 Tennessee and the No. 2 Sooners will come next; Oklahoma swept the Volunteers in the event's finals in 2013.
Ole Miss—the event's only unseeded team—and No. 12 Texas Tech will lead off the evening action; this is the first time the Red Raiders have ever advanced past the regional round. Big Ten foes No. 16 Oregon and No. 9 UCLA will cap off the night with the team's second World Series meeting. The Bruins won the first 7–1 in 2015.
Semifinal and Championship Series Schedule
The tournament's semifinals—which may require as few as two or as many as four games—will be played on June 2. The afternoon window will air on ESPN while the evening window will air on ESPN2. After that, the two remaining teams will take a day of rest before squaring off on June 4, 5 and 6 for all the marbles.
Key Dates to Remember
If you only have time to glance at the tournament, the three games to do it are the opening round on Thursday (May 29), the semifinals on Monday (June 2), and the finals on June 4, 5 and 6.
More on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Full 2025 Women's College World Series Bracket and Schedule.
