The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The event is held at Devon Park, located within the USA Softball Hall of Fame complex.

The eight teams of the WCWS play a double-elimination tournament until two teams remain. These two teams compete in a best-of-three series to determine the Division I WCWS national champion. Previous WCWS losses do not factor into the best-of-three championship series, and the first team to win two of three games is declared the national champion.

Like the Men's College World Series in baseball, the WCWS initially divides the eight teams ranked one (the top seed) through eight and are then divided into two brackets of four teams. Those 8 teams are the final 8 out of 64 teams that advance post regular season. The teams play their first-round matchups as follows: 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5. Unique to the WCWS is that the loser of the second-round game on one side of the bracket crosses over to the losers’ bracket on the other side. Suffering a second loss eliminates a team from the WCWS.

The second round features the four winners of the first-round games against each other, with the highest remaining seed versus the lowest remaining undefeated seed. In the losers’ bracket, the four first-round losers face each other, with the two winners advancing and the two losers, who have each suffered their second defeat, being eliminated from the tournament. The third round features the two losing teams from the second round (winners’ bracket) versus second-round winners (from the losers’ bracket), while the two remaining undefeated teams get a day of rest. Once the third round is complete, four teams have been eliminated. The remaining four teams will then play each other in the semifinal round, with one team with one loss playing one team with no losses. If a team with a loss loses again, they are eliminated. If teams with no losses suffer a (first) loss, the remaining teams will then be realigned and forced to play one last time, with the winners advancing to the best-of-three championship series. If by chance one or both unbeaten teams win in round four, then that team (or both teams) advances to the best-of-three championship series. From there games are cut to one game per day over the next three days (weather permitting). This feature allows any two of the eight WCWS teams to advance to the championship series, unlike the MCWS, whose two halves remain separate until the championship series.

The WCWS takes place at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. From 1969 to 1981, the women's collegiate softball championship was also known as the Women's College World Series and was promoted as such. During 1969–1979, the series was played in Omaha, after which the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) held the series in 1980–1982 in Norman, Oklahoma. There were two competing World Series tournaments in 1982. The NCAA held its first six Division I tournaments in Omaha in 1982–1987, followed by Sunnyvale, California, in 1988–1989. The event has been held in Oklahoma City every year since then, except for 1996, when it was held at the softball venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Columbus, Georgia.

Softball was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981–82 school year, as the NCAA engaged in battle with the AIAW for sole governance of women's collegiate sports. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championship program in the same twelve (and other) sports. The 1982 softball championship tournaments of both the AIAW and the NCAA were called "Women's College World Series". However, after a year of dual women's championships, the NCAA won out over the AIAW.

Division I

NCAA Year Location Champion Titleseriesscore*** Runner-upSemifinalists/tie-3rdTie-5thTie-7th (first 2 eliminated) 1982 Seymour Smith ParkOmaha, NE UCLAWCAA 2–0 (8 inn) Fresno StateNorPac WCAA WCAA Big Eight MAC Gateway Big Eight 1983 Seymour Smith ParkOmaha, NE Texas A&MSouthwest 2–0 (12 inn) Cal State FullertonWCAA UCLAWCAA Independent Southland NorPac Big Ten Big Eight 1984 Seymour Smith ParkOmaha, NE UCLAWCAA 1–0 (13 inn) Texas A&MSouthwest Big Ten Big Eight Atlantic 10 NorPac Independent High Country 1985 Seymour Smith ParkOmaha, NE UCLAWCAA 2–1 (9 inn) Nebraska*Big Eight PCAA PCAA Atlantic 10 Big Ten Southland High Country 1986 Seymour Smith ParkOmaha, NE Cal State FullertonPCAA 3–0 Texas A&MSouthwest NorPac Big Ten Gateway PCAA Southland Big Ten 1987 Seymour Smith ParkOmaha, NE Texas A&MSouthwest 4–1 UCLAPac-10 PCAA Big Eight MAC PCAA Pac-10 Metro 1988 Twin Creeks Sports Complex Sunnyvale, California UCLAPac-10 3–0 Fresno StatePCAA ArizonaPac-10 PCAA Big Eight Southwest Atlantic 10 North Star 1989 Twin Creeks Sports Complex Sunnyvale, California UCLAPac-10 1–0 Fresno StateBig West ArizonaPac-10 Big Eight Big West Pac-10 Metro MAC 1990 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK UCLAPac-10 2–0 Fresno StateBig West Metro Big Eight Big West Big West ArizonaPac-10 MAC 1991 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK ArizonaPac-10 5–1 UCLAPac-10 Big West Big West Metro Big Eight Big West WAC 1992 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK UCLAPac-10 2–0 ArizonaPac-10 Big West Atlantic 10 Pac-10 Big West ACC Big Eight 1993 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK ArizonaPac-10 1–0 UCLAPac-10 Sun Belt Big Eight WAC ConnecticutBig East ACC Big West 1994 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK ArizonaPac-10 4–0 Cal State NorthridgeWAC Big Eight UCLAPac-10 WAC WAC Mid-Con Big Eight 1995 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK UCLA**Pac-10 4–2 ArizonaPac-10 Big Ten Big West Big West Sun Belt Big Ten Ivy 1996 Golden Park Columbus, GA ArizonaPac-10 6–4 WashingtonPac-10 Big Ten UCLAPac-10 Pac-10 Sun Belt Big Ten Ivy 1997 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK ArizonaPac-10 10–2 (5 inn) UCLAPac-10 WAC Pac-10 Big Ten Big Ten Atlantic 10 SEC 1998 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK Fresno StateWAC 1–0 ArizonaPac-10 Big 12 Pac-10 Big Ten Big 12 Atlantic 10 Big 12 1999 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK UCLAPac-10 3–2 WashingtonPac-10 Pac-10 Conference USA ArizonaPac-10 WAC Pac-10 Conference USA 2000 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK OklahomaBig 12 3–1 UCLAPac-10 ArizonaPac-10 Conference USA SEC Pac-10 Pac-10 Conference USA 2001 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK ArizonaPac-10 1–0 UCLAPac-10 SEC Pac-10 Pac-10 Big 12 Big Ten Big Ten 2002 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK CaliforniaPac-10 6–0 ArizonaPac-10 Pac-10 ACC Big 12 UCLAPac-10 Big Ten Big 12 2003 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK UCLAPac-10 1–0 (9 inn) CaliforniaPac-10 Pac-10 Big 12 Big 12 Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt 2004 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK UCLAPac-10 3–1 CaliforniaPac-10 SEC Pac-10 ACC Big 12 Big Ten Pac-10 2005*** USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK MichiganBig Ten 0–55–24–1 (10 inn) UCLAPac-10 TennesseeSEC Big 12 SEC Pac-10 Pac-10 Conference USA 2006 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK ArizonaPac-10 8–05–0 NorthwesternBig Ten TennesseeSEC UCLAPac-10 Pac-10 Big 12 SEC Pac-10 2007 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK ArizonaPac-10 0–31–0 (10 inn)5–0 TennesseeSEC Big Ten Pac-10 Big 12 Big East Pac-10 Big 12 2008 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK Arizona StatePac-10 3–011–0 Texas A&MBig 12 SEC FloridaSEC Sun Belt UCLAPac-10 Pac-10 ACC 2009 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK WashingtonPac-10 8–03–2 FloridaSEC SEC SEC Pac-10 Big Ten Pac-10 Big 12 2010 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK UCLAPac-10 6–5 (8 inn)15–9 ArizonaPac-10 SEC SEC FloridaSEC WAC Big 12 Pac-10 2011 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK Arizona StatePac-10 14–47–2 FloridaSEC AlabamaSEC Big 12 Pac-10 Big 12 Big 12 Big 12 2012 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK AlabamaSEC 1–4 8–65–4 OklahomaBig 12 CaliforniaPac-12 Pac-12 Pac-12 SEC Big East SEC 2013 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK OklahomaBig 12 5–3 (12 inn)4–0 SEC Pac-12 Big 12 Big Ten Florida SEC Pac-12 Big Ten 2014 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK FloridaSEC 5–06–3 AlabamaSEC Pac-12 Big 12 Big 12 SEC Louisiana–Lafayette Sun Belt ACC 2015 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK FloridaSEC 3–20–14–1 MichiganBig Ten AuburnSEC SEC UCLA Pac-12 Alabama SEC Pac-12 SEC2016 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK OklahomaBig 12 3–27–11 (8 inn)2–1 Auburn SEC ACC SEC Big Ten SEC Alabama SEC UCLA Pac-122017 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK OklahomaBig 12 7–5 (17 inn)5–4 Florida SEC Pac-12 Pac-12 SEC UCLA Pac-12 Big 12 SEC2018 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK Florida StateACC 1–08–3 WashingtonPac-12 UCLA Pac-12 Big 12 Pac-12 SEC SEC Pac-122019 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK UCLA Pac-12 16–35–4 Oklahoma Big 12 AlabamaSEC Pac-12 Pac-12 Big 12 SEC Big Ten2020 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma Big 12 4–86–25–1 Florida StateACC AlabamaSEC CAA Big 12 UCLAPac-12 Pac-12 SEC 2022 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma Big 12 16–110–5 Texas Big 12 Big 12 UCLAPac-12 ArizonaPac-12 SEC Big Ten Oregon StatePac-12 2023 USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma Big 12 5–03–1 Florida StateACC StanfordPac-12 TennesseeSEC Pac-12 Big 12 Pac-12 SEC 2024 Devon Park Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma Big 12 8–38–4 TexasBig 12 StanfordPac-12 FloridaSEC UCLAPac-12 AlabamaSEC DukeACC Oklahoma StateBig 122025 Devon Park Oklahoma City, OK Texas SEC 2–13–410–4 Texas TechBig 12 OklahomaSEC TennesseeSEC OregonBig Ten UCLABig Ten FloridaSEC Ole MissSEC 2026Devon Park Oklahoma City, OKTexas SEC7-3 4-1Texas TechBig 12AlabamaSECTennesseeSECNebraskaBig TenUCLABig TenArkansasSECMississippi StateSEC * Nebraska's runner-up finish in 1985 was vacated by the NCAA.

** The 1995 title by UCLA and any related records have been vacated by the NCAA due to scholarship violations. Criticism also centered on UCLA player Tanya Harding who was recruited from Queensland, Australia, midway through the 1995 season. After UCLA captured the NCAA National Championship, Harding, the MVP of the tournament, returned to her homeland without taking final exams or earning a single college credit. Despite UCLA's not having violated any formal rules in its recruitment of Harding, the incident generated heated criticism that some foreign athletes were little more than hired guns.

*** Beginning in 2005, a best-of-three series determines the national championship.

AIAW From 1969 to 1972, the DGWS (forerunner organization of the AIAW) recognized the WCWS, organized by the Amateur Softball Association, as the collegiate championship tournament. The AIAW assumed responsibilities from DGWS in 1973. Year Champion Title series game score(s) Runner-up 1969 2–0 1970 0–27–6 1971 6–04–0 1972 0–18–5 (11 inn) Nihon University 1973 0–44–3 (16 inn) 1974 14–7 1975 1–116–4 1976 3–0 1977 0–1 (9 inn)7–0 1978 3–0 1979 1–01–0 1980 1–02–1 1981 1–64–3 1982 4–15–3 (8 inn)

NCAA team titles by school Team Number Winning years 12 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2019 8 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007 8 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 2 2008, 2011 2 2014, 2015 2 2025, 2026 2 1983, 1987 1 2012 1 1986 1 2002 1 2018 1 1998 1 2005 1 2009

*UCLA also won the 1995 title, but it has since been vacated by the NCAA; see above.

AIAW team titles by school