Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Texas
Red Raiders, Longhorns set for WCWS Finals
June 02, 2026 | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 2 Texas will meet in the Women's College World Series Finals for the second straight season with the first game of the double-elimination series set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Devon Park. The Red Raiders (61-8) have set themselves up with the opportunity to win their first national championship in program history while the Longhorns are the reigning national champion and are back in the WCWS Finals with a 51-12 overall record.
"I'm super excited to be here, super privileged to be here," Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco said on Tuesday at the WCWS Finals preview press conference. "Feel so blessed to have this team and these great young women in my back pocket and just carrying more towards the finish line. Beyond elated this morning to wake up and realize we get to play more ball. Just excited."
A double-elimination format, the WCWS Finals are slated for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with the 2026 National Champion to be crowned after two wins. The Longhorns won the 2025 National Championship after beating the Red Raiders in three games. The all-time series dates back to the first meeting in 1997 and has the Longhorns with a 65-13 record over the Red Raiders. Tech's 4-3 win in the second game of the 2025 WCWS Finals snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Longhorns who won the national title with a 10-4 victory in the final game of the tournament. The two teams have not played against each other this season.
"Texas is so talent all over the field, elite pitching," Glasco said. "They've got speed. They're a well-built team. They've got speed, defense, pitching and well-coached."
Texas Tech returned to the WCWS Finals after earning two wins over No. 1 Alabama on Monday night, opening with a 5-4 win after a walk-off home run by Mia Williams and then getting a complete-game shutout from NiJaree Canady in a 2-0 victory in the deciding game. The Red Raiders hit three home runs in the first game against the Lady Volunteers with Taylor Pannell, Lauren Allred and Williams each going deep and then saw Jasmyn Burns hit a solo shot in the deciding game in the fourth inning for the game's first run. The Longhorns also needed to win two games on Monday and did so by eliminating Tennessee with a 5-2 win in the first game and then rolling to a 4-0 win in the deciding game.
Through five games at the WCWS, Mihyia Davis has a .478 batting with a team-high nine hits for the Red Raiders while Williams is hitting .471 with two home runs, two doubles and has three RBI. Allred is 6-for-14 at the plate with one home run, one double and four RBI while Lis has four RBI that includes a two-run home run in the first inning against Mississippi State last Thursday in the opener. Canady has recorded four wins with two victories over Alabama on Monday night after wins over UCLA and Mississippi State. She has recorded 23 strikeouts through 21 1/3 innings in OKC while Terry has 14 strikeouts and allowed six runs in 14 2/3 innings.
"I'm definitely feeling good," Canady said. "The goal has always been to peak around this time, and I feel like we reached that goal. I'm just excited to get started."
The Red Raiders lead the nation with 672 total hits this season, second with a .377 batting average and rank third with 143 home runs after their 14-hit, two home run performance against UCLA and then having 18 hits and four homers in the two wins over Alabama in the WCWS semifinals. The team also ranks second with 635 total runs and has recorded a national-leading 37 run-rule victories this season. Tech is led by a program-record four NFCA All-Americans in Terry, Canady, Williams and Jackie Lis while Davis also earned all-America honors from D1Softball and Softball America. Williams leads the Red Raiders with 26 home runs, 24 doubles and 85 RBI following her walk-off homer against Alabama in the first game on Monday night and then going 2-for-4 in the deciding game with a pair of singles. Lis is second on the team with 21 home runs and has 75 RBI after hitting a two-run shot in the first inning in the win over Mississippi State in the team's WCWS opener. Williams comes into WCWS Finals ranking second nationally in doubles, third in runs scored (92), seventh in the RBI category (85) and ninth with her 26 home runs. Davis tops Tech and is now third nationally with 100 hits after going 2-for-3 in the deciding game against Alabama and her three-hit performance against UCLA. She also leads the Red Raiders with 37 stolen bases (sixth nationally). At the plate, Terry is hitting .438 and has 16 doubles after her ninth-inning double against UCLA while also having 10 home runs and 57 RBI. The Red Raiders have hit a program-record and the third most in the country with 143 home runs this season and features a lineup with eight players hitting 10 or more, including Jasmyn Burns (19), Desirae Spearman (13), Taylor Pannell (13), Lagi Quiroga (12) and Allred (11). Allred is hitting .392 with 50 RBI while shortstop Hailey Toney 46 hits and 43 runs scored this season.
Canady (29-6) has earned all four Tech wins in OKC and is now 104-23 in her career with 1,123 strikeouts. A three-time consensus all-America, Canady has played in the WCWS four straight seasons and comes into the WCWS Finals with 249 strikeouts and a 1.84 ERA through 44 appearances (30 starts) this season. Terry (24-2) owns a 1.80 ERA and has recorded 172 strikeouts through 148 innings of work this season – taking her career strikeout total to 505. She played her first two seasons at UCLA where she went 41-8 and recorded 333 strikeouts and a 2.50 ERA in 73 pitching appearances (50 starts). This season with Tech, Terry and Canady both rank in the top-10 nationally this season in victories and top-15 in ERA.
The Longhorns are hitting .336 as a team with 97 home runs at the plate while having a 2.40 pitching staff ERA entering the WCWS Finals. Teagan Kavan (27-6) threw a complete-game shutout in the deciding game against Tennessee and comes into the matchup against the Red Raiders with 249 strikeouts through 219 2/3 innings of work this season while Citlay Gutierrez (10-3) has 55 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings. Katie Stewart leads the Longhorns with 30 home runs and 77 RBI while Kayden Henry leads the team with 82 hits, including 18 doubles and two triples. Stewart is hitting .429 and Henry has a .402 batting average and a team-best 76 runs scored. Reese Atwood homered against Tennessee and is second on the team with 19 home runs and 61 RBI this season while Hannah Wells has 15 homers and 41 RBI and Viviana Martinez is hitting .382 with 15 doubles and Leighann Goode has a .339 batting average with 12 home runs and nine doubles. Texas went 16-8 in SEC play this season and is on a four-game winning streak entering the WCWS Finals after dropping its opener to Tennessee last Thursday in OKC.
"When you walk out of the dugout step and onto the field, the only thing that matters is the nine players that's on your dirt playing ball and your dugout's in a good place and cheering those nine players on as hard as they can, and then we're competing against the other nine on the other team and their dugout," Glasco said. "Everything else goes out the window. I think we have a really mature team. I think they really understand, and they want to win for each other."Â
