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Oklahoma, Texas enter Super Regional round as betting favorites to win Women’s College World Series

By Spenser Davis

Published: May 20, 2024 · 4:35 PM EDT

Oklahoma is once again the heavy betting favorite to win the Women’s College World Series in 2024.

The Sooners have won 3 straight titles, and will go for 4 in a row in Oklahoma City next month — provided they get past Florida State in the Norman Super Regional this week. No Division I softball team has ever won 4 consecutive national titles.

Here’s a breakdown of the top favorites for the Women’s College World Series and a few notes on some of the other top teams who could earn their way to OKC in June:

Oklahoma (52-6) | No. 2 overall seed | -115 to win the national title at FanDuel

Despite being favored in the betting odds, this hasn’t been a typical season for Oklahoma under Patty Gasso. The Sooners have struggled a bit more in the circle this season following the departure of former ace Jordy Bahl to Nebraska.

The triumvirate of Kelly Maxwell, Kierston Deal and Nicole May have been great this year, but may be a step below what Bahl (and other recent Sooners’ aces like Paige Parker) have provided in the circle. Maxwell is OU’s ace entering the home stretch, as she’s 19-2 this year with a 1.87 ERA in 30 appearances.

Offensively, Oklahoma is still led by some of the best in the sport. Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen are all back for one more run, as are a few other key offensive pieces. The newcomer to know is Ella Parker, who has a 1.263 OPS and 12 home runs as a freshman this season. She’s also hitting .413 on the year, which is second on the team.

OU’s chances to 4-peat will likely come down to the quality of pitching it gets in Oklahoma City. The Sooners have a good stable of arms, but there are teams in the field who have more proven aces.

Oklahoma will face Florida State in the Norman Super Regional this weekend.

Texas (50-7) | No. 1 overall seed | +430 to win the national title at FanDuel

Texas was the runner-up to Oklahoma in the championship series back in 2022, and it appears the Longhorns are gearing up for another run at the title. Texas has never won the Women’s College World Series in its history.

Although the betting markets don’t agree, the Longhorns are the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and will face Texas A&M in the Austin Super Regional this weekend. The Longhorns are also No. 1 in Warren Nolan’s softball ELO rankings, just edging out OU.

Texas did beat Oklahoma in a 3-game set earlier this season in Austin, but more recently lost to the Sooners in the Big 12 Tournament title game. UT did win the Big 12’s regular-season crown, however, going 23-4 in league play.

Like Oklahoma, Texas has a trio of arms who have thrown the vast majority of innings this season: Teagan Kavan, Mac Morgan and Citaly Gutierrez. It was Gutierrez who go the start against Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game as well as the winner’s bracket game against Northwestern in the Austin regional last weekend.

Texas’ best hitter this season has been Reese Atwood, who has an OPS of 1.389 to go along with a team-leading batting average of .433 and 22 home runs.

Texas will battle Texas A&M in the Austin Super Regional this weekend.

Notes on the best of the rest

Oklahoma State (+1500) is tied for the third-best odds even though the Cowgirls won series against both Oklahoma and Texas this season. Oklahoma State played very well against other elite teams, but went just 21-6 in Big 12 play and suffered disappointing losses to Baylor, BYU and Iowa State. Any meeting with Oklahoma would mean a revenge matchup against Kelly Maxwell, who transferred to OU after a long and successful career in Stillwater.

Florida (+1500) had a strong close to the season as it won the SEC Tournament and earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators are No. 3 in Warren Nolan’s ELO rankings and played in a very tough league this season. That should also benefit Tennessee (+1500), who won the SEC regular season with a record of 19-5.

Stanford (+2500) may be the most interesting dark-horse in this field. The Cardinal are led by ace pitcher NiJaree Canady, who posted an absurd ERA of 0.52 in 187.2 innings this season. Fans of the Women’s College World Series may remember Canady’s performance on this stage from a season ago when she led Stanford from the loser’s bracket all the way to the semifinals of the tournament. After backing up that performance as a sophomore in 2024, Canady will be the most-feared pitcher at the WCWS this season — provided Stanford makes it there. If Stanford does advance to OKC, it would likely meet No. 1-seeded Texas in the opening game.

Spenser Davis

Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.