- Top-Ranked Florida, Defending Champion Oklahoma Sooners Headline Eight-Team Field
- Two Commentators Teams: Veterans Jessica Mendoza, Michele Smith, Beth Mowins, and Holly Rowe; Amanda Scarborough, Adam Amin and Laura Rutledge
- Concludes ESPN’s Presentation of NCAA Division I Softball Championship, First Time Producing Every Game of Every Round
Every game from the 2017 Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City will be televised by ESPN, the company’s 17th year airing every pitch of the culmination of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship. College softball’s week-long, up to 17-game season finale from OGE Energy Field at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium begins Thursday, June 1, with a four-day, eight-team round-robin, concluding with two teams advancing to the WCWS Finals. The best-of-three WCWS Finals begins Monday, June 5, and concludes either Tuesday, June 6, or Wednesday, June 7, with the crowning of this season’s national champion.
The 2017 WCWS completes the first ever NCAA Division I Softball Championship entirely produced by ESPN, with the network producing at least 135 games over the course of the regionals, Super Regionals and WCWS.
Top-Ranked Florida, Defending Champion Oklahoma Sooners Headline Eight-Team Field
All eight teams that advanced to Oklahoma City are nationally seeded, led by No. 1 Florida who were the top-ranked team heading into the Championship for the third consecutive year. The defending national champion Oklahoma Sooners return to the WCWS, this year seeded 10th in the tournament. Joining Florida and Oklahoma is No. 3 Oregon, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Washington, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 13 LSU, and No. 15 Baylor.
The Gators will open the tournament, taking on No. 9 Texas A&M (noon ET), followed by No. 13 LSU vs. No. 5 UCLA (2:30 p.m.) with both games airing on ESPN. In the evening, No. 6 Washington takes on No. 3 Oregon (7 p.m.) and No. 15 Baylor plays No. 10 Oklahoma (9:30 p.m.) with both games airing on ESPN2. Play continues on Friday, June 2, (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.) and Saturday, June 3, (noon, 2:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.) with all games scheduled to air on ESPN. Sunday, June 4, will feature a minimum of two games, both airing on ESPN (1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.) and two if necessary games (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.) which will be televised on ESPN2 if played.
The Women’s College World Series Championship Series Game 1 will be Monday June 5, (7 p.m.) and Game 2 will be Tuesday, June 6, (8 p.m.). If necessary, a decisive Game 3 will air Wednesday, June 7, at 8 p.m. All three games are scheduled to air on ESPN.
A complete WCWS bracket can be found here.
ESPN’s Presentation of the Women’s College World Series
ESPN will utilize two commentating teams during the round-robin portion of the tournament, with WCWS veterans Jessica Mendoza (analyst), Michele Smith (analyst), Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Holly Rowe (reporter) calling the majority of the prime-time games. The 2017 WCWS will be Mowins’ 23nd as a commentator, Smith’s 15th and Mendoza’s 12th as an analyst and Rowe’s 13th as a reporter. The entire group will work the best-of-three Championship Series.
Returning for their third consecutive year, Adam Amin (play-by-play), Amanda Scarborough (analyst) and Laura Rutledge (reporter) will call the first games scheduled during the four day round-robin.
More on ESPN’s Softball Analysts
- Jessica Mendoza
- College: Stanford
- Honors: Four-time All-American (1999, 2000, ’01, ’02), member of gold medal-winning team at the 2004 Athens Olympics and silver medal winning team at 2008 Beijing Olympics.
- Michele Smith
- College: Oklahoma State
- Honors: Two time All-American, two time Olympic Gold Medalist (1996, ’00) and eight time Japan Pro League MVP.
- Amanda Scarborough
- College:Texas A&M
- Honors: Two-time All-American (2005, ’07). Only player in Big 12 history to receive Freshman of the Year and Player of Year in same season (2005), played in two WCWS (2007, ’08).
Pam Ward will anchor the studio coverage throughout the tournament along with analyst Cheri Kempf, a national champion at Missouri Western State.
- Every Angle Covered: ESPN will surround OGE Energy Field at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium with 20 cameras, including two slow-motions systems.
- Umpire Perspective: For the first time, WCWS will utilize an ump cam, allowing fans to see the game as the home plate umpire does at certain times during the telecast. The home plate umpire will also be mic’d up for each game.
- SEC Network: SEC Now, the home for Southeastern Conference news and information on SEC Network,will have daily recaps of the first four days of the tournament nightly at 11 p.m., with analyst Kayla Braud in studio. Should one of the three SEC teams advance to the best-of-three WCWS Finals, SEC Now will televise live from Oklahoma City before and after each game. Rutledge and Scarborough will anchor the coverage which will air at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Monday, June 5, and then 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6. If a Game 3 is needed, the special programming will air again at 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7.
- espnW: Online coverage continues, led by espnw’s softball index. Additional elements from Oklahoma City include:
- Eight Players to Watch: Who is about to become a household name?
- Flashback: Former Arizona Wildcast Taryne Mowatt reflects on her epic 2007 Women’s College World Series performance.
- espnW Player of the Year: Reveal on Thursday, June 1
- Jessica Mendoza Essay: If you like baseball, Oklahoma City softball will rock your world.
- Recaps: Writer Graham Hays will provide daily recaps and analysis of the action in Oklahoma City.
- Video: Highlights, interviews, analysis and more
- Tourney Snapshots: Behind-the-scenes video and photos straight from the teams and their players
Follow and Join the Social Media Conversation
A number of social handles — @ESPNU, @espnW, and @NCAASoftball — will provide news, game updates, photos and videos throughout the championship. Fans can join the conversation by tagging their tweets with #WCWS during the Women’s College World Series
Women’s College World Series Television Schedule (June 1 – June 7)
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| Thu, June 1 | Noon | Women’s College World Series: No. 9 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Florida |
ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: No. 13 LSU vs. No. 5 UCLA |
ESPN | |
| 7 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: No. 6 Washington vs. No. 3 Oregon |
ESPN2 | |
| 9:30 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: No. 15 Baylor vs. No. 10 Oklahoma |
ESPN2 | |
| Fri, June 2 | 7 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Game 5 | ESPN |
| 9:30 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Game 6 | ESPN | |
| Sat, June 3 | Noon | Women’s College World Series: Game 7 | ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Game 8 | ESPN | |
| 7 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Game 9 | ESPN | |
| 9:30 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Game 10 | ESPN | |
| Sun, June 4 | 1 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Game 11 | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Game 12 | ESPN | |
| 7 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Game 13* | ESPN2 | |
| 9:30 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Game 14* | ESPN2 | |
| Mon, June 5 | 7 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Championship Game No. 1 | ESPN |
| Tues, June 6 | 8 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Championship Game No. 2 | ESPN |
| Wed, June 7 | 8 p.m. | Women’s College World Series: Championship Game No. 3* | ESPN |
* If necessary
Networks and times are subject to change
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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; Derek.Volner@ESPN.com and @DerekVolner
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