Women's College World Series: Players to watch on Oklahoma, UCLA, JMU and more
By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer
Fresh off Memorial Day, we’re firmly entrenched in the most chaotic and exciting part of the collegiate baseball and softball calendar.
As Major League Baseball eases into the middle of its six-month season, student-athletes at a variety of levels across America are about to play the most important games of their seasons.
But of all the competition taking place in the coming week, the highest-stakes — and, in my opinion, the most entertaining — action you’ll find begins Thursday in Oklahoma City with the Women's College World Series.
It has been 731 days since UCLA was crowned the 2019 national champion, but that feels like 7,000 days ago after last year’s shortened and unfinished season, so it’ll be particularly wonderful to see teams competing in OKC once again.
Here are the players to watch on each of the eight softball teams competing for the national championship.
Oklahoma Sooners: Left fielder Jocelyn Alo
A powerhouse program through and through, Oklahoma enters the World Series with a 50-2 record and arguably the best offense in Division I softball history. The Sooners are hitting .421/.507/.809 as a team, with 146 home runs in 52 games.
Unsurprisingly, they have a lot of amazing players. But Alo is the star and one of the best hitters the game has ever seen.
Her 30 home runs this season (so far) tied a program record set by Lauren Chamberlain, the home run queen herself, and Chamberlain has been cheering Alo on along the way:
Perhaps most incredible is that this is Alo’s true senior season, which means that with an additional year of eligibility after the canceled 2020 season, she’ll be back in 2022 to likely rewrite every offensive record in the sport.
For now, though, she's seeking her first national championship because the Sooners haven’t won it all since way back in 2017, the year before Alo arrived in Norman.
Other players to watch: SS Tiare Jennings (national freshman of the year), P Shannon Saile, C Kinzie Hansen (amazing defender, 21 HRs)
James Madison Dukes: Two-way player Odicci Alexander
If you’re looking for Cinderella in this year’s field, look no further than the James Madison Dukes. Head coach Loren LaPorte has helped build JMU into one of the strongest mid-majors in the country, and the Dukes are making the first World Series appearance in program history.
JMU arrives in OKC with a 39-2 record — albeit against much weaker competition — but this team proved in regional play that it can hang with anyone.
That is, in large part, thanks to the Dukes' star in the circle, Odicci Alexander. Alexander has been a force as a pitcher and a hitter (she bats third!) since her freshman year in 2017. She has had a truly epic career now culminating in a matchup with mighty Oklahoma on the game’s biggest stage. If anyone’s up for that tall task, it’s Alexander.
Other players to watch: LF Kate Gordon (18 HRs), SS Sara Jubas (1.217 OPS), 3B Lynsey Meeks (.496 OBP)
Georgia Bulldogs: Pitcher Mary Wilson Avant
Along with JMU, Georgia is the rare unseeded team to reach the World Series, as the Bulldogs took down Duke in the regionals and then went into Gainesville and shocked the Gators with two commanding victories to advance.
Avant has always been a steady ace for the Bulldogs and had a really good regular season this year, but she has leveled up in the postseason. She enters OKC having thrown 23 consecutive scoreless innings, including two spectacular shutouts against an excellent Florida offense.
Georgia hits a lot of dingers, too, and the Bulldogs' offense will need to show up if they want to beat Oklahoma State. But their title hopes start and end with Avant. If she’s on, watch out.
Other players to watch: 1B Lacey Fincher (1.248 OPS), 2B Sydney Kuma (15 HRs), RF Jaiden Fields (two HRs in the super regional, younger sister of Bears QB Justin Fields)
Oklahoma State Cowgirls: Right fielder Hayley Busby
In 2019, Samantha Show made headlines with her epic bat flips throughout the Cowgirls’ season en route to the World Series. This year, it’s Busby who has carried that bat-flipping torch for the Cowgirls.
Busby wasn’t on that ‘19 team, as she transferred to Oklahoma State from Virginia last season, but she clearly fits in well in Stillwater. She leads the team with 19 HRs, and you can count on her to flip it if she happens to launch one this weekend.
Bonus fun fact: Her dad, Mike, pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1996 to 1999.
Other players to watch: P Carrie Eberle (ace), SS Kiley Naomi (14 HRs), 1B Alysen Febrey (1.268 OPS), 3B Sydney Pennington (13 HRs)
Alabama Crimson Tide: Pitcher Montana Fouts
The Crimson Tide are regulars in OKC, having won it all in 2012 and made it there in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019 as well. This year, they enter the field with arguably the most unstoppable pitching force in the country in Fouts. The 6-foot-1 right-hander has struck out a ridiculous 314 batters in 196.2 innings this season, including 11-plus in each of her past seven starts.
Fouts is must-see TV at this point, and she gives the Tide an excellent chance to win it all. Many softball fans are eagerly anticipating a potential matchup between Fouts and the Oklahoma offense in the championship series, but she’ll have to get through Alabama’s side of the bracket first.
Other players to watch: C Bailey Hemphill
Arizona Wildcats: Shortstop Jessie Harper
Alo isn’t the only slugger looking to set records in this year’s World Series, as Harper currently sits third on the all-time home run list after launching her 91st career long ball in Arizona’s super regional vs. Arkansas.
Harper is just two behind another former Wildcat, Katiyana Mauga, at 92, and four behind Chamberlain at 95. This is a star-studded Arizona roster, but Harper is a legitimate all-time great.
Other than UCLA, Arizona has been the most successful softball program in the country under head coach Mike Candrea, and though the Wildcats aren’t considered the favorites this year, it would hardly be a surprise to see them go on a deep run.
Other players to watch: C Dejah Mulipola (1.434 OPS), Sharlize Palacios (18 HRs), LF Janelle Meoño (.439 with 12 steals), Alyssa Denham and Hanah Bowen (co-aces)
Florida State Seminoles: Third baseman Sydney Sherrill
If you pull up the Seminoles’ offensive numbers from this season, you’ll notice they pale in comparison to those of FSU's 2018 team that won it all, let alone the other teams in this year’s WCWS field. Only one player hitting over .300 and zero players with double-digit homers? How good could this team really be? Well, when you pitch, defend and steal bases like this team does, you can beat just about anyone.
Sherrill burst on the scene as a freshman in 2018 with a Division I single-season record 29 doubles, and she continues to anchor Florida State’s offense and defense as a senior in 2021. She’s as good as it gets at the hot corner, and her .466 OBP has helped her score a team-leading 44 runs through 55 games this season. She’ll need to be on her A-game if the Noles are going to pull off an upset against the defending champs.
Other players to watch: P Kathryn Sandercock and P Caylan Arnold (co-aces), 1B Elizabeth Mason (nine HRs), 2B Devyn Flaherty (.298 with 18 steals)
UCLA Bruins: Outfielder Maya Brady
The defending champions are back in the World Series for a Division I-record 33rd (!) time, though it hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing, with some close games in the regional and a loss to Virginia Tech last weekend. But the Bruins are a machine, and head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez has boatloads of talent to help push for another national title.
It’s a bit absurd to not highlight Rachel Garcia here, as she’s quite literally one of the greatest softball players of all time, but I’ll highlight Brady instead — and not just because her uncle has won 47 Super Bowls or whatever (Maya’s mother, Maureen, is Tom’s older sister).
Brady's true freshman season in 2020 (in which she hit seven HRs in 26 games) was cut short, but she picked up right where she left off and has hit some titanic homers for the Bruins this postseason:
Other players to watch: Garcia (duh), P Megan Faraimo (co-ace with Garcia), SS Briana Perez (1.157 OPS), 3B Delanie Wisz (14 HRs)
Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball analyst for FOX Sports. He lives in Maryland but is a huge Seattle Mariners fan and loves watching the KBO, which means he doesn't get a lot of sleep. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.
