Jun 6, 2025; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Texas Longhorns infielder Joley Mitchell (9) smiles as she holds the National Championship trophy after the Longhorns defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders 10-4 in game three of the NCAA Softball Women's College World Series finals at Devon Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns Game 3 Win Shatters College Softball Viewership Record

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Ylver Deleon-Rios | Last updated Jun 10, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The Texas Longhorns' victory at the Women's College World Series didn't just make history for the Texas softball program, winning its first-ever national championship, but it also broke viewership records across all three games.

ESPN announced the viewership for the winner-take-all decisive Game 3 of the Women's College World Series championship series, with the game averaging 2.4 million viewers and peaking at 2.7 million, becoming the most-watched NCAA softball game ever.

Games 1 and 2 also generated record-breaking viewership numbers, with both averaging 2.1 million viewers, becoming the most-watched games 1 and 2 in WCWS history. The opening game of the championship series peaked at 2.8 million viewers, and game 2 peaked at 2.6 million viewers

The hype for the WCWS was high, an all-Texas WCWS. It was the first time since the UCLA Bruins defeated the Cal Golden Bears in 2004 where both championship series participants were from the same state, and the storied history of the old heated Big 12 rivalry between the Longhorns and Red Raiders added more fuel to the fire.

The series was built around each team's aces in the circle, Teagan Kavan and NiJaree Canady.

The two had faced off three times before the championship series, twice in Kavan's freshman season while Canady was at Stanford at the WCWS a year ago, and once early in the season. Kavan held a perfect record against Canady at 3-0 when taking on one of the best pitchers in the country. And history repeated itself once again as the two went head to head twice in the series, with Kavan improving her record against Canady to 5-0.

Viewers were treated to a nail-biting series that went the distance.

Game 1 was the pitchers' duel that everyone expected, filled with a controversial obstruction call and one of the most bizarre game-winning base hits in the sixth inning for the Longhorns. Game 2 allowed the Red Raiders to capitalize on Texas' mistakes. The Longhorns' comeback was cut short, extending the series to Game 3.

And in the deciding game 3, Texas dominated, putting up five runs in the first inning, forcing Canady to come out of the game, and a grand slam put the finishing touches on the Longhorns' national championship victory.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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