2017 Judi Garman ClassicMar 3, 2017 by James Caldwell
The Pac Is Back: Will This Year's National Champion Come From The West?
The Pac Is Back: Will This Year's National Champion Come From The West?
Pac-12 softball is on the rise. As the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City nears, will one of the conference's teams be this year's national champion?
It's been a long time since college softball's national champion came from out West. In fact, the last Women's College World Series winner from the conference was Arizona State in 2011. No one knew it at the time, but it was the end of a six-year streak of Pac-12's dominance.
During the Pac-12's run, which began in the Pac-10 era, one of the conference's schools won the WCWS every year from 2006 to 2011. The list included:
Looking back to last year, only one Pac-12 team reached Oklahoma City. UCLA went out with a whimper, losing to Auburn in its WCWS opener and Florida State in an elimination game.
But, suddenly, things look different in 2017. Is the Pac-12 finally back as a force in college softball?
Fourth-ranked Oregon is undefeated at 14-0, and No. 6 Arizona received one first place vote. Washington, which is ranked No. 7, has some of the biggest wins of the season, and No. 8 UCLA is getting a lot of respect despite three losses.
Outside of the top 10, the Pac-12 has three more teams ranked: No.16 Utah; No. 18 California, which has just one loss; and No. 20 Arizona State. That means seven of the conference's 10 participating softball teams are ranked.
With so much chaos in college softball to start this season, it's apparent this is the year for the Pac-12 to finally make it back to the top.
But which teams in the conference have a legit shot to compete for a national title?
Which of these teams could actually make it to OKC, though? Let's examine.
We know Oregon can score runs, but we're not sure how good the Ducks really are yet.
Oregon has only played two ranked teams this year -- Kentucky and Fresno State at the beginning of the season. Other top softball teams have played two ranked teams on the same day.
This is why the pollsters are not sure they can trust the Ducks until they face tougher competition, hence the No. 4 ranking despite being undefeated. We'll see how Oregon fares this weekend against Missouri in Columbia. WCWS Status: Wait and See.
The Wildcats like to score a whole lot of runs. They've already put up 21 runs twice this season. In total, they've scored in double digits six times.
Like Oregon, we need to see what Arizona do against top-ranked opponents. The Wildcats' biggest wins have been against current No. 22 Baylor and unranked BYU.
Arizona faced No. 1 Florida State in its last game of the Mary Nutter Invitational, and FSU shut out the Wildcats 1-0. So can Arizona be trusted against the powerhouse teams of college softball? Like Oregon, we're not sure yet. WCWS Status: Wait and See.
And now for the intriguing Washington Huskies. Their season will be very interesting to watch play out, especially after securing arguably the biggest wins of the preseason.
In the opening tournament of the year in Mexico, the Huskies knocked off No. 1-ranked and defending champion Oklahoma 1-0. It sent shockwaves through college softball.
Interestingly, though, the Huskies lost to BYU two games prior to beating Oklahoma. Then, Washington lost to Missouri in the Mary Nutter last weekend before finishing the tournament with wins over Texas and UC Santa Barbara.
Washington has played -- and beaten -- enough top competition to make us trust the Huskies. But, are they ready for the WCWS? While we're not sure yet because of those two losses, Washington coach Heather Tarr tested her team early, and its win over OU was a big deal. WCWS Status: A Contender.
Hmm, the UCLA Bruins. UCLA fell from No. 6 to No. 8 in the latest poll after it dropped two games at the Mary Nutter Classic.
The Bruins' trip to Cathedral City, CA, included a rough game against Oklahoma in which UCLA was run-ruled 10-1 in five innings. The Bruins followed that up with a win over a top 15 LSU team before losing 2-1 against top-ranked FSU.
Earlier in the season, UCLA lost 2-1 against Kentucky in Los Angeles. But UCLA also beat UK in that series. The Bruins opened the Mary Nutter by beating another Southeastern Conference school in top 20 Georgia.
The key here for UCLA is showing the ability to beat SEC schools. In the years since ASU won the WCWS in 2011, the SEC has dominated college softball while the Pac-12 has fallen by the wayside.
UCLA has shown great promise by taking down SEC opponents. As the only Pac-12 representative at last year's title tournament, the Bruins once again have a chance to represent the conference at the end of the season. WCWS Status: A Contender.
Watch UCLA, Washington, CAL, and Arizona State LIVE at the Judi Garman Classic​​
During the Pac-12's run, which began in the Pac-10 era, one of the conference's schools won the WCWS every year from 2006 to 2011. The list included:
- ​2006: Arizona
- 2007: Arizona
- 2008: Arizona State
- 2009: Washington
- 2010: UCLA
- 2011: Arizona State
Looking back to last year, only one Pac-12 team reached Oklahoma City. UCLA went out with a whimper, losing to Auburn in its WCWS opener and Florida State in an elimination game.
But, suddenly, things look different in 2017. Is the Pac-12 finally back as a force in college softball?
Pac-12 Rises To The Top
In the latest college softball poll, the Pac-12 has four teams ranked in the top 10.Fourth-ranked Oregon is undefeated at 14-0, and No. 6 Arizona received one first place vote. Washington, which is ranked No. 7, has some of the biggest wins of the season, and No. 8 UCLA is getting a lot of respect despite three losses.
Outside of the top 10, the Pac-12 has three more teams ranked: No.16 Utah; No. 18 California, which has just one loss; and No. 20 Arizona State. That means seven of the conference's 10 participating softball teams are ranked.
With so much chaos in college softball to start this season, it's apparent this is the year for the Pac-12 to finally make it back to the top.
But which teams in the conference have a legit shot to compete for a national title?
Pac-12's Top Four Title Contenders
Utah, Cal, and ASU could surprise us and be in the mix for the WCWS at the end of the year. But we believe Oregon, Arizona, Washington, and UCLA are the teams with the best shot.Which of these teams could actually make it to OKC, though? Let's examine.
No. 4 Oregon (currently 14-0)
We know Oregon can score runs, but we're not sure how good the Ducks really are yet.
Oregon has only played two ranked teams this year -- Kentucky and Fresno State at the beginning of the season. Other top softball teams have played two ranked teams on the same day.
This is why the pollsters are not sure they can trust the Ducks until they face tougher competition, hence the No. 4 ranking despite being undefeated. We'll see how Oregon fares this weekend against Missouri in Columbia. WCWS Status: Wait and See.
No. 6 Arizona (15-1)
The Wildcats like to score a whole lot of runs. They've already put up 21 runs twice this season. In total, they've scored in double digits six times.
Like Oregon, we need to see what Arizona do against top-ranked opponents. The Wildcats' biggest wins have been against current No. 22 Baylor and unranked BYU.
Arizona faced No. 1 Florida State in its last game of the Mary Nutter Invitational, and FSU shut out the Wildcats 1-0. So can Arizona be trusted against the powerhouse teams of college softball? Like Oregon, we're not sure yet. WCWS Status: Wait and See.
No. ​7 Washington (11-2)
And now for the intriguing Washington Huskies. Their season will be very interesting to watch play out, especially after securing arguably the biggest wins of the preseason.
In the opening tournament of the year in Mexico, the Huskies knocked off No. 1-ranked and defending champion Oklahoma 1-0. It sent shockwaves through college softball.
Interestingly, though, the Huskies lost to BYU two games prior to beating Oklahoma. Then, Washington lost to Missouri in the Mary Nutter last weekend before finishing the tournament with wins over Texas and UC Santa Barbara.
Washington has played -- and beaten -- enough top competition to make us trust the Huskies. But, are they ready for the WCWS? While we're not sure yet because of those two losses, Washington coach Heather Tarr tested her team early, and its win over OU was a big deal. WCWS Status: A Contender.
No. 8 UCLA (13-3)
Hmm, the UCLA Bruins. UCLA fell from No. 6 to No. 8 in the latest poll after it dropped two games at the Mary Nutter Classic.
The Bruins' trip to Cathedral City, CA, included a rough game against Oklahoma in which UCLA was run-ruled 10-1 in five innings. The Bruins followed that up with a win over a top 15 LSU team before losing 2-1 against top-ranked FSU.
Earlier in the season, UCLA lost 2-1 against Kentucky in Los Angeles. But UCLA also beat UK in that series. The Bruins opened the Mary Nutter by beating another Southeastern Conference school in top 20 Georgia.
The key here for UCLA is showing the ability to beat SEC schools. In the years since ASU won the WCWS in 2011, the SEC has dominated college softball while the Pac-12 has fallen by the wayside.
UCLA has shown great promise by taking down SEC opponents. As the only Pac-12 representative at last year's title tournament, the Bruins once again have a chance to represent the conference at the end of the season. WCWS Status: A Contender.
Watch UCLA, Washington, CAL, and Arizona State LIVE at the Judi Garman Classic​​
