Few collegiate sports, or pros for that matter, see the type of dominance displayed by the Pac-10 conference when it comes to women’s softball and the Women’s College World Series. So while much of the attention is on the BIg 12 for placing half of the eight teams in this year’s WCWS, the reality is that the road to the title should still favor Arizona State or California if history has anything to say about it.
Consider this: the Pac-10 conference has claimed a total of 22 of 28 WCWS titles since 1982. Michigan was the last team to claim the title as a non Pac-10 school and that was back in 2005. Before that, it was Oklahoma in 2000. Simply put, the Pac-10 is simply expected to win the NCAA Division I Softball Championship each and every season. Why? That’s how it’s always been.
Last year, UCLA won the championship, and that came against fellow Pac-10 power Arizona State. This year, ASU is the favored team to take it all, not only because of the conference’s winning tradition but they’re also the No. 1 overall team in the country. It’s possible, despite having two of eight teams, for the Pac-10 to finish with the final two teams once again, given the pairings in Bracket Play.
Every year presents new opportunities and several other schools are vying for the chance to unseat the Pac-10. But to do so is a tall order given the conference’s sheer dominance throughout the last three decades.