Has Tennessee softball won a national championship? WCWS history, record for Lady Vols
Tennessee softball and coach Karen Weekly have one of their best teams in recent seasons, with the Lady Vols claiming their highest seed of all time as the NCAA Softball Tournament's No. 3 team.
Tennessee steamrolled the Knoxville Regional with three wins, including a 3-0 win over Dayton and a pair of wins over Virginia, 12-0 and 6-0, respectively.
Thanks to a dynamic pitching duo of Karlyn Pickens and Payton Gottshall, along with one of the SEC's top offenses this season, the Lady Vols are well positioned to make a run at the 2024 Women's College World Series, which would be their second consecutive appearance in Oklahoma City.
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But first, Tennessee must get past the super regionals, where it faces conference rival and No. 14 seed Alabama. The Lady Vols earned a 2-1 series victory over the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa this season and will look to do so again in Knoxville.
Should they do that, the Lady Vols will once again make their way to Oklahoma City. With that, here's the Lady Vols' WCWS history, including how many appearances they've made and their record in Oklahoma City:
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How many WCWS appearances does Tennessee have?
Tennessee softball has made the WCWS eight times, all of which have come under Karen Weekly and her husband Ralph Weekly, who was the Lady Vols' co-head coach from 2002-21 until Karen solely took over in 2021.
Tennessee's last WCWS appearance came in 2023, which was the Lady Vols' first time in Oklahoma City since 2015.
Tennessee softball WCWS history
Here's the list of years Tennessee has made the WCWS:
Tennessee softball WCWS appearances:
2005
2006
2007
2010
2012
2013
2015
2023
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Has Tennessee softball won a national championship?
The Lady Vols have never won a national championship in softball. However, they have finished as the WCWS runners up twice, in 2007 and 2013.
In the former WCWS run, Tennessee earned the No. 5 overall seed in 2007, finishing with a 63-8 record. The Lady Vols went 3-0 in their regional round over Furman, North Carolina and Winthrop, then defeated Hawaii in Game 3 of the Knoxville Super Regional to advance to OKC.
Tennessee then made the WCWS final through the winner's bracket, going 3-0 against No. 4 seed Texas A&M (2-0), No. 1 seed Arizona (1-0) and No. 2 seed Northwestern (3-0). The Lady Vols defeated No. 1 Arizona 3-0 in the first game of the championship series, but lost 1-0 and 5-0 to the Wildcats to drop the championship.
That Tennessee team featured Monica Abbott, one of the best college softball pitchers ever.
In 2013, the Lady Vols earned the No. 7 overall seed and 5-0 through the super regionals — coincidentally knocking out 10 seed Alabama in Knoxville — to again make the WCWS. Tennessee started the WCWS 3-0 to set up a championship series matchup with No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma.
The Sooners and national player of the year Keilani Ricketts were too much for Tennessee, defeating the Lady Vols 5-3 (in 12 innings) and 4-0 to claim the program's second championship.
Tennessee softball record at WCWS
The Lady Vols have fared well in years they've made the WCWS, only bowing out after two games twice in program history. In all other years, Tennessee has won at least two games in Oklahoma City.
Here's Tennessee's all-time record at the WCWS:
WCWS all-time record: 17-16
2005: 3-2
2006: 3-2
2007: 4-2 (WCWS runner up)
2010: 2-2
2012: 0-2
2013: 3-2 (WCWS runner up)
2015: 0-2
2023: 2-2
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Has Tennessee softball won a national championship? Lady Vols' WCWS history
