Alabama's Postseason Path Shows How Difficult It is To Win a Title: Just a Minute

Even at the top overall seed, the Crimson Tide had anything but an easy path at the Women's College World Series.

Alabama's Alexis Pupillo (31) celebrates a home run with head coach Patrick Murphy in the fifth inning during a Women's College World Series softball game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the UCLA Bruins at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, May 28, 2026. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring Alabama Crimson Tide on SI's beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral assistant editor and softball writer Katie Windham discusses how No. 1 Alabama softball's postseason path through the Women's College World Series shows just how difficult it is to win a national title.

Alabama softball was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and one of the favorites to win the national title, but it will either be the Texas Longhorns or the Texas Tech Red Raiders who win the 2026 crown. (Texas won Game 1 of the championship series on Wednesday night.)

As soon as the Crimson Tide lost to Texas Tech in the semifinals, some discourse was started among fans online about Alabama winning just one national title in 16 trips to Oklahoma City for the WCWS. It was certainly frustrating and disappointing to come up short of a national title and even the championships series, but I think Alabama's path shows just how hard it is.

Even as the highest-seeded team in the tournament, Alabama's opening opponent in OKC was No. 8 UCLA, who has literally the best offense in college softball history. No other team has put up the type of offensive numbers that the Bruins did this season. It was not a cakewalk for Alabama in the opening round.

Then, the Tide took on No. 4 Nebraska, who was on a 27-game winning and streak and was led by one of the best players in college softball history in Jordy Frahm. And then Alabama's opponent in the semifinals was what is presumed to be the highest-paid roster in college softball history at Texas Tech.

The two other teams in the semifinals (Texas and Tennessee) were the only two teams in the nation to beat Alabama at least twice this season, and Texas Tech was probably the only other school that could do the same thing with the talent of the Tide's pitching staff

And that was just the opponents at the WCWS. Alabama had to beat the nation's ERA leader in regionals in Belmont's Maya Johnson and an SEC foe in LSU during Supers.

Even without Oklahoma in OKC this season, there was no easy path to a title. Can Alabama break through and win another national championship under Patrick Murphy? That is still to be determined. With the pieces Alabama should be bringing back, the Tide will have a strong chance in 2027, but winning a national title is not easy. It requires talent, and the right things to break your way.

Since Alabama won the national title in 2012, there are two schools with more than one title in that span: Oklahoma and Florida. The Gators won back-to-back championships in 2014 and 2015, and the Sooners have seven total titles since losing the champ series to Alabama in 2012. Texas could join that group if it wins the 2026 title after winning last year.

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