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EXCLUSIVE: All Women’s Sports Network to Broadcast Inaugural Sarasota Classic Softball Tournament in 2027

All Women’s Sports Network and Peak Events have partnered to broadcast the inaugural Sarasota Classic, bringing six top NCAA Division I softball programs to Florida in February 2027.
Maren Angus|
Alabama will be one of six teams competing in the inaugural Sarasota Classic in 2027.
Alabama will be one of six teams competing in the inaugural Sarasota Classic in 2027. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Six NCAA Division I softball programs will take the field in the inaugual Sarasota Classic in February 2027 with an exlcusive broadcast deal.

All Women's Sports Network and Peak Events, LLC have reached an agreement to deliver the tournament worldwide beginning Feb. 11.

“We are incredibly proud to showcase the extraordinary talent, dedication, and athleticism of women’s softball on AWSN,” said George Chung, CEO of AWSN. “The tremendous success we’ve experienced with softball programming on our network validates the strong and growing appetite among viewers for women’s sports and reinforces our commitment to bringing these remarkable athletes to audiences around the world.”

“The Sarasota Classic,” continued Chung, “represents exactly the kind of event we want to champion. By expanding opportunities for collegiate athletes to compete and showcase their talents beyond the traditional season, we can help elevate the next generation of softball stars while building on the momentum and growing global audience for women’s sports.”

Women's College World Series semifinalist Alabama will play in the inaugural event alongside Florida State, Texas State, Baylor, Ohio State and James Madison, all competing for the grand prize championship belt.

“We’re incredibly excited to partner with AWSN to help showcase the inaugural Sarasota Softball Classic to fans across the country and around the world,” said Ryan Kirkwood, Assistant Vice President of Operations at Peak Events.

“We’ve put a lot of work into bringing six outstanding college softball programs to Sarasota, and having AWSN involved is another big step in making this event special,” continued Kirkwood. “Our goal is to put on the best early-season college softball tournament in the country, providing a first-class experience for student-athletes, coaches, and fans alike. We want to ultimately establish this as the premier college softball tournament outside of the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. We're striving to be the best outside of OKC, and we can't wait to get things started in February."

Sarasota Classic Format

The overall champion will be determined by win-loss record.

If there is a two-way tie for first place, the score from their head-to-head game during the tournament will serve as the tiebreaker.

If the three top teams finish with the same record, the winning team will be determined by calculating the greatest run differential from the games those three teams each played against one another.

If two of the top three teams remain tied after calculating run differentials, the winner will be
determined by referring to the head-to-head game result between those two teams.

The entire tournament broadcast will be released at a later date.

AWSN Continues Making Waves in Softball

With the addition of the Sarasota Classic, AWSN is now home to three different softball properties.

The network partnered with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) for its World Cup Group Play in 2026 and the Professional Softball League (PSL), which launched earlier in 2026 with five teams from five different U.S. cities.

Since launching in November 2024, AWSN has become the world’s fastest-growing media
property dedicated exclusively to women’s sports as well as a leading home for women’s
softball.

The AWSN platform is available on over 1 billion devices across 60-plus countries.

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Maren Angus
MAREN ANGUS

Maren Angus was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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