ESPN Addresses Future of Video Review at the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational
The 2026 Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational ended on Sunday and was sharply criticized by college softball fans on social media for the lack of video replay review.
On Thursday, an ESPN spokesperson confirmed with Softball On SI the reason why the tournament didn't have it.
"As the game of softball continues to evolve, we remain committed to evaluating and advancing the technology that supports it," a spokesperson for The Worldwide Leader in Sports said in an email. "While video review is not currently required for preseason tournaments such as Clearwater, we assess opportunities each year to enhance the tournament’s overall production and growth."
The invitational, which is owned and operated by ESPN Events, featured 40 games across four days with 16 of the nation's top teams. All 40 contests were streamed via the ESPN family of networks, and 19 of them were on national television.
ESPN's statement also comes on the heels of softball analyst Michele Smith's confirmation about a full renovation coming to the Eddie C. Moore Complex, slated to begin construction the day after the 2027 invitational ends.
Tennessee came away with a 5-0 record with wins over four ranked teams and with the help of a Texas Tech loss, the Lady Vols were name the unanimous No. 1 team in the country ahead of Week 3. The Red Raiders fells to No. 2/3 after losing 3-2 to No.6/10 Nebraska.
A clip from the game between Texas Tech and Nebraska stirred up conversation on social media because of the missed call. NU shortstop Ava Kuszak fouled off a pitch from NiJaree Canady that hit the dirt and then bounced up off her leg. It should've been a dead ball but instead, Kuszak was thrown out at first base.
This is getting a tad bit ridiculous.
— Maren Angus-Coombs (@Maren_Angus) February 15, 2026
Nebraska’s Ava Kuszak fouls a ball off her leg, thrown out at first. Umpires gather to discuss and nobody saw it hit her.
Here’s what I know about why there’s no replay in Clearwater.
🔗: https://t.co/VBWgWTwuEh pic.twitter.com/L33958uWBK
Social Media Reactions
In response to the post above, softball fans chimed in with their opinions.
"Wild that arguably the biggest college softball event outside of the WCWS doesn’t have replay," John Christopher Gillon said.
"There have been at least 2 really bad calls per game in this tournament," said the user CraigGrafX. "If nothing else, it reminded us why replay became a thing.
The no-replay controversy in Clearwater just escalated.
— Maren Angus-Coombs (@Maren_Angus) February 14, 2026
Calls have been questioned all week and Friday, LSU head coach Beth Torina was ejected arguing one.
Why isn’t there replay at the Clearwater Invitational? The answer might surprise you. 👇https://t.co/VBWgWTvWOJ pic.twitter.com/MIFLPl93Ua
Another user, Toni Closner, says replay for the tournament should be a requirement moving forward.
"You cannot NOT have replay at one of the most important tournaments of the season," Closer argued. "Multiple teams playing at this tournament will be one of the last eight standing, and this is huge for (the) postseason. The amount of missed calls this weekend has been wild. Replay is a MUST next year."
Regradless of what ESPN chooses to do in 2027, the criticism is out there and fans will be watching and encouraging change. However, that might not happen until 2028.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs 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+.