Softball On SI

Eligibility Allegations Surface For Semifinalist After Little League Softball World Series

Maren Angus-Coombs|
Eligibility concerns surround the Southwest Region representative after the Little League Softball World Series.
Eligibility concerns surround the Southwest Region representative after the Little League Softball World Series. | Little League

Parents are questioning the eligibility of a Little League Softball World Series semifinalist, according to a recent report from Lauren Henry of KTUL in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Henry reports that "concerns have been raised by parents, league officials, and former administrators over whether some athletes on the roster were eligible to compete under Little League rules."

The team is question from Tulsa, finished in third place at the 2025 Little League World Series.

Little League requires players to compete in a minimum of eight regular-season games to qualify for tournament play. According to Kevin Zappe, whose team from Texas competed at the Southwest Regional Tournament, question the legitimacy of Team Oklahoma during a regional coaches meeting.

"They have a manager's meeting, and that’s where we found out that Oklahoma had shown up and never played a game before," Zappe told Henry. "So, there’s red flags going off everywhere because in Little League that’s illegal."

Questions were raised before the regional tournament as well.

Former assistant district administrator for Oklahoma Little League Kenneth Crawford has questioned the eligibility of this team more than once and cited the league was violating rules by directly recruiting players.

“I questioned the eligibility of this team. I researched them, I recorded conversations. I couldn’t get clear answers,” Crawford said.

Crawford also told Henry that in a phone call recording he took last year, Mindy Abbott, the current district administrator for Oklahoma Little League, admitted to recruiting from club teams in the area.

Henry reached out to Abbott for comment but she didn't respond at the time the story was published.

Another report claimed that a player from Tulsa competed for another league last year, which is against Little League rules.

"Even if they joined another Little League, they’d have to redshirt their first year," Deer Creek Little League public relations board member Kelsey Looman said. "But then we saw that same girl playing for Team Oklahoma in the Southwest Regionals."

Looman also said her concerns "fall on deaf ears" because the district administrator also happens to be the person who runs Tulsa Little League and "loads the team."

KTUL also reached out to Southwest Regional Little League regarding the complaints that were filed.

"Upon the review of a protest filed against the Tulsa National Little League in the Little League Softball division, the Little League International Tournament Committee, in conjunction with the Southwest Region Office, has determined that Tulsa National Little League has provided supporting documentation consistent with what is required to meet Little League Regulations regarding tournament team and player eligibility," a spokesperson replied in an email.

"If it is later determined that the facts presented by any tournament team are inaccurate, the Little League International Tournament Committee reserves the right to impose additional penalties, including suspension or revocation of tournament privileges for the entire league, team, manager, and/or players involved."

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Maren Angus-Coombs
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+.

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