The Women’s College World Series is here, with eight teams all in the hunt for the national championship.

While there are plenty of great players on every team, Just Women’s Sports highlights one player to watch from each.

Oklahoma: Jordy Bahl

While Jocelyn Alo certainly has been the biggest name out of Oklahoma softball this year, freshman Jordy Bahl also has been a name to know.

The pitcher was named NFCA Freshman of the Year this week after a dominant rookie campaign. She hasn’t pitched since Oklahoma’s regular season finale due to an injury, but according to head coach Patti Gasso, Bahl will make her return to the circle this week.

“You’re going to see her pitch this week,” Gasso said during a press conference Wednesday. “How much? We’re still working.”

Bahl could be an issue for any opponent whenever she returns to the circle. The second-best pitcher on OU’s staff behind Hope Trautwein, she posted a 0.95 ERA during the regular season.

UCLA: Maya Brady

UCLA sophomore Maya Brady struggled a bit this season, hitting just .274 during Pac-12 play and hitting just five for 35 in the 12 games before her current streak.

But she’s turned the wheels on during the postseason, hitting .438. She arrives in Oklahoma City with a hit in 10 of her last 11 games. That includes a 3-for-3, two-RBI performance in UCLA’s win over Duke last week to clinch the super regional.

Oklahoma State: Kelly Maxwell

An All-American first teamer, Kelly Maxwell pitched a 1.16 ERA on the season en route to a 19-4 record. The Big 12 conference strikeout leader, she’s pitched 279 strikes heading into the WCWS.

Included in that number is her 13-strikeout, two-hit performance against Clemson in the team’s Super Regional en route to a 2-0 series win over the Tigers.

“When you have somebody like Kelly, you feel good going into any game that she’s gonna throw,” said Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski.

Northwestern: Danielle Williams

Northwestern pitcher Danielle Williams has been a stalwart of the Wildcats’ defense this season, pitching her way to NFCA first team All-American honors alongside teammate Rachel Lewis.

Heading into the Women’s College World Series, she’s the only pitcher to have pitched in all of her team’s postseason games. Through six starts, she’s thrown 681 pitches.

Over three games against Arizona State in the Super Regionals, she threw 430 pitches in 23 ⅓ innings. That includes a 179-pitch, 11 inning performance in the series opener to lift the Cats 4-3 over the Sun Devils.

Danielle Williams.

That's it, that's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/vJF7L2mas1

— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) May 28, 2022

And don’t count out catcher Jordyn Rudd, either. Rudd just won the inaugural Golden Glove award given to the season’s best catcher. She also has the best batting average on the team, making her a dual threat.

Florida: Skylar Wallace

With a .407 batting average, Skylar Wallace has helped propel No. 14 Florida to its 11th WCWS in 15 seasons. But while Wallace is a major piece of the Gators’ team, coach Tim Walton has pointed to the team’s ability to work together as a major reason why they’re back in Oklahoma City.

“The chemistry on the field,” Walton said. “The chemistry in our work ethic and just the constant ability to communicate with each other the right way.”

Wallace, as part of a duo with Kendra Falby, has combined to contribute 87 stolen bases out of the Gators’ 131. An Alabama transfer, she’s been unstoppable for Florida this season.

“Skylar had probably one of the best seasons in Division I softball history,” Walton said.

Texas: Janae Jefferson

The all-time hits leader at Texas and the Big 12 career hits and batting average leader, Janae Jefferson has been a stalwart this season for Texas, showing up in big moments — for example, when she scored the decisive run in the Longhorn’s 3-0 win over Arkansas to propel her team to its first WCWS since 2013.

Jefferson has a .431 batting average this season, the second-best amongst the teams in the WCWS. Only Oklahoma’s Alo has a better batting average this season.

On Wednesday, she joined Cat Osterman as the only other Longhorn to be a four-time All-American.

The 4x All-Americans in the history of Texas' softball program:

Cat Osterman.
Janae Jefferson.

That's it. That's the list. #HookEm https://t.co/u9JtpUMhkr

— Danny Davis (@aasdanny) June 1, 2022

Oregon State: Mariah Mazon

Mariah Mazon is one half of the “Bash Sisters,” alongside Frankie Hammoude. The duo hit 27 combined home runs on the year.

A threat in the circle and the batters’ box, Mazon was named a first team All-American by the NFCA. She has a team-record 861 strikeouts in her career, and she’s notched 220 of them this season. On top of her 2.18 ERA on the season, she’s also hitting .366.

Arizona: Allie Skaggs

Hard-nosed hitter Allie Skaggs enters the WCWS having tied for the most home runs in the Pac-12 to end the regular season. Currently at 24 on the season, she could break the tie with one swing during the World Series.

Her 24 home runs ties her for fourth in the country. She’s also batted in 58 runs, which ranks 19th in Division I, and has a .818 slugging percentage. Recently named a second team NFCA All-American, she’ll lead the unseeded Wildcats into Oklahoma City.

Sweden veteran defender Magda Eriksson is hanging up her international boots to focus on her health, with the 32-year-old officially announcing her retirement from her national team on Sunday.

Eriksson will continue competing at the domestic level for her German club, Bayern Munich.

The longtime captain sat out the most recent international window due to a head injury, watching as world No. 3 Sweden fell to No. 1 Spain in the two-leg 2025 Nations League semifinals.

"It's by far the toughest decision I've ever made," Eriksson said in her social media announcement. "But I'm listening to my body and mind instead of my heart."

"I've landed in the fact that unfortunately it's a decision that has to be made."

After an 11-year career with the Swedish senior national team, Eriksson retires as a two-time Olympic silver medalist, earning those podium finishes in Rio in 2016 and at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games.

Often leading Sweden through major tournaments where early domination dissolved into a third-place finish, Eriksson also helped her team eke onto the World Cup podium in both 2019 and 2023.

"It is heavy news," said Sweden head coach Tony Gustavsson after Eriksson announced her international retirement, calling her "one of our most important players for a long time."

"[Magda's] professionalism, courage, and heart have left a strong mark on the national team," he added.

Chelsea FC's £1 million gamble is paying dividends, as USWNT rising star Alyssa Thompson continued her goal-scoring momentum for the six-time defending WSL champs on Sunday.

The young forward found the back of the net in the ninth minute of the Blues' 1-1 Sunday draw with Liverpool, solidifying her status as a decisive attacking threat for her new club.

"You can see how much talent she has and the quality she brings to the team," Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said of Thompson earlier this month. "She's improving game after game, becoming more connected to her teammates, and understanding the way we want to play better."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Thompson left NWSL side Angel City for Chelsea on a then-record £1 million transfer fee in early September, with the 21-year-old going on to notch three goals and one assist in four matches across both WSL and Champions League play.

"Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity," said the striker. "I want to learn, grow, and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in."

Beyond individual accomplishment, Thompson's success underscores Chelsea's depth as they continue to hunt domestic and continental honors on a now-34 match WSL unbeaten streak — while also looking to potentially draw more USWNT stars away from the NWSL.

Women's professional baseball has landed a home base, with Front Office Sports reporting on Monday that the newly formed WPBL will play the entirety of its 2026 debut season at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.

The incoming league prioritized a neutral venue without an existing baseball team to house its four inaugural clubs — New York, Boston, LA, and San Francisco — for its first campaign, with barnstorming games also planned for each team market.

"Our sport is for everybody," WPBL co-founder Keith Stein told FOS. "It's for middle America, everybody. We thought, 'Our teams are on these two coasts, it would be good to be in the middle of the country.'"

Founded in 2024 as the first professional women's baseball outfit in the US since 1954, the WPBL will hold its first-ever draft on Thursday, with the league's four teams drawing from a pool of 120 eligible players.

The WPBL recently fielded an oversubscribed Series A investment round, telling FOS that they're closing a $3 million raise with another round planned ahead of its August 2026 season-opener.

Each 30-player team will operate under a $95,000 salary cap for the first year, with the league also covering living costs throughout the seven-week season as well as giving players a percentage of sponsorship funds.

How to watch the first-ever WPBL Draft

The 2025 WPBL Draft kicks off at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage streaming across the league's Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels.

Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon spoke her mind last week, telling CNBC Sport that the WNBA might need "a change in leadership" for the league's CBA talks to successfully progress.

"I just think [player relations] might be too fractured at this point, but we'll see," Hammon said, while also noting that she's had only limited interactions with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Citing Engelbert's "private conversations...with individual players — or lack of the conversations," Hammon described the commissioner's current relationship with players as "rocky" while describing her widely criticized leadership style.

"I don't know if she can ever regret, retract, and get that traction back from those conversations," the Aces boss posited.

"When the players speak, people need to sit up and listen," she continued. "I think [Engelbert is] sitting up and listening now."

Hammon also voiced support for Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier after the five-time All-Star described the WNBA as having the "worst leadership in the world" in her now-viral 2025 exit interview.

"I completely agree with Napheesa that the players should be making more than coaches," the Las Vegas sideline leader — who publicly earns seven figures per year — continued. "They're due for a huge increase in salary, and it's got to be something that is sustainable. That's the biggest thing you got to remember, that this league is still a young league."

Ultimately, while the 2025 WNBA season is over, CBA concerns loom large over the league's current offseason and 2026 campaign, leaving Hammon and others looking to avoid a lockout as the November 30th extension deadline nears.