UCLA’s bid for a 13th national championship begins Thursday with a familiar opponent at the Women’s College World Series.
The Bruins (54-11) face Oregon at Devon Park at 6:30 p.m. (PST) on the first day of a double-elimination tournament featuring Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Texas Tech.
Advertisement
Two finalists will play a best-of-three series to determine the NCAA softball champion beginning June 4.
Advertisement
The matchup between UCLA and Oregon will be the 131st meeting between current Big Ten teams and former Pac-12 rivals. The Bruins have dominated the series with 97 wins.
Read more: UCLA rolls past South Carolina, earns spot in Women’s College World Series
The teams played once previously in the World Series in 2015, with UCLA winning, 7-1.
More recently, Oregon (53-8) won two of three at home against the Bruins in April. Only one of the games was close. The host Ducks won by scores of 3-1 and 9-0. UCLA won the second game, 8-0.
Advertisement
Advertisement
“What I learned most was our best is yet to come,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said Wednesday. “We didn’t play our best ball. We had a day. We had a day where we definitely showed up on day two and finished a game, but day three we didn’t finish out.
“At the end of the day, you go to every series with a goal of winning the series, and we walked away knowing we just didn’t play our best game. And I think that really set the tone for us getting ready to be able to come through in games like we did in regionals and super regionals because of those lessons learned.”
UCLA won back-to-back elimination games in the Super Regionals at South Carolina to advance to Oklahoma City. The Bruins were down to their final out in Game 2 when Jordan Woolery hit a 2-run walk-off home run to cap a four-run rally.
The homer secured the largest seventh-inning comeback in UCLA postseason history.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Read more: Bombs away: UCLA’s Jordan Woolery, Megan Grant are a power duo unlike any other
The ninth-seeded Bruins are led by Woolery, a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 10 finalist, and Top 25 finalist Megan Grant.
The junior sluggers have combined for 48 home runs and 165 runs batted in, which leads all duos nationally. Grant and Woolery’s combined RBI total is the most by a pair of UCLA players in a single season.
Kaitlyn Terry and Taylor Tinsley will lead the way in the circle for the Bruins.
Terry is 19-5 with a 2.62 ERA while Tinsley is 15-4 with a 2.62 ERA. In the South Carolina super regional, the pair allowed four runs on 12 hits — all singles
Advertisement
Advertisement
No. 16 seed Oregon, the Big Ten regular-season champion, last played in the World Series in 2018.
The Ducks bring balance to the matchup, with 85 homers and nearly three steals a game. Oregon is the only team in the NCAA ranked in the top 10 in scoring, ERA and fielding.
UCLA pitcher Kaitlyn Terry delivers the ball from the mound during the Bruins’ win over South Carolina Sunday. (Ross Turteltaub / UCLA Athletics)
Oregon’s pitching ace is Lyndsey Grein, who is 29-2-3 with a 2.08 ERA and 134 strikeouts with 41 walks.
Advertisement
She started all three games in the Bruins’ series and didn’t allow a run in 11.1 innings of work.
Woolery had four hits and four RBIs in the series while Grant went 1 for 5 with a double and three walks.
Both players are looking forward to the challenge of facing Grein again.
Advertisement
“Yeah, good pitching brings good competition,” Woolery said. “So I think we just try to rise to the occasion. I think we’re just really grateful to face more great pitching once again this weekend, and I feel like it’s going to be a really great opportunity for both of us.”
Advertisement
Grant is looking to break out on the big stage.
“It’s great competition, and it’s a competitive battle at the end of the day,” she said. “Going to win some, going to lose some, but I’m excited for the next opportunity to play again.”
The winner of tomorrow’s game faces the winner of the game between Mississippi and Texas Tech on Saturday at 4 p.m. (PST).
Advertisement
The loser between UCLA and Oregon plays the loser of Mississippi-Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. (PST) Friday.
Advertisement
Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
For the second time this year, we’ll see Oklahoma and Alabama face off in a pivotal showdown.
The Sooners (10-2) will host the Crimson Tide (10-3) for a College Football Playoff showdown Friday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. The last time these teams faced off, Oklahoma came away with a 23-21 win over Alabama on the road.
Will Oklahoma once again topple Alabama? Here’s everything fans should know about Oklahoma-Alabama in the CFP:
How to watch Oklahoma-Alabama in the CFP
Sports Roundup
Advertisement
Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis and opinion delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, Kevin Sherrington’s A La Carte.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
When: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19
Where: Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Norman, Oklahoma)
TV: ABC/ESPN Streaming: ESPN app
Advertisement
A prime-time showdown
None of the four first-round College Football Playoff games overlap, but Alabama-Oklahoma really takes center stage.
With the other three games on Saturday, including Texas A&M-Miami, this game is the only one on Friday night and doesn’t overlap with any of Saturday’s NFL action like Tulane-Ole Miss and James Madison-Oregon do.
It shouldn’t be as cold as it has been lately in Norman, Okla., as early forecasts are expecting temperatures in the lower-50s and upper-40s on Friday. Combine that with a 7 p.m. kickoff that gives Oklahoma fans plenty of time to tailgate and get riled up for the game, and “The Palace on the Prairie” should be a sight to behold as it hosts its first CFP game.
Oklahoma-Alabama head-to-head
Oklahoma and Alabama have faced off eight times in the past. The Sooners lead the all-time series 5-2-1. As we mentioned above, Oklahoma won the latest matchup in the 2025 regular season.
Latest stories
— Can Oklahoma beat Alabama again in the CFP? History isn’t on its side
Advertisement
— Five storylines for Oklahoma-Alabama: A shot at revenge, turnover battle and more
— 10 things to know about Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables as Sooners head to CFP
— Brent Venables’ aggressive defense gives Oklahoma different look than past CFP teams
— Final College Football Playoff bracket: See where Texas Tech, A&M and Oklahoma landed
Find more Oklahoma coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Moccasin Bend Ranch, a residential treatment program in Wyandotte, has reopened after a remodel, expanding access to specialized mental health services for children ages 5 to 12. Leaders say the program fills a critical gap in Oklahoma, where options for young children needing higher levels of care remain limited.
A unique approach for younger children
Moccasin Bend Ranch is a 28 bed psychiatric residential treatment facility set on 12 wooded acres. The unlocked campus is designed to give children access to outdoor play and nature, something leaders say is essential for younger patients.
“This setting allows our kids to act like kids,” said Christina Holum, interim chief executive officer at Willow Crest Hospital and Moccasin Bend Ranch. “Watching them play gives us a renewed sense of purpose. We are confident this change will lead to better outcomes and happier, healthier children.”
Advertisement
The ranch focuses exclusively on children, a distinction that sets it apart from many other programs across the state.
Why early treatment matters
Mental health leaders say many children referred to Moccasin Bend Ranch have already tried outpatient therapy and medication management without success. By the time families seek residential care, behaviors are often increasing in both frequency and intensity.
“If outpatient services are not working, families need somewhere to turn,” said Grant Linihan, vice president of business development for Vizion Health, which owns the facility. “If our program was not available, these, kids, where are they going to go to get treated?”
Linihan and Holum say early intervention can help children develop coping skills and emotional regulation before problems follow them into adolescence and adulthood.
Advertisement
Inside the treatment program
Children at Moccasin Bend Ranch receive a full schedule of therapeutic services, including individual therapy, family therapy and group sessions. The program also emphasizes recreational and expressive therapies to help children process trauma and build skills in a developmentally appropriate way.
Staff members work with families to plan for discharge, aiming to ensure continuity of care once a child returns home.
Making the holidays feel normal
For some children, the holiday season can be especially difficult. Leaders say the ranch makes a point to celebrate milestones and traditions, even while children are in treatment.
Advertisement
The facility hosts holiday meals, seasonal activities and visits from community volunteers, including a volunteer Santa. Children are also taken to see nearby holiday light displays.
“We try to get them to reshape their minds,” Linihan said. “Even though you’re with us, this is still going to be a joyous time for you.”
A broader mental health need in Oklahoma
Mental health providers say the need for pediatric services is tied to broader challenges across the state, including limited funding and access to care. They note that untreated mental health issues in childhood can contribute to long term struggles later in life.
“There will always be a need for this type of service for a certain group of children,” Holum said. “If they cannot get help early, their prognosis becomes much worse.”
Advertisement
How families can get help
Families who are concerned about a child’s mental health can contact Willow Crest Hospital or Moccasin Bend Ranch for a free phone intake. Staff members can help parents determine whether residential treatment is appropriate or if outpatient care may still be an option.
Willow Crest Hospital, also operated by Vizion Health, is a 50 bed acute inpatient psychiatric facility in Miami serving adolescents ages 9 to 17. Together, the programs serve families from across Oklahoma, including hundreds of children from Tulsa County each year.
For more information, families can call (918) 542-1836 to speak with an intake specialist. You can also find their website here.
Bob Stoops’ coaching career appears to be over. For real, this time.
The former Oklahoma football coach, who led the Sooners to a national championship in 2000, said Monday he would be retiring from coaching. Stoops had spent the previous three years as coach of the the United Football League’s Arlington Renegades.
“After much thought and reflection, I’ve made the decision to retire from coaching and step away from the game of football,” Stoops said in a statement released by the UFL. “Coaching has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and closing this chapter comes with lots of gratitude. …Thank you for allowing me to be part of this incredible game for so many years.”
Advertisement
Stoops’ first and only head-coaching job at the Division I level came at Oklahoma. He took over ahead of the 1999 season and stayed through 2016. OU went 190-48 overall while only suffering three-or-more defeats in Big 12 play four times. The Sooners’ 2001 Orange Bowl win capped 13-0 season and gave Oklahoma its first national title since 1985.
A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Stoops took over coaching Oklahoma after serving three years as Florida’s defensive coordinator. He retired from job at OU in June 2017, but lasted less than two calendar years as he was drawn to coaching the Dallas Renegades in the XFL.
The league folded in part because of the COVID pandemic before OU called on him again to serve as interim coach for the 2021 Alamo Bowl after Lincoln Riley left to coach Southern California. After that, he rejoind the Renegades, now rebranded as the Arlington Renegades in the UFL.
