State of Alabama represented well at WCWS

There are 17 players hailing from Alabama in this year's Women's College World Series.

May 28, 2026

Morgan Stiles is one of 17 players from Alabama in this year’s Women’s College World Series. Photo courtesy of Morgan Stiles.

The Women’s College World Series gets started Thursday, with all eight teams in action.

Follow along throughout the tournament at the NCAA website.

The state of Alabama is well-represented at this year’s event in Oklahoma City, with our state having the third most players in the tournament, only trailing Texas and California.

There are 17 players from Alabama in this year’s event, with 10 on Alabama’s roster and six more at Mississippi State. Nebraska, Arkansas, Tennessee, UCLA, Texas Tech and defending champion Texas are also in the WCWS, but have no Alabama natives this season.

Every one of those 17 players comes from a successful background, having been recognized by the Alabama Sports Writers Association as an all-state selection at some point in their high school careers.

Moten has had a stellar freshman year

Vic Moten, a Daphne native, stayed home to pitch for the Crimson Tide, and it’s worked out well for everyone. She enters the WCWS at 21-4 with a 1.66 ERA and 170 strikeouts as a freshman, a top-10 finalist for the NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year award. She was dominant in both the regional and super regional, including a six-inning, one-hit shutout of USC Upstate in the regional round.

Phenix City on the map

Kristen White and Gerritt Griggs play for Alabama. Ally Supan plays for Mississippi State. All three played together at Central, and now they are on opposite sides of the WCWS bracket. White is hitting .360 this season and has been one of Alabama’s most reliable outfielders. Griggs has appeared in 38 games and Supan has appeared in 45 games.

Tuscaloosa County duo brings back memories

In 2023, Alyssa Faircloth was the pitcher and Holly Beth Brooks was the catcher at Tuscaloosa County High School and put together a postseason run that is still talked about in the high school ranks. Faircloth led the Wildcats from the No. 4 seed to an area tournament title with a dominant three-game stretch.

Now, Faircloth is starring at Mississippi State and Brooks is in the early stages of her Crimson Tide career.

Faircloth transferred from Troy and became Mississippi State’s ace. She is currently 16-7 with a 2.47 ERA and 264 strikeouts. She won SEC Newcomer of the Year. In the NCAA Tournament she threw the program’s first-ever postseason no-hitter, blanking Oregon 4-0 in the Eugene Regional with 10 strikeouts, then followed it the next day with a two-hit shutout and 14 strikeouts against Saint Mary’s. She finished the regional with 15.2 consecutive scoreless innings, then helped the Bulldogs knock off No. 3 overall seed Oklahoma in the super regional to send Mississippi State to Oklahoma City for the first time in program history.

Stiles shining at leadoff

Morgan Stiles, an Athens product, is batting .314, having started every game at shortstop for the Bulldogs to set the table. Her Athens teammate Anna Carder is also with the Bulldogs, and the two won a state championship together in 2022 before going their separate ways in college and reuniting this year in Starkville.

Alabama’s roster runs deep with in-state players

Beyond Moten, White, Griggs and Brooks, several other Alabama natives are making waves for their home state program. Seniors Kinley Pate, Larissa Preuitt, Alea Johnson and Marlie Giles are wrapping up their careers in style.

Giles is third on the team with a .378 average entering the WCWS.

Ambrey Taylor has been another impact freshman, hitting 11 home runs so far in her maiden campaign.

Sophomores Braya Hodges and Mari Hubbard are also in OKC with the Tide.

Mississippi State sophomore Sara Phillips and freshman Sydney Carroll round out the Alabama flavor in this year’s tournament.

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