The 2002

NCAA Division I softball tournament The NCAA Division I softball tournament is held annually in May/June and features 64 college softball teams in the United States, culminating in the Women's College World Series (WCWS), which is played in Oklahoma City. Tournament play and team ...

was the twenty-first annual tournament to determine the national champion of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

women's collegiate softball. Held during May 2002, forty-eight Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of six teams, each in a

double elimination A double-elimination tournament is a type of elimination tournament competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost ''two'' games or matches. It stands in contrast to a single-elimin ...

format. The 2002 Women's College World Series was held in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

from May 23 through May 27 and marked the conclusion of the 2002 NCAA Division I softball season.

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

won their first NCAA championship by defeating

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

6–0 in the final game. California pitcher Jocelyn Forest was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.

Qualifying

Regionals

Regional No. 1

''Opening Round'' * defeated , 3–0. * defeated , 2–1. * defeated , 2–1 (8 innings). ''Loser's Bracket'' *UMBC defeated Liberty, 7–1. Liberty eliminated. *Eastern Kentucky defeated UMBC, 6–1, UMBC eliminated. ''Semifinals and Finals'' *Georgia defeated South Carolina, 1–0. *UCLA defeated Eastern Kentucky, 10–0 (5 innings). Eastern Kentucky eliminated. *UCLA defeated Georgia, 2–1 (8 innings). *South Carolina defeated Georgia, 9–3. Georgia eliminated. *South Carolina defeated UCLA, 2–1. *UCLA defeated South Carolina, 1–0. UCLA advances to WCWS.

Regional No. 2

''Opening Round'' *

defeated , 4–1. * defeated , 3–1. * defeated , 2–1. ''Loser's Bracket'' *Penn State defeated Boston University, 5–1. Boston University eliminated. *Penn State defeated Princeton, 3–0. Princeton eliminated. ''Semifinals and Finals'' *DePaul defeated Minnesota, 2–0 (12 innings). *Arizona defeated Penn State, 4–3. Penn State eliminated. *Arizona defeated DePaul, 2–0. *DePaul defeated Minnesota, 5–3. Minnesota eliminated. *DePaul defeated Arizona, 6–0. *Arizona defeated DePaul, 8–0. Arizona advances to WCWS.

Regional No. 3

''Opening Round'' * defeated , 3–2 (10 innings). * defeated , 4–1. * defeated , 5–3 (13 innings). ''Loser's Bracket'' *Mississippi State defeated Northwestern State, 9–6. Northwestern State eliminated. *Louisiana–Lafayette defeated Mississippi State, 10–3. Mississippi State eliminated. ''Semifinals and Finals'' *Arizona State defeated UMass, 1–0. *LSU defeated Louisiana–Lafayette, 5–2. Louisiana–Lafayette eliminated. *Arizona State defeated LSU, 3–2 (8 innings). *LSU defeated UMass, 1–0. UMass eliminated. *Arizona State defeated LSU, 4–1. Arizona State advances to WCWS.

Regional No. 4

''Opening Round'' * defeated , 3–0. * defeated , 7–0. *

defeated , 2–1 (10 innings). ''Loser's Bracket'' *Pacific defeated Evansville, 6–0. Evansville eliminated. *Fresno State defeated Pacific, 1–0. Pacific eliminated. ''Semifinals and Finals'' *California defeated Stanford, 1–0. *Cal State Fullerton defeated Fresno State, 1–0. Fresno State eliminated. *California defeated Cal State Fullerton, 4–2. *Cal State Fullerton defeated Stanford, 4–1. Stanford eliminated. *California defeated Cal State Fullerton, 1–0. California advances to WCWS.

Regional No. 5

''Opening Round'' * defeated , 4–0. * defeated , 6–0. * defeated , 6–2. ''Loser's Bracket'' *Army defeated Utah, 2–0. Utah eliminated. *Arkansas defeated Army, 2–0. Army eliminated. ''Semifinals and Finals'' *Oklahoma defeated Texas A&M, 7–0. *Texas defeated Arkansas, 6–2. Arkansas eliminated. *Oklahoma defeated Texas, 4–1. *Texas A&M defeated Texas, 2–1. Texas eliminated. *Oklahoma defeated Texas A&M, 8–1. Oklahoma advances to WCWS.

Regional No. 6

''Opening Round'' * defeated , 8–0 (5 innings). * defeated , 5–0. * defeated , 7–0. ''Loser's Bracket'' *Oakland defeated Canisius, 3–1. Canisius eliminated. *Central Michigan defeated Oakland, 2–1. Oakland eliminated. ''Semifinals and Finals'' *Michigan defeated Ohio State, 3–0. *Washington defeated Central Michigan, 4–1. Central Michigan eliminated. *Michigan defeated Washington, 6–5. *Ohio State defeated Washington, 2–1. Washington eliminated. *Michigan defeated Ohio State, 4–0. Michigan advances to WCWS.

Regional No. 7

''Opening Round'' * defeated , 1–0. * defeated , 1–0. * defeated , 3–2. ''Loser's Bracket'' *UIC defeated Wisconsin, 2–0. Wisconsin eliminated. *Iowa defeated UIC, 3–1. UIC eliminated. ''Semifinals and Finals'' *Oregon State defeated Notre Dame, 2–0. *Nebraska defeated Iowa, 3–0. Iowa eliminated. *Nebraska defeated Oregon State, 7–0. *Notre Dame defeated Oregon State, 2–0. Oregon State eliminated. *Nebraska defeated Notre Dame, 5–3. Nebraska advances to WCWS.

Regional No. 8

''Opening Round'' * defeated , 4–3. * defeated , 3–1 (10 innings). * defeated , 2–1. ''Loser's Bracket'' *Florida Atlantic defeated Alabama, 2–1. Alabama eliminated. *Florida Atlantic defeated Auburn, 4–2. Auburn eliminated. ''Semifinals and Finals'' *Georgia Tech defeated Florida State, 7–0. *Chattanooga defeated Florida Atlantic, 6–1. Florida Atlantic eliminated. *Georgia Tech defeated Chattanooga, 3–0. *Florida State defeated Chattanooga, 1–0 (8 innings). Chattanooga eliminated. *Florida State defeated Georgia Tech, 3–0. *Florida State defeated Georgia Tech, 6–1. Florida State advances to WCWS.

Women's College World Series

Participants

*: Excludes Nebraska's vacated 1985 WCWS participation.
**: Excludes UCLA's vacated 1995 WCWS participation. †: Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.

Results

Bracket

Game results

Championship game

All-Tournament Team

The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team:

References

{{2001–02 NCAA Division I championships navbox 2002 NCAA Division I softball season

NCAA Division I softball tournament Women's sports in Oklahoma