The Women’s College World Series is the latest growth magnet for women’s sports

The GIST: As the dust settles on Oklahoma City’s legendary Devon Park diamond, let’s reflect on the latest NCAA event to demonstrate women’s sports’ massive growth: the Women’s College World Series (WCWS).

12,324: How many people watched Oklahoma capture their fourth straight national championship IRL on Thursday — the largest crowd ever at the championship series.

• Fans also shattered the overall WCWS attendance record earlier in the tournament, when 12,566 watched Texas vs. Stanford and Florida vs. Oklahoma on May 30th’s opening session. If you build it…

2M: The record-setting average viewership of the two-game championship series — up 24% (!!!) from last year. Amazing what happens when you put women’s sports on primetime TV.

9: How many of the 12-player All-Tournament team will be back on college fields next year, including five freshmen. With this much talent and name recognition remaining on NCAA diamonds, expect even more broken records and growth in 2025.

12: The number of college players jumping straight onto pro rosters when the Athletes Unlimited (AU) AUX mini-season launches today. UCLA left fielder Jadelyn Allchin had the quickest turnaround with just eight days between her last game as a senior and her first as a pro with Team Wiggins starting tonight at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNews.

• Three of those 12 AUX players were selected in the May 14th AU Softball Draft — the rest of the 15 draftees will make their pro debuts in the AU Softball Championship Series starting July 26th. Can’t wait.