Little League Softball World Series: The Complete Parent Guide

The Little League Softball World Series is the biggest annual event in youth fastpitch — twelve teams, one field in Greenville, North Carolina, and a week of games that draw a national broadcast audience every August. This page covers the things parents actually search for — age eligibility, format, TV coverage, how a team gets there — and it gets updated every year with the current bracket and results.

Following This Year's Tournament?

For day-by-day scores, stat lines, and the mental-game lessons travel ball families can pull from each game, see our full 2026 coverage.

Read the 2026 Results & Recap →

Quick Answers

What Is It?

The 10-12U championship event for Little League's Softball Division — the last stop on a season-long tournament pathway that starts at the local league level.

Age Eligibility

Players must be 10, 11, or 12 years old under Little League age rules.

Number of Teams

12 — 8 U.S. regional champions and 4 international regional champions.

Tournament Format

Double elimination, split into two 6-team brackets (Purple and Orange); bracket winners meet in the championship.

Dates

Annually in early August, Sunday through the following Sunday.

Location

Stallings Stadium at Elm Street Park, Greenville, North Carolina — the permanent host site.

TV Coverage

Every game live on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC.

How to Sign Up for Little League Softball

Every team in the bracket below started the same way every Little League softball career does — a local league near home. You don't need a travel-ball résumé to get started; you just need to find your league and register.

Find your local league. Little League assigns every address to a specific chartered league based on boundary maps — you can't just pick any league near you. Use Little League's League Finder tool and enter your home or school address to see which league your daughter is eligible to play in.

Check registration dates.Most leagues hold registration in the fall or winter ahead of a spring season, often with an in-person sign-up day plus online registration through the league's own website. Dates vary by league, so check your specific league's site or social media rather than assuming a national deadline.

Know her league age and bring proof.Little League uses its own age-determination date for softball, which can differ from your daughter's actual birthday cutoff at school — leagues can walk you through this at registration. You'll typically need proof of residence or school enrollment and proof of age.

Once she's playing, the biggest jump most families make is adding private instruction alongside team practice — it's how a lot of the players you'll see in the bracket below got their start. Find a fastpitch coach near you →

2026 Bracket

The 12-team field splits into two double-elimination brackets. Lose twice and you're out; the Purple and Orange bracket winners meet in the championship game on August 9, with third place decided that same morning.

Orange Bracket

Lake Mary, FL — SoutheastUnbeaten
Johnston County LL (Clayton, NC) — HostUnbeaten
Snohomish, WA — NorthwestAlive
Repentigny, Quebec — CanadaAlive
Greater Helotes, TX — SouthwestEliminated
Emilia Romagna LL (Bologna, Italy) — Europe-AfricaEliminated

Purple Bracket

Guayama, Puerto Rico — Latin AmericaUnbeaten
Daviess County, KY (Owensboro) — CentralUnbeaten
Sangō, Japan — Asia-PacificAlive
Toms River, NJ — Mid-AtlanticAlive
Live Oak, CA — WestEliminated
New England (Bristol, CT) — New EnglandEliminated

Standings shown are through Tuesday, August 4. We update this as the bracket plays out — for the full box scores behind each result, see the 2026 recap.

Daily Storylines

Day 1 — Sunday, August 2

Opening day. Lake Mary FL, Johnston County LL (NC), Daviess County KY, and Sangō Japan all won their openers.

Biggest storyline: Daviess County KY scored seven runs in the first inning against Live Oak, CA — the only team that had entered the World Series undefeated in regional play — on the way to an 11-1 win.

Day 2 — Monday, August 3

Guayama, Puerto Rico rallied from behind to beat Sangō, Japan, while Lake Mary FL and Johnston County LL (NC) both won again to open 2-0.

Best pitching performance: Avery Cox (Greater Helotes, TX) struck out 13 in a loss to Johnston County LL — one of the tournament's best outings so far, in a game her team still didn't win.

Day 3 — Tuesday, August 4

Pool play wrapped and the bracket moved into elimination games. Greater Helotes TX, New England (Bristol, CT), Live Oak CA, and Bologna, Italy were all eliminated.

Best pitching performance: Sara Matsuda (Sangō, Japan) allowed just three hits and a walk with three strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Live Oak — a game decided by a single third-inning sacrifice bunt.

Championship Preview — Coming Soon

Bracket play continues through August 7. Once the Purple and Orange bracket champions are set, we'll post a preview of the August 9 title game here.

What Parents Can Learn From This Year's World Series

Box scores tell you who won. They don't tell you what your own player can actually take from watching this level of softball. A few things worth pointing out if you watch a game or two with your daughter:

How elite teams communicate.

Watch the dugout, not just the field, during a big inning. The teams that turn one hit into a five- or seven-run inning — like Daviess County's seven-run first — aren't doing anything mechanically different than a good travel team. They're just staying locked in between at-bats instead of resetting emotionally after every pitch.

Why routine defense wins games.

Sangō, Japan's 1-0 win over Live Oak wasn't decided by a diving catch — it was decided by a routine sacrifice bunt executed cleanly and a defense that didn't give anything extra away. At this level, the team that makes the most routine plays usually wins.

What great catchers do differently.

A pitcher throwing a complete-game shutout or a 13-strikeout outing isn't doing it alone. Watch how the catcher sets a target and works the pitcher through jams — that partnership is often the difference between a great outing and a great result.

Mental toughness after an error.

Every team in this bracket has had a bad inning — even the ones still unbeaten. What separates the teams still playing from the four already eliminated isn't that they play mistake-free softball. It's how fast they get back to playing their game after a mistake.

How coaches manage emotions.

In a double-elimination format, one loss doesn't end the tournament — but it can end a team's composure if the coaching staff doesn't manage it well. Watch the coaches between innings after a tough loss; the calm ones are usually coaching a team that's still playing a few days later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Little League Softball World Series played?

At Stallings Stadium at Elm Street Park in Greenville, North Carolina, which has been the tournament's permanent home since it moved from Alpenrose Stadium in Portland, Oregon. The event began in 1974 in Tampa, Florida, with one year (1975) played in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

How does a team qualify for the Little League Softball World Series?

Teams advance through a season-long tournament pathway: local league, then district, then state or section tournaments, then a regional tournament. The champion of each of the eight U.S. regions (Central, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, West, and the rotating Host region) and each of the four international regions (Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe-Africa, and Latin America) earns a spot in the 12-team World Series field.

Is every game on TV?

Yes — starting in 2026, every game of the Little League Softball World Series airs live on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC. In prior years some games streamed on ESPN+ only; the tournament now gets the same linear-network treatment as the Little League Baseball World Series.

What age is eligible for the Little League Softball World Series?

Players must be 10, 11, or 12 years old under Little League's league-age rules — it's the championship event for Little League's core Softball Division, sometimes referred to as the 10-12U bracket.

Is admission free?

Yes. Admission to every game at Stallings Stadium is free, and no tickets are required — the same policy Little League uses for its Williamsport baseball World Series.

How many teams compete in the Little League Softball World Series?

12 teams: eight from U.S. regions (Central, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, West, and the Host region) and four from international regions (Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe-Africa, and Latin America). The field splits into two six-team double-elimination brackets — Purple and Orange — whose winners meet in the championship game.

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