Looking for a Cinderella team to support during the 2024 Women's College World Series? Look no further than Duke.
In their seventh season of softball, the 10-seeded Blue Devils are playing in their first WCWS. It's been the team's best year in program history, from another conference championship to a 21-game win streak, Duke fans knew the day would come when their team was in the final eight of the NCAA softball tournament.
While getting to this point is a success in itself, in one of the most difficult softball conferences nonetheless, a new journey begins now as the Blue Devils fight for their first WCWS win and maybe even a national championship. It won't be an easy battle, especially since it begins against Oklahoma.
Regardless of how the rest of the season goes, Duke's journey to this point is a story to be told.
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Duke softball history
Duke didn't exactly intend to have a softball team.
In 1997, the 25th anniversary of Title IX, the National Women's Law Center filed complaints against multiple programs regarding unequal scholarships and participation opportunities for female athletes. Duke was among those 25 schools. Throughout the following years, compliance would need to be the athletic program's priority. That didn't happen as planned.
Even as the Blue Devils increased their scholarship count among women's sports, the school noticed the same increase on the men's track team. In order to balance those out, the only solution was to add a regionally competitive, decently-sized program.
Thus, softball became Duke's 27th varsity sport. The decision was officially announced in December of 2013.
The first order of business was finding a head coach. Summer of 2015, Marissa Young was officially named the program's first head coach. She was a three-time All-American at Michigan and spent her two previous years down the road as North Carolina's assistant coach.
Three years later, Young and the Blue Devils played their first softball game, beating Florida Atlantic 4-3. They finished 29-27 in their inaugural season in 2018.
The program's success came to life in 2021. Duke won the ACC tournament for the first time and earned a big to the NCAA tournament. They lost to Georgia in the regionals, but it was still a sign of what was to come.
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The next year, the Blue Devils earned a No. 12 seed in the national tournament to host the regionals. They got revenge on the Bulldogs, advancing to their first super regional.
Flash forward to 2024. Duke used a 21-game win streak to finish 20-4 in the ACC, winning the conference regular season and tournament. It defeated Morgan State and South Carolina to advance to its third straight super regional. There, it had an uphill battle as it needed to defeat Missouri in Columbia.
It came down to nine innings in the deciding game, but the Blue Devils got it done, taking down the Tigers 4-3 to go to their first Women's College World Series.
STRENGTH OF THE BLUE DEVILS...10/10 😏🏆
— Duke Softball (@DukeSOFTBALL) May 27, 2024
WE ARE WCWS BOUND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/nagyo1HN5T
Young, who's racked up a 265-104 record over nearly seven seasons, has her biggest challenge ahead. Duke faces Oklahoma in the first round of the WCWS, the three-time defending champions. Ten years after the program was announced, it's on the biggest stage of all for the first time.
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"We want to be seen as a powerhouse softball program,” Young told the Duke Chronicle after their win over Missouri. “I'm just really proud of the way that the girls continue every year to take us to the next level.”
The Blue Devils and Sooners face off in the first round of the double-elimination bracket on Thursday, May 30 at 2:30 p.m. ET from Oklahoma City. The two met in the first game of the season, which Oklahoma won 3-0.
