OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s more than just a rematch. It’s Austin, Texas vs. Lubbock, Texas. Teagan Kavan vs. NiJaree Canady. Homegrown talent vs. a “super team.” It’s Texas vs. Texas Tech on the biggest stage in college softball, but what it really feels like, if you pay attention to social media, is good vs. evil. The defending champions vs. the villains.Wednesday evening, as the Women’s College World Series finals get underway — a repeat of the 2025 championship series that saw Texas win its first national title — a postseason that’s included its share of drama on and off the field will begin its final leg. But in the grand scheme of the sport, the showdown is just getting a new kind of conversation started.When NIL was introduced to college athletics earlier this decade, softball wasn’t immediately impacted, with most of the attention going to football and men’s basketball stars. Then came Canady, who, after leading Stanford to the WCWS in the first two years of her career, transferred to Texas Tech and became softball’s first “million-dollar player.”Though the Red Raiders didn’t win the 2025 title, they emerged as an up-and-coming program, and coach Gerry Glasco and Canady were at the center of it. In the offseason, Tech bolstered its roster with seven transfers, including stars like Kaitlyn Terry (UCLA), Mia Williams (Florida), Taylor Pannell (Tennessee) and Jasmyn Burns (Ohio State).“Last year, I would say we were the Cinderella story, the underdogs,” said junior outfielder Lauren Allred, who followed Glasco to Lubbock when he was hired from the University of Louisiana in 2024. “Everybody loved us at one point. Then, before the season started this year, we all knew the target was on our back. They are intimidated by us because we are so good. We’re just using that in our favor.”Drama has followed the Red Raiders every step of this NCAA Tournament journey. First, in Game 2 of the Lubbock Regional against Ole Miss, they rallied from an 8-0 deficit in the seventh inning and sent the game into extras on an Allred grand slam with two strikes and two outs. The Raiders ultimately won 10-9 in eight innings, completing one of the most improbable comebacks in recent years.Then, in the Super Regionals at Florida, Williams — the former Gator and the daughter of former Florida basketball star Jason Williams — was hit by a pitch five times in three games. Fans and players on both sides started barking, resulting in a social media frenzy.