The 16-team Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational doesn’t officially crown a champion.
But after four days in Clearwater, Florida, it felt like it did.
Nebraska. Tennessee. Georgia. All three left with a claim — but it was the Huskers who won the biggest game of the early 2026 college softball season.
In a four-day event made for ESPN, the network wisely saved a marquee matchup of perhaps the nation’s top two players for a national audience. In a final game that had all the star power and drama of a Women’s College World Series showdown, Nebraska’s Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl) stole the spotlight from Texas Tech megastar and NIL millionaire Ni’Jaree Canady.
Frahm came on to pitch three innings of perfect relief as No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers softball knocked off Canady and previously undefeated and No. 1-ranked Texas Tech, 3-2, in the final game of the annual tournament in Clearwater, Florida, which featured ten teams ranked in the Top 25. Nebraska, which had gone 2-2 in its first four tournament games, saved its best for last. The Huskers recorded the first two back-to-back hits Canady has allowed in her stellar career on the way to a three-run fourth inning.
From there, Frahm — a senior who spent the first two years of her career at Oklahoma — took over to shut Texas Tech down. The win marked the second time in a little more than a week that Nebraska knocked off a top-ranked team. On Feb. 6, the Huskers posted a 15-10 win over Texas, which entered the season tied with Texas Tech for the No. 1 ranking.
Canady, who has received two deals worth over $1 million, started off strong before running into trouble in the fourth inning. She was lifted after striking out five and allowing three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Nebraska’s win undoubtedly will shake up the rankings and No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers softball could be the biggest beneficiary after a stellar performance in the tournament. The Volunteers used the event to let the world know that they are a serious contender for the 2026 national title. Tennessee pitchers threw three shutouts as the Volunteers went 5-0 — and that doesn’t tell the whole story. Four of the wins came against Top 25 teams, including three wins against teams ranked in the Top 10. That’s likely enough to vault the Volunteers (10-0) into the top spot when the national rankings come out later this week.
Tennessee closed its play in the tournament with its most impressive performances. On Saturday, the Volunteers needed only five innings to record an 11-0 win over No. 7 UCLA. Later in the day, they followed that up with a 9-1 victory over No. 6 Florida State. In that game, Ella Dodge set the tone early with a three-run home run in the first inning.
Although Nebraska and Tennessee made the most noise in the tournament, No. 17 Georgia Bulldogs softball was the best comeback story. In Thursday’s opening round, Georgia got off to a rough start, losing 6-5 to Oklahoma State. But after that, the Bulldogs transformed into one of the tournament’s hottest teams. They won their next four games to improve their record to 8-2 and likely earned a nice jump when the new Top 25 list is released later this week.
Georgia’s rally started Friday when the Bulldogs bounced back with two decisive wins. They knocked off NC State, 16-2, in the tournament’s most lopsided game. They followed that later in the day with a 13-5 win over UCF. On Saturday, they opened with their third straight game against an unranked opponent and defeated Northwestern, 8-3. Later that day, the Bulldogs faced No. 19 Duke and rode the momentum to a 9-1 victory.
Against Duke, Georgia right-hander Addisen Fisher made her fifth start of the season and scattered four hits while striking out four to improve her record to 5-0. In the win, Georgia got off to a fast start as Delani Sullivan, Jaydyn Goodwin and Sarah Gordon hit consecutive home runs in the first inning. That marked the first time in over two years that Georgia had hit three consecutive home runs in a game. Sullivan also doubled and singled later in the contest.
Of the ranked teams in the event, LSU and Texas A&M had the most disappointing performances. No. 10 LSU went 1-4 while No. 10 Texas A&M finished 2-3.
Among the unranked teams, UCF had the best tournament showing as the Knights went 3-2 to push their overall record to 9-3.
Clearwater didn’t officially crown a champion — but it revealed three legitimate Women’s College World Series contenders.
The 2026 college softball season is still young, but Clearwater already delivered a postseason-level atmosphere — and a reminder that the road to Oklahoma City is shaping up to be as competitive as ever.
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