Little League finally answered to the eligibility scandal involving Tulsa National. Its explanation regarding the removal of Team Oklahoma from the postseason softball tournament does not clarify the corresponding process.
What happens next?
The governing body of Little League softball continues to investigate what happened. However, it will not provide a timeline for what is next or explain the specific process that led to this point.
Tulsa National was disqualified from the Little League World Series.
The Tulsa National softball program came one loss short of the championship game at the 2025 Little League Softball World Series. Its third-place finish came under immediate scrutiny due to an ongoing eligibility scandal. Multiple opponents filed formal complaints against the organization for the alleged use of ineligible athletes, which likely led to a fight among parents. The governing body chose to ignore the protests, likely to avoid another situation like what happened with Jackie Robinson West baseball team in 2014.
To make matters worse, those same officials had a track record of past failures and ignored incriminating evidence during a failed cover-up. It was a poor reflection on the organization. Nothing further came of the initial complaints.
Fast forward 12 months. Nine of the 10 players from last year’s Tulsa National roster were back again this year— along with all three coaches. Team Oklahoma essentially ran it back in 2026. Copy, paste.
As a result, three different teams at the Southwest Region Tournament filed a protest. The complains focused on six players who did not meet residency or school criteria. One of the players allegedly lives in a state that is not Oklahoma. And, to make matters worse, none of the players on the team met the minimum requirement of regular season games to be eligible for the postseason.
The filings also accused Tulsa of entering the regional tournament as a “nearly intact” travel team. That is in direct violation of Little League Regulation V(d).
A protest focused on false documentation triggered the punishment.
Little League actually denied the first two protests filed against Tulsa National. It ultimately removed Team Oklahoma from the tournament, on the day before the championship game. The decision was made based on a third protest. There was enough evidence to issue a disqualification.
According to Maren Angus-Coombs of Softball on SI, the first two protests focused on player eligibility. After reviewing the information provided, along with the eligibility documentation previously reviewed by Little League International, the committee determined that “the information provided did not substantiate the protests.” The two initial protests were denied.
A third protest focused on false documentation after Team Louisiana identified two players who do not live in Tulsa based on posts on social media. Per Softball on SI, its protest questioned the validity of Team Oklahoma’s paperwork because the “Oklahoma District Administrator, Mindy Abbott, and Tulsa National Little League President, Steve Skocik, knowingly signed a tournament affidavit containing false information.”
Ironically, just a few days prior, Abbott referred to Softball on SI’s initial reporting as “click bait false information” on Facebook. It was not. Little League found enough reason to disqualify Team Oklahoma based on the tertiary protest about falsified documents. It was the eighth different protest filed against Tulsa National in the last two seasons that finally led to action.
What happens next is currently unclear. Little League International will make a decision based on its pending investigation.
Team Oklahoma’s softball eligibility scandal will undergo additional review.
When asked about the protest process, Vice President of Operations and Little League International Tournament Director Dan Velte told Maren Angus-Coombs of Softball on SI that every complaint is different. There must be tangible evidence.
“Just because somebody submits a protest, originally, we don’t always act on that. We will review it, but until such time that someone can clearly show that there is a violation, and we can look into it and analyze the situation, then we take the appropriate action at that point.”
He did not explain why the first two protests filed against Tulsa National did not yield enough evidence compared to the third. Nor did he provide a coherent understanding of the upcoming review of Team Oklahoma. The program may not lose its charter. Abbott and Skocik may not lose their jobs. There may not be an additional punishment beyond the disqualification.
“Each individual case is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. So, they’ll go through the same review process that every single team within the Little League International tournament goes through.”
According to Velte’s exclusive interview with Softball on SI, the process could take weeks, if not months. Even though he initially said there is a standard review process for Little League, he later said that there isn’t.
“There is no set timeline. There’s no set process. But at the end of the day, if there’s an opportunity to support a league and to give every child in that community a chance to play, that’s our biggest priority. And so, we don’t go at it saying that kids that weren’t involved in a situation should be punished next. We ask them to confirm through the process that they’re gonna follow the league rules and regulations. We want to give every kid an opportunity to play.”
Seeing that the 2026 Little League Softball World Series field will not include Tulsa National, the governing body’s focus will not be on a formal investigation. If we are to go only off of its past behavior, it will stay as quiet as possible until the scandal blows over.