Tulsa National currently finds itself at the center of the biggest Little League controversy since 2014. The third-place softball program out of Oklahoma allegedly fielded a roster that featured multiple players who should’ve been ruled as ineligible, and thus, disqualified.
However, the governing body refuses to address the ongoing protests.
And to make matters worse, the Little League officials who turned a blind eye to the ongoing scandal have a history with this kind of thing. Their ignorance dates back more than a decade!
What is going on with Oklahoma?
This story first started to unfold at the end of July.
Tulsa National won the Southwest Regional tournament to advance to the Little League Softball World Series in South Carolina as the representative of Oklahoma. It beat teams from New Mexico and Louisiana, and two different teams from Texas (East and West) to do so.
Tulsa National wins in the southwest regional championships game against Louisiana to punch its first-ever ticket to the Little League Softball World Series!
— Dan Lindblad (@DanLindbladTV) July 25, 2025
Their first game in Greenville will be August 4th. pic.twitter.com/SbNnhVEfGU
Oklahoma ultimately went on to finish third at the World Series but its roster has been called into question by a number of its former opponents due to recruiting violations. The tension between the teams likely led to a parent’s arrest while at the World Series.
Maren Angus-Coombs of Softball on SI was the first person to bring this scandal to light. Her most recent update reveals how Little League ignored multiple protests filed against Tulsa National.
The United States runner-up’s alleged violations are three-fold:
- Violation of Regulation IV(g) and Tournament Rule 3: One or more players participated in fewer than eight regular-season games, which failed to meet the eligibility requirement.
- Violation of Regulation V (Selection of Players): The team was formed primarily from a non-Little League program, with at least seven rostered players from the same external organization.
- Violation of Regulation II(a): One or more players did not reside or attend a physical school within the league’s approved boundaries.
Texas West filed a protest against Oklahoma prior to the regional. Texas East tried to follow-up with a second protest but Little League said it wasn’t necessary because the first protest was still under review.
That was the last we heard from Little League. Radio silence ever since.
Little League stays silent.
Protests continue to mount which each day that goes by. Parents, coaches and even some local officials are furious with the national council’s refusal to address the protests and how they have been handled.
This current situation bears a striking resemblance to the Jackie Robinson West scandal on the baseball side in 2014.
The Chicago-based program fielded an illegal roster. Its second-place finish at the Little League World Series was retroactively overturned as a result of multiple violations, but it took a few years to get the whole thing figured out after the initial investigation was closed with no evidence of wrongdoing.
This comparison between Tulsa National softball and Jackie Robinson West baseball is not new.
However, I have since learned a new wrinkle. Five of the eight members of the current Little League Tournament Committee were employees of Little League in 2014.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, those five Tournament Committee members are directly involved with the denial of this year’s protests against Oklahoma.
If that was not spicy enough, the current CEO of Little League International, Patrick Wilson, was a member of the Tournament Committee back in 2014. He was there for Jackie Robinson West!
These two scandals involve a number of the same characters. Perhaps that explains why nothing has been done about Tulsa National.