Oklahoma finished as the third-place softball team at the 2025 Little League World Series. However, calls are mounting for its wins to be vacated like Jackie Robinson West on the baseball side in 2014.
I have received a number of emails in recent days in protest of the result as it currently stands.
Little League has yet to address this most recent scandal, presumably in hopes that it will blow over. Meanwhile, there is a large group of people who demand answers they have yet to receive.
What happened in 2014?
Jackie Robinson West represented Chicago, Illinois at the Little League World Series in 2014. It won the Great Lakes Regional to advance to Williamsport and ultimately played its way to the international championship as the United States champions, where it ultimately lost to South Korea.
Allegations of wrongdoing started to surface after the tournament. Jackie Robinson West allegedly included multiple players on its roster who were recruited from outside its designated district boundary.
Every single Little League team in the country is provided a strict area from which to recruit its players. If a team plays an athlete who came from outside of its predefined recruiting area, that player is deemed ineligible and the team is typically disqualified.
An initial investigation into Jackie Robinson West by Little League officials in late 2014 found no evidence of wrong doing. The case was closed. The result stood.
However, additional information turned up in early 2015 that revealed Jackie Robinson West officials had submitted a falsified, back-dated map that expanded their district without consent from other leagues. Little League laid down the hammer as a result of this second investigation.
Jackie Robinson West was forced to vacate all of its wins at the Little League World Series, including its U.S. Championship and Great Lakes Region title. Indiana, which finished as the runner-up to Illinois at the regional tournament, received an invitation to the 2015 World Series as a gesture of good faith.
You can read the full ruling HERE if you so choose.
Tulsa, Oklahoma is accused of similar illegal roster management.
Fast forward to present day. This most recent Little League scandal shares a lot of similarities with 2014.
Perhaps the biggest difference is the sport itself.
According to Maren Angus-Coombs of Softball On SI, Little League intentionally turned a blind eye to an eligibility issue that involves the Tulsa National softball program. The Southwest Region champion and third-place finisher at the World Series allegedly fielded an illegal roster from the jump.
Little League requires every single one of its players to compete in a minimum of eight regular-season games to qualify for postseason play. An opposing coach found before the regional tournament that players on the Tulsa roster had not played a single regular season game prior to that point.
That would be in direct violation of the required protocol.
To make matters worse, a former Little League official claimed that Tulsa recruited players from club teams — which is very specifically not allowed. A third board member accused one Tulsa player of playing for a different league in 2024. That, too, would be against the rules.
All of these concerns were ignored by local authorities but…
Little League stays silent.
Additional details of this Tulsa softball scandal do not reflect well on the governing body of Little League.
Oklahoma head coach Jonathan Arias allegedly suggested that some of his players’ families use out-of-area addresses to beat the eligibility system. Several families who are eligible to compete for Tulsa claim their daughters were turned away without so much as a tryout for the team.
It sounds a lot like what happened with Jackie Robinson West, no?
Multiple parents (and even local Little League officials) claim to have voiced their concerns but they say their complaints were completely ignored by authorities. One member of the local board even went so far as to accuse the district administrator of illegally “loading” the roster by controlling registrations.
The national council also refuses to release any additional details about the ongoing protest review. I would imagine it is trying to avoid further embarrassment from this latest scandal because the evidence suggests they allowed an illegal roster to finish third in the country.
Calls for disqualification grow louder.
My inbox has been on fire since I wrote the last update on this story. Many of the emails call for Tulsa National to receive the same punishment as Jackie Robinson West.
“Little League already set the standard for eligibility violations,” wrote one disgruntled parent who does not have ties to any current Little League teams. “Why does this same standard not apply to Tulsa?”
“If Tulsa cheated, Tulsa should be punished,” said another.
“Little League is acting like a bunch of cowards. Own your mistake. Apologize. Make things write. To say nothing means they are compliant in this behavior. They should be ashamed,” chimed a third.
I could go on. I received no less than 10 emails on this topic. Some of the complaints were longer than others but not even one of the emails showed support for Tulsa National or Little League. Not one!