Another year, another Little League controversy involving the softball team from Oklahoma. The Tulsa National program is once again subject to scrutiny surrounding the eligibility of its players.
Two separate opponents filed a formal protest at the Southwest Regional.
The Tulsa-based squad is accused of violating Little League rules to stack its roster for the postseason. Six players in specific are the focus of the complaints.
Oklahoma faced a similar Little League softball scandal last season.
Tulsa National ultimately finished in third place at the Little League World Series in 2025 after a loss to the eventual champions in the semifinals. However, the Oklahoma-based program allegedly fielded an illegal roster while the governing body turned a blind eye to the violations.
Little League ignored multiple complaints regarding Tulsa National over the course of the entire summer. Formal protests against Tulsa National were filed by multiple opponents at the Southwest Regional, most notably Texas West and Texas East. All 10 players on the roster are accused of eligibility violations.
Those protests were not properly acted upon by Little League authorities, which likely led to a fight between parents once they got to South Carolina. They were ignored.
The 2025 Oklahoma softball scandal looked a lot like what happened with Jackie Robinson West on the baseball side of things in 2014 so the officials likely chose to remain ignorant to the alleged behavior of Tulsa national to avoid a similar outcome. They were in too deep.
To make matters worse, those same officials had a track record of past failures attached to their names. They also ignored incriminating evidence surrounding Tulsa National during a failed cover-up. They were even caught on an audio recording.
Tulsa National allegedly ignored eligibility requirements to field an illegal roster.
According to Maren Angus-Coombs of Softball on SI, both Texas teams also filed an eligibility complaint at the Southwest Region Tournament in 2026. Tulsa National is being accused of “violating Little League rules regarding residence and boundary compliance, tournament eligibility and minimum games scheduled.”
Nine of the 10 players from the 2025 team are back for 2026. As are all three coaches.
The formal complaint claims Tulsa rostered six players who should not be eligible because they do not meet residency or school attendance criteria. One of the new players on the team allegedly lives in a state outside of Oklahoma. And none of the players included in the protest participated with this team during the regular season. Players must play in at least eight regular season games to be eligible for Little League’s postseason.
To go even one step further, the filing also alleges that Tulsa entered the Southwest Regional as a nearly intact travel travel team. That would be a violation of Little League Regulation V(d). Per Softball On SI, the original complaint called for the following:
- Immediate investigation into Tulsa National’s registrations.
- Disqualification of ‘Team Oklahoma’ from remaining postseason play.
- Disciplinary action against the district administrator who allowed these violations to occur.
- Disciplinary action against Tulsa National Little League.
I have not seen the secondary protest but I would imagine that it was nearly identical to the first. Both Texas teams filed.
Tulsa National, a.k.a. Team Oklahoma, won its first game of the regional tournament on Sunday over Texas West by a score of 6-1. It will play two or three more games over the next three days, all while under protest. The championship is set for Wednesday.