Little League Softball World Series: Key dates, regional tournaments

• The 2026 Little League Softball World Series will be broadcast entirely on ESPN's linear platforms for the first time.
• This expanded coverage follows a record-setting viewership for the 2025 championship game.
• The tournament will take place from August 2-9 in Greenville, North Carolina.
• Twelve teams, eight from the U.S. and four from international regions, will compete after winning their respective regional tournaments.

The 2026 Little League Softball World Series will take over ESPN’s linear platforms for the first time ever, Little League International announced earlier this year.

This year’s expanded media coverage follows a record-setting year for the 2025 LLSWS championship game, which had “average viewership of 1.44 million (up 139% from the previous year), Little League International said in a statement.

While the teams for this year’s LLSWS are still to be determined, the dates, August 2-9, and the location, Stallings Stadium at Elm Street Park, Greenville, N.C., are set as the qualification period will begin soon.

Overall, 12 teams (eight from the United States, four from international squads) will earn their way into the LLSWS bracket via a berth from corresponding regional tournaments.

Here are the key dates for those 12 regional tournaments as the countdown to the LLSWS begins.

2026 Little League Softball United States Regional Tournaments

Central Region: July 17-22. States involved: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin.

Mid-Atlantic Region: July 18-23; States involved: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC

New England Region: July 18-23; States involved: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.

North Carolina Region (Host): TBA

Northwest Region: July 18-23; States involved: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington

Southeast Region: July 17-22; States involved: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Southwest Region: July 18-22; States involved: Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas East, Texas West

West: July 18-23; States involved: Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern California, Southern California, Utah

2026 Little League Softball International Regional Tournaments

Asia-Pacific Region: June 12-14; Countries involved: TBA

Canada: TBA: Teams involved: TBA

Europe & Africa: July 1-5; Countries involved: TBA

Latin America: July 6-10; Countries involved: TBA

Little League Softball World Series 2026 Opening-Round matchups

Little League International announced on June 9 the first-round matchups for the 2026 Little League Softball World Series.

Twelve elite teams from all over the world will compete in two brackets, purple and orange, for the right to be called LLSWS champions.

The pairings have been randomly drawn, setting up must-watch showdowns as the world’s best young athletes get ready to compete. Here are the opening-round matchups

Sunday, August 2

• Game 1 (Purple): Northwest vs. Southeast
• Game 2 (Orange): Mid-Atlantic vs. Asia-Pacific
• Game 3 (Orange): West vs. Central
• Game 4 (Purple): Canada vs. North Carolina

Monday, August 3

• Game 5 (Orange): Winner of Game 2 vs. Latin America
• Game 6 (Purple): Winner of Game 1 vs. Europe and Africa
• Game 7 (Purple): Winner of Game 4 vs. Southwest
• Game 8 (Orange): Winner of Game 3 vs. New England

How does a North Carolina softball team qualify for the Little League Softball World Series?

A North Carolina softball team can earn its way into the Little League Softball World Series bracket in one of two ways, according to Little League. "As the host state of the event, the champion of the North Carolina Little League Softball tournament is granted direct entry into the LLSWS, while the runner-up of that tournament will have the opportunity to compete through the Southeast Region Tournament to earn a bid as the Southeast Region Champion," said Kevin Fountain, Senior Director of Communications for Little League International

Who won the 2025 Little League Softball World Series?

The 2025 Little League Softball World Series concluded with Indiana and Pennsylvania competing for the title in Greenville, North Carolina.

Pennsylvania made its first championship game appearance since 2018, and the West Suburban LL squad from Johnstown did not disappoint.

Johnstown, representing the Mid-Atlantic region, recorded four consecutive shutout wins to end the tournament and capture the 2025 LLSWS championship title with a 1-0 victory over Floyds Knobs, Indiana, which was representing the Central region.

The victory marks the first Little League Softball World Series title for a team from Pennsylvania since 1978. - Sherlon Christie, Jon Hoefling and Gabe Zaldivar.

Sherlon Christie is a USA TODAY Sports senior trending editor and an expert on Little League Baseball and Little League Softball. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @sherlonchristie, on Bluesky at @sherlonchristie.bsky.social.