Greenville bound? Tracking Little League Softball World Series spots

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.

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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

States involved: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin.

Mid-Atlantic Region

States involved: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC

New England Region

States involved: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.

North Carolina Region

Team that won: Johnston County Little League (Clayton, North Carolina)

Northwest Region

States involved: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington

Southeast Region

Team that won: Lake Mary Little League (Lake Mary, Florida)

Southwest Region

Team that won: Greater Helotes Little League (Helotes, Texas)

West Region

States involved: Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern California, Southern California, Utah

2026 Little League Softball International Regional Tournament

Asia-Pacific Region

Team that won: Kinki Softball Little League (Japan)

Europe & Africa Region

Team that won: Emilia Romagna Little League (Italy)

Latin America Region

Team that won: Guayama Softball Little League (Guayama, Puerto Rico) 

What channel is the softball Little League World Series on?

The 2026 Little League Softball World Series will be broadcast on ESPN platforms, with the championship game airing on ABC. Games will also be available to stream on ESPN+.

• Dates: August 2nd - August 9th
• TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ABC
• Stream: ESPN+
• Location: Greenville, North Carolina

Little League Softball World Series 2026 schedule

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. For the full schedule, visit

Sunday, August 2

• Game 1: (Purple): Northwest vs. Southeast, 10 a.m. ESPN2
• Game 2: (Orange): Mid-Atlantic vs. Asia-Pacific, 1 p.m. ESPN2
• Game 3: (Orange): West vs. Central, 4 p.m. ESPN2
• Game 4: (Purple): Canada vs. North Carolina, 7 p.m. ESPN2

Monday, August 3

• Game 5 (Orange): Winner of Game 2 vs. Latin America, 10 a.m. ESPN2
• Game 6 (Purple): Winner of Game 1 vs. Europe and Africa, 1 p.m. ESPN2
• Game 7 (Purple): Winner of Game 4 vs. Southwest, 4 p.m. ESPN2
• Game 8 (Orange): Winner of Game 3 vs. New England, 7 p.m. ESPN2

Tuesday, August 4

• Game 9 (Purple): Loser of Game 1 vs Loser of Game 7, 10 a.m. ESPN2
• Game 10 (Orange): Loser of Game 2 vs Loser of Game 8, 1 p.m. ESPN2
• Game 11 (Orange): Loser of Game 3 vs Loser of Game 5, 4 p.m. ESPN2
• Game 12 (Purple): Loser of Game 4 vs Loser of Game 6, 7 p.m. ESPN2

Wednesday, August 5

• Game 13 (Orange): Winner of Game 10 vs Winner of Game 11, 10 a.m. ESPN2
• Game 14 (Purple): Winner of Game 9 vs Winner of Game 12, 1 p.m. ESPN2

Thursday, August 6

• Game 15 (Purple): Winner of Game 6 vs Winner of Game 7, 1 p.m. ESPN2
• Game 16 (Orange): Winner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 8, 5 p.m. ESPN2

Friday, August 7

• Game 17 (Purple): Loser of Game 15 vs Winner of Game 14, 3 p.m. ESPN2
• Game 18 (Orange): Loser of Game 16 vs Winner of Game 13, 6 p.m. ESPN2

Saturday, August 8

• Game 19 (Orange championship): Winner of Game 16 vs Winner of Game 18, 2 p.m. ESPN
• Game 20 (Purple championship): Winner of Game 15 vs. Winner of Game 17, 5 p.m. ESPN 2

Sunday, August 9

• Game 21 (Third place game): Loser of Game 19 vs Loser of Game 20, 10 a.m. ESPN
• Game 22 (Little League Softball World Series Championship): Winner of Game 19 vs Winner of Game 20, 3 p.m. ABC

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.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Greenville bound? Tracking Little League Softball World Series spots