When was the last time Missouri softball made the WCWS? Tigers looking for first trip in 13 years

Missouri softball is having its best season in recent years, and the Tigers look to make further history this weekend at Mizzou Softball Stadium.

But in order to make that history: The program's first appearance in the Women's College World Series in 13 seasons — the No. 7 seeded Tigers (47-16 overall, 13-11 SEC) will have to win their Super Regional in the NCAA Softball Tournament against No. 10 seed Duke.

The Tigers are hosting the Columbia Super Regional after picking up four wins: Indiana, Washington and Omaha twice — in 48 hours last weekend after dropping Game 1 of the Columbia Regional to Omaha.

MORE: Watch Missouri softball in the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament with Fubo (free trial)

This is the farthest Missouri has appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2021. The Tigers came close to advancing to Oklahoma City for the WCWS that year but fell to James Madison 2-1 in the best-of-three super regionals series.

With that, here's what you need to know about the Tigers' WCWS history as the super regional round of the NCAA Softball Tournament begins on Friday:

When was the last time time Missouri made the WCWS?

Missouri last made the WCWS in 2011, when the 5-seed Tigers — then a member of the Big 12 conference — swept 12-seed Washington 2-0 in the best-of-three Columbia Super Regional series. The Tigers won Game 1 by a score of 4-0 before taking Game 2 with a 6-3 victory, advancing to the WCWS for the third consecutive season.

One thing to note is that Missouri has never missed out on the WCWS when it hosted a Super Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

REQUIRED READING: How Laurin Krings fought, scrapped and carried Missouri softball to NCAA Super Regional

Missouri softball WCWS history

Heading into the Columbia Super Regional of the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament, Missouri has made it out of the round to the WCWS six times.

The Tigers first appeared in the WCWS in 1983, the second year of the tournament after the NCAA became the governing body for women's sports in 1982. To get to the WCWS — which was held in Omaha, Nebraska that year — Missouri had to just take down Southwest Missouri State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the super regional round was not part of the postseason format. Missouri beat Southwest Missouri State in two of three games to advance from the Midwest Regional to the WCWS.

REQUIRED READING: What to know about Missouri softball's NCAA Columbia Super Regional: TV, times, tickets, parking

Missouri then made three consecutive trips to Oklahoma City for the WCWS from 2009-2011. Of those three appearances, the Tigers had the most success in 2011 — when Missouri was the No. 5 seed in the WCWS — as they made it to the second round. Missouri would end up being eliminated from the WCWS in that round, losing 1-0 to 11 seed Baylor for a sixth place overall finish.

Here's a full list of when Missouri has made an appearance in the WCWS:

• 1983: 0-2

• 1991: 1-2

• 1994: 0-2

• 2009: 0-2

• 2010: 0-2

• 2011: 1-2

Missouri softball NCAA Tournament history

The Tigers entered the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament with a 64-57 overall record (52.9% winning percentage) across 26 appearances in the NCAA Tournament per the school's media guide. Missouri made it out of the regional round of the tournament on eight occasions (this includes the vacated 2016 postseason) and out of the super regional round on six.

Here's a round-by-round breakdown of Missouri's history in the NCAA Tournament, including the Women's College World Series and this year's wins:

• Regional: 58-33

• Super Regional: 8-13

• Women's College World Series: 2-12

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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Has Missouri been to WCWS before? Tigers history in NCAA Tournament