OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. –
Armed Forces Softball has officially concluded four days of high-stakes competition at Devon Park, where top military athletes battled on the dirt to claim service superiority.
Following grueling games on the field from Aug. 26-29, The All-Army team claimed gold in the Women’s Division, meanwhile the Department of the Air Force Softball secured the Men’s Division title during the 2026 Armed Forces Men’s and Women’s Softball Championships.
In the women’s division, the All-Army team captured the championship crown following a decisive game against the DAF team. It was an intense game which had the crowd gripped to their seats but the score finaled at 13-11.
"Winning a gold medal is never an easy feat, especially with all the branches that we have out here, all the talent that's in these fields,” said the All-Army women’s team head coach, Bridget Pena. "Winning together is perfect. It's the best thing that we could ever do. Makes all the hard work worth it."
This is the second year in a row that the All-Army women’s team have won gold for the Softball championship however, they didn’t win without heavy competition from the other teams.
"They came together as a team,” said Pena. “They passed the bat. They trusted each other. They worked hard for each other and teamwork makes the dream work."
In the men’s division, the DAF team emerged victorious after a hard-fought contest against the All-Army team, concluding with a final score of 33-18.
"There's literally nobody better than 15 people operating as one... There was an aura of these guys that was so impressive that we never had a doubt," said Richard Burley, DAF Men’s team assistant coach after the DAF men’s team gathered around to celebrate their victory.
Every individual of the winning team achieved a gold medal including the coaches and staff and the runner-up team received a silver medal for their performance.
Throughout the tournament, athletes representing the Army, Navy (with Marines and Coast Guard) and Air Force (with Space Force) were evaluated an standout players earned their spot on the All-Tournament team and U.S. Armed Forces Teams.
11 players were selected for their outstanding game performance throughout the tournament to represent the All-Tournament team, while 15 players selected for the U.S. Armed Forces Team.
These athletes will represent the military on the national stage at the USA Softball Women’s Open Slow Pitch National Championship and the Men’s Super Slow Pitch National Championship, scheduled Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.
"This is a program that needs to keep growing because it has a lot of potential, a lot of players, a lot of great people,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ninostka Amaroa Gracia, the All-Army Women’s 1st base. “So the word needs to be spread out more because I feel like not a lot of people know about this."