For the second consecutive season, Mia Williams will compete in the Women’s College World Series, with the goal of winning a national championship.
This time, however, she makes the trip to Oklahoma City in new colors, representing Texas Tech.
Williams, who began her career at Florida, has been one of several impactful transfers for the Red Raiders this season, as she is third on the team in batting average and leads Texas Tech in home runs and doubles.
In six NCAA Softball Tournament games this season, Williams has seven hits with two doubles and two home runs while driving in nine runs. In the Red Raiders’ super regional against No. 6 Florida, Williams had the spotlight on her, as she returned to her former program and was hit by five pitches.
“She won every battle that was thrown her way today, and I’m really proud of her,” Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco said after Game 3 of the Gainesville Super Regional.
The Red Raiders’ junior second baseman comes from an athletic pedigree, as both of her parents, with her dad being former NBA guard Jason Williams, played collegiately at Florida, with her mom running track and field for the Gators.
Here’s what to know about who Mia Williams’ dad is and more, as the 11th-seeded Red Raiders begin WCWS play in Bracket 2 against Mississippi State on Thursday, May 28 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Who is Mia Williams dad?
Mia Williams’ dad is former Florida basketball guard Jason Williams. Nicknamed “White Chocolate” during his playing career, Jason Williams started his collegiate career at Marshall. He then transferred to the Gators ahead of the 1996-97 season, but did not begin playing for Billy Donovan until the 1997-98 season due to the then-NCAA transfer portal sit-out-a-year rule.
He averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game in his lone season with the Gators. That success helped him get selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
Jason Williams-Gainesville Super Regional drama, explained
By now, it’s well documented how the Gainesville Super Regional between Florida and Texas Tech played out — highlighted by neither team shaking hands after the Red Raiders punched their ticket to the WCWS on Sunday, May 24.
In the middle of all that high emotion off the field was Jason Williams.
As previously noted by USA TODAY through reporting from the Gainesville Sun — part of the USA TODAY Network — Jason Williams was initially escorted out of the stadium by campus police after getting into an altercation with a Gators fan who he said struck his daughter with a handheld fan while the family celebrated a hit from Mia Williams.
The fan was ultimately ejected from the stadium instead. That is just scratching the surface of the weekend.
Following the Red Raiders’ Game 3 win, Jason Williams told The Gainesville Sun that Florida coach Tim Walton’s ejection from the game for arguing balls and strikes in the bottom was “premeditated,” since he didn’t have to shake hands after the game with his daughter. Mia Williams was hit by the pitch five different times throughout the super regional.
“He got kicked out because he didn’t want to shake her hand,” Jason Williams said.
Then one day after the series concluded, the elder Williams posted a video on social media where he claimed a Florida fan had thrown “objects and (expletive) like that” at one of his daughters in the stands.
“We were asked whether we wanted to press charges,” Williams said in the video. “Nah, we ain’t about that. Let that little old lady live. She ain’t got much longer to go.
“… We didn’t do anything to her. She was just mad that the Gators were losing, and that’s cool. That’s what she’s supposed to be. She’s supposed to be mad when the Gators are losing if she is a real fan. But she isn’t supposed to be hitting little girls with objects and (expletive) like that.”
He’d also apologize for the behavior from himself and Texas Tech fans.
But the last wrinkle to this saga — for now, at least — came on Tuesday during an appearance on Barstool Sports’ “Wake Up Barstool” that the elder Williams made, in which he said he doesn’t expect to visit his alma mater unless his daughter is playing there. He also said he “was” a Florida legend when called one by Barstool personality “Big Cat.”
“The only time I’ll step on Gainesville’s campus again is if my daughter plays softball there again,” Williams said on “Wake Up Barstool.”
Jason Williams NBA career
Williams spent a 12-year career in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. He averaged 10.5 points and 5.9 assists per game for his career. He won an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006.
Mia Williams stats
Williams is having a career season with the Red Raiders. She’s set new program records for runs scored,RBIs and home runs, and is the first Texas Tech player to have a 20 stolen base and 20 home run season. She enters the WCWS with a career-high .435 batting average.
Here’s a year-by-year breakdown of Mia Williams’ stats at Florida and Texas Tech:
- 2024 (Florida):. 164 batting average with 31 runs scored, 18 hits, 18 RBIs, nine stolen bases and six home runs
- 2025 (Florida): .335 batting average with 61 hits, 52 runs scored, 44 RBIs, 19 home runs and eight stolen bases
- 2026 (Texas Tech): .435 batting average with 86 runs scored, 83 hits, 82 RBIs and 24 home runs
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