{"id":31573,"date":"2026-06-01T01:23:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T01:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/jason-williams-florida-softball-coach-got-ejected-to-avoid-shaking-hands-with-his-daughter\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T01:23:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T01:23:04","slug":"jason-williams-florida-softball-coach-got-ejected-to-avoid-shaking-hands-with-his-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/jason-williams-florida-softball-coach-got-ejected-to-avoid-shaking-hands-with-his-daughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Jason Williams: Florida softball coach got ejected to avoid shaking hands with his daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>May 25, 2026<span class=\"gnt_ar_ut\">Updated May 26, 2026, 7:10 p.m. ET<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_x__c gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__bv\"\/>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_x__c gnt_x__bvd gnt_x__h\"\/>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el\" aria-label=\"Video - Watch Florida softball coach Tim Walton addresses tension, skipped handshakes vs Texas Tech\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">With the dream of a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/softball\/2026\/05\/24\/wcws-bracket-schedule-tv-channel-womens-college-world-series-2026\/90243204007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Women\u2019s College World Series<\/a> berth slipping away from his team, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/basketball\/ncaab\/teams\/florida-gators\/1407\/\" data-autotag=\"3b888813-f087-4637-8d3d-c90e4608afae\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Florida<\/a> softball coach Tim Walton was ejected in the fifth inning of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/softball\/2026\/05\/24\/texas-tech-florida-softball-ncaa-super-regional-game-3-score-channel-wcws--live\/90242449007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gators\u2019 16-7 loss to Texas Tech<\/a> in the final game of the Gainesville Super Regional on Sunday, May 24.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">According to a prominent <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/softball\/2026\/05\/25\/jason-williams-florida-softball-fan-hit-daughter-charges\/90253457007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">former Florida athlete,<\/a> it just might have been intentional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/softball\/2026\/05\/26\/jason-williams-florida-gators-campus-mia-williams-texas-tech-softball\/90261159007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Former NBA and Gators point guard Jason Williams<\/a> said Walton\u2019s ejection for arguing balls and strikes was premeditated so that the coach wouldn\u2019t have to shake hands after the game with Williams\u2019 daughter, Mia, a standout infielder for Texas Tech who transferred into the program from Florida last offseason.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_x__c gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<aside class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp\">REQUIRED READING: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/softball\/2026\/05\/26\/jason-williams-florida-gators-campus-mia-williams-texas-tech-softball\/90261159007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-t-l=\":b|e|spike click:5|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\">After softball drama, Jason Williams says he&#8217;ll only visit Florida campus on one condition<\/a><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cHe got kicked out because he didn\u2019t want to shake her hand,\u201d Williams <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/softball\/2026\/05\/24\/florida-softball-vs-texas-tech-ncaa-super-regional-defined-by-drama-tension-mia-williams\/90247553007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said to the Gainesville Sun<\/a>, a part of the USA TODAY Network.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The younger Williams played at Florida for two seasons and played all 65 games last season for a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/sports\/college-sports\/sec\/florida\" data-autotag=\"13e400dd-2caf-4743-8f66-2d6e34ba4e99\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Gators<\/a> team that advanced to the WCWS. After the 2025 season, she transferred to Texas Tech, which was coming off a run to the championship series of the WCWS and has become a haven for high-profile transfers in recent years.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_gl gnt_em__el\" href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/picture-gallery\/sports\/college\/2026\/05\/24\/florida-softball-vs-texas-tech-super-regional-game-3-photos-gallery\/90244028007\/\" data-t-l=\"\u2691g:l|l|c|view gallery:inline promo\" aria-label=\"View Gallery - Florida softball takes on Texas Tech in winner-takes-all Game 3. See the photos!\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img class=\"gnt_em_gl_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/05\/24\/NTGS\/90243992007-gai-florida-superregional-softball-3180364.jpg?crop=2722,1531,x0,y0&amp;width=660&amp;height=372&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" data-gl-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/05\/24\/NTGS\/90243992007-gai-florida-superregional-softball-3180364.jpg?crop=2722,https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/1531,https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/x0,https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/y0&amp;width=1320&amp;height=744&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"372\"\/><svg class=\"gnt_em_gl_i_svg\"><use xlink:href=\"#gnt_svg_camera\"\/><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">That move and whatever hard feelings lingered from it hovered over the best-of-three super regional series between the Gators and Red Raiders.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp\">REQUIRED READING: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/softball\/2026\/05\/25\/jason-williams-florida-softball-fan-hit-daughter-charges\/90253457007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-t-l=\":b|e|spike click:10|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\">Jason Williams says Florida fan hit daughter: &#8216;She isn&#8217;t supposed to be hitting little girls&#8217;<\/a><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Over the course of the series, Williams was hit by five pitches, including the first pitch of the first game and the first pitch of the decisive third game. In her second at-bat in Game 3, Williams launched a two-run home run that gave Texas Tech a 5-4 lead and prompted a celebration that earned the Red Raiders a warning from the umpire.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_x__c gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Williams ultimately got the last laugh, finishing the series 3-of-7 with five RBI at the plate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Her father, who played for Florida for one season before being the No. 7 overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, was seen in the crowd yelling toward the Gators\u2019 dugout after a Texas Tech homer and doing the gator chomp. After the Red Raiders\u2019 Game 3 victory, he celebrated with the team on the field at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_tw\" aria-label=\"X Embed\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadTwitter\" data-v-id=\"2058697077228446013\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Following Texas Tech\u2019s series-clinching win, the teams didn\u2019t shake hands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cIt makes no sense to me at all,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/softball\/2026\/05\/24\/florida-softball-vs-texas-tech-ncaa-super-regional-defined-by-drama-tension-mia-williams\/90247553007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Walton said<\/a> when asked about the drama of the series. \u201cI have no idea where that came from. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s fair to the kids in both dugouts. I have no idea where that pot was being stirred. There\u2019s never been a problem ever. Kids transfer all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_anc\" id=\"gnt_atomsnc\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadAnc\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup form\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In her first season at Texas Tech, Mia Williams has set program single-season records for home runs (24), runs scored (86), total bases (177), RBI (82) and doubles (22).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 25, 2026Updated May 26, 2026, 7:10 p.m. ET With the dream of a Women\u2019s College World Series berth slipping<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_animmysite_disable_animation":false,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2026\/05\/25\/USAT\/90249500007-usatsi-29049251.jpg?crop=2654,1493,x0,y0&width=2654&height=1493&format=pjpg&auto=webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[213],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-sports-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}