AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas softball team will start 2025 with a big target on its back.
The Longhorns are the top-ranked team in the ESPN/USA Softball preseason poll released Wednesday and have three players on the national player of the year watch list.
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No. 1 Texas returns a boatload of talent including junior catcher Reese Atwood, sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan and senior utility player Mia Scott. Atwood was a finalist for the award last season after setting five single-season program records and it’s the third time Scott has been tabbed on the preseason watch list. Kavan finished 20-3 in the circle her freshman season with a 2.20 ERA and 135 strikeouts.
The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma in last year’s Women’s College World Series championship series. The Sooners will begin the season ranked No. 3 in the poll as both teams play their first season in the Southeastern Conference. Florida is No. 2 with Oklahoma State in fourth and Tennessee in fifth.
Texas starts the season with three consecutive doubleheaders Feb. 7-9, all in different cities. The Longhorns take on Louisiana and Longwood in Lafayette, Louisiana to start the season, and then head to Beaumont to take on Lamar and St. John’s the following day. The road trip ends with a pair in Huntsville against Sam Houston and Tulsa.
Texas opens at home Feb. 14-16 for the Bevo Classic against old Big 12 Conference rival No. 10 Texas Tech, Maryland and Massachusetts. The Red Raiders scored the top transfer in the country during the offseason, 2024 USA Softball player of the year NiJaree Canady, a pitcher from Stanford.
Texas then travels to Tucson, Arizona for a weekend and hosts the Longhorn Invitational Feb. 28-March 2. The Longhorns take on No. 19 Baylor in a single game March 5 before ending the nonconference schedule at the Ohio State Tournament in Columbus on March 8-10.
Texas begins SEC play on the road March 15-17 against the No. 2 Gators. They’ll take on Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana State, Oklahoma and Kentucky in conference play. The SEC tournament is scheduled for May 6-10 at Jack Turner Stadium in Athens, Georgia.
