2026 Women's Softball Thread

[HonkEm]

 

[Buck Travis]

Nice interview with Kayden Henry and her mom.

 

[HonkEm]

4 hours ago, Buck Travis said:

Nice interview with Kayden Henry and her mom.

 

Thanks for posting - That interview was exactly what you want to hear....a kid who’s locked in, a mom who actually understands the process, and a family that clearly isn’t here for drama. Kaden talks like someone who expects to compete from day one. If this is the tone‑setter for next year, White’s about to have a whole roster full of killers

[HonkEm]

Player of the year: Lorelei Gamble

The junior catcher from Dripping Springs bashed 23 home runs this season, making her one of the top power hitters in the country — the Texas Longhorns commit led the nation in homers for half the season. She earned District 26-6A MVP honors after hitting .574 with 60 RBIs, 12 doubles and four triples along with her homers. She also scored 34 runs and was walked intentionally 30 times.

Player of the year finalists: Weiss INF Jordynn Booe, Leander OF Rachel Grundei, Smithville P Addison Otto, Hutto INF Kaelyn Price

May be behind a paywall, but will post the AAS link anyway

 https://www.statesman.com/sports/high-school/softball/article/high-school-softball-2026-all-central-texas-team-22295644.php

[HonkEm]

We gonna love this Fremin guy

 

[HonkEm]

Edited June 23 by HonkEm

[AusMOJO]

2 minutes ago, HonkEm said:

Both the Baseball and Softball pitching is going to be nuts next year. 

[Buck Travis]

16 hours ago, HonkEm said:

With the new five year rule the 2028 pitching staff could look a lot like this. Including the Back To Back headline.

[LonghornFan4Ever]

1 hour ago, Buck Travis said:

With the new five year rule the 2028 pitching staff could look a lot like this. Including the Back To Back headline.

Probably, but in this era, any one of these pitchers could get a massive offer they can't refuse and be gone at the drop of a dime.  But Texas spent big on player retention last offseason, and it obviously paid dividends.  I think Texas will do everything they can to keep their homegrown players (Kavan, Henry, Martinez, and Stewart) for 2028.  It will be a while before the AUSL $$$ can match or surpass NIL + Rev Share $$$ in college.

[LonghornFan4Ever]

 

[LonghornFan4Ever]

 

[GoHorns1]

1 hour ago, LonghornFan4Ever said:

 

Fantastic great for Women’s Sports

[.45s]

1 hour ago, LonghornFan4Ever said:

 

Wow.  I didn't realize that.  Must be because Texas was in it!  Hook'em.

[BornOrange]

12 hours ago, .45s said:

Wow.  I didn't realize that.  Must be because Texas was in it!  Hook'em.

If they want good ratings, NCAA needs to put us in every championship game

[HookemTexas]

Interesting thing about the new 5 for 5 rule is that some colleges are pulling offers from current commits.  Word is that Memphis and Texas Tech has done that already so they can keep their transfers that they paid a ton for.  

Don’t think Texas has since their recruits are elite tier.

[chennups]

I will say that i am now of the opinion that college softball is more exciting that college baseball.  The smaller field means more HRs and the potential for infield (slap) hits.  The dominance of previous pitchers used to make the games pretty boring because nobody was getting on base.  Also, the shorter games make each inning and at bat more important and there's less breaks for pitching changes to specialists (someone coming for one lefty batter or the set up man and closer).  I also like how there are some transfers but a lot of 4-year players (reese atwood, stewie, kavan, vicky martinez, goode, etc).  You really get invested in the team.  Baseball still has a bit of the mercenary feel with players coming in for one year and then leaving for the draft (although that could change i guess with recent proposals from MLB).

Softball has evolved so there is more hitting and offense now as well.  There is also a premium on good defense as we saw in the CWS where errors and mental lapses can cost you.  Finally, the potential of a run rule is also fun to watch--i wish we could have run-ruled Tech in Game 3 last year!  But happy that we won two years in a row now!

 

Hook 'em.

 

 

 

[GoHorns1]

3 hours ago, chennups said:

I will say that i am now of the opinion that college softball is more exciting that college baseball.  The smaller field means more HRs and the potential for infield (slap) hits.  The dominance of previous pitchers used to make the games pretty boring because nobody was getting on base.  Also, the shorter games make each inning and at bat more important and there's less breaks for pitching changes to specialists (someone coming for one lefty batter or the set up man and closer).  I also like how there are some transfers but a lot of 4-year players (reese atwood, stewie, kavan, vicky martinez, goode, etc).  You really get invested in the team.  Baseball still has a bit of the mercenary feel with players coming in for one year and then leaving for the draft (although that could change i guess with recent proposals from MLB).

Softball has evolved so there is more hitting and offense now as well.  There is also a premium on good defense as we saw in the CWS where errors and mental lapses can cost you.  Finally, the potential of a run rule is also fun to watch--i wish we could have run-ruled Tech in Game 3 last year!  But happy that we won two years in a row now!

 

Hook 'em.

 

 

 

Softball also moves faster than baseball. The pitch and batters clock is faster and definitely enforced.

I don’t think the run is applied in the WCWS.

Edited 3 hours ago by GoHorns1

[HonkEm]

5 hours ago, HookemTexas said:

Interesting thing about the new 5 for 5 rule is that some colleges are pulling offers from current commits.  Word is that Memphis and Texas Tech has done that already so they can keep their transfers that they paid a ton for.  

Don’t think Texas has since their recruits are elite tier.

I never even thought about that… great point. And honestly, Texas doesn’t really have that problem. Our class is elite, our evaluations are stable, and we’re not scrambling to protect a bunch of short‑term portal rentals. Sark and Harris built the roster with 5‑for‑5 in mind, so there’s no need to yank offers just to clean up a mess.

[GoHorns1]

4 minutes ago, HonkEm said:

I never even thought about that… great point. And honestly, Texas doesn’t really have that problem. Our class is elite, our evaluations are stable, and we’re not scrambling to protect a bunch of short‑term portal rentals. Sark and Harris built the roster with 5‑for‑5 in mind, so there’s no need to yank offers just to clean up a mess.

Sark & Harris? This thread is softball. It’s Mike White

[HonkEm]

5 hours ago, chennups said:

I will say that i am now of the opinion that college softball is more exciting that college baseball.  The smaller field means more HRs and the potential for infield (slap) hits.  The dominance of previous pitchers used to make the games pretty boring because nobody was getting on base.  Also, the shorter games make each inning and at bat more important and there's less breaks for pitching changes to specialists (someone coming for one lefty batter or the set up man and closer).  I also like how there are some transfers but a lot of 4-year players (reese atwood, stewie, kavan, vicky martinez, goode, etc).  You really get invested in the team.  Baseball still has a bit of the mercenary feel with players coming in for one year and then leaving for the draft (although that could change i guess with recent proposals from MLB).

Softball has evolved so there is more hitting and offense now as well.  There is also a premium on good defense as we saw in the CWS where errors and mental lapses can cost you.  Finally, the potential of a run rule is also fun to watch--i wish we could have run-ruled Tech in Game 3 last year!  But happy that we won two years in a row now!

 

Hook 'em.

 

 

 

I’ve really come around on softball too ---the pace and the constant pressure make it easy to stay locked in. The way the roster sticks together for years also makes it a lot easier to follow the team and actually feel connected to the players.

Baseball just doesn’t hit the same for me. The games drag, the rhythm is slower, and it’s harder to stay engaged inning to inning. I still support the team, but the product doesn’t grab me the way softball does. The energy, the urgency, the way one mistake can flip everything - that’s what keeps me hooked.

[HonkEm]

9 minutes ago, GoHorns1 said:

Sark & Harris? This thread is softball. It’s Mike White

oops.....wtf 😀 

 

9 minutes ago, GoHorns1 said:

Sark & Harris? This thread is softball. It’s Mike White

Lmao yeah that one’s on me - apparently my brain decided to run an RPO and kept the football tab open while the thread was clearly in softball mode. Been hydrating aggressively all day… just not with water.

Edited 57 minutes ago by HonkEm