College softball portal

[TexasEx_10]

12 minutes ago, Beldar said:

So far we have gone mainly with recruited players and has worked out. Wish we had a portal pitcher coming in . Hope our young ones can step up and ride with Kavan. Hook em

White tries to get portal players. They are outbid year after year by other schools. Texas lost out on their top targets last year to Tech, A&M and Arkansas, and ended up with two players who took pay cuts to play for Texas. The same is already happening. 

Last year’s targets:

Tallen Edwards and Taylor Pannell (pitcher) > A&M

Jazzy Burns and Desirae Spearman > Tech

Dakota Kennedy > Arkansas 

Edited yesterday at 03:25 PM by TexasEx_10

[ClubWhatever]

1 minute ago, TexasEx_10 said:

White tries to get portal players. They are outbid year after year by other schools. Texas lost out on their top targets last year to Tech and A&M and ended up with two players who took pay cuts to play for Texas. The same is already happening. 

Probably been asked and answered, but what is our overall budget compared to other elite softball schools?

[ArizonaLonghorn]

19 minutes ago, TexasEx_10 said:

Last year’s targets:

Tallen Edwards and Taylor Pannell (pitcher) > A&M

 

Wasn't Taylor Pannell the player who went to Tech and falsely accused her former Tennessee coach of smart mouthing in the handshake line?  Or are there two players with the same name? 

EDIT:  oops, looked it up and you are right, there are TWO players named Taylor Pannell playing college softball, this one transferring from Missouri to A&M. 

Edited yesterday at 03:38 PM by ArizonaLonghorn

[East Texas Hookem]

Doesn't Texas have a transfer pitcher from OU who committed at mid term, 5 Star freshman?

[David Latiolais]

18 minutes ago, East Texas Hookem said:

Doesn't Texas have a transfer pitcher from OU who committed at mid term, 5 Star freshman?

Yes, but have not heard very much about her lately. 

[GoHorns1]

18 minutes ago, East Texas Hookem said:

Doesn't Texas have a transfer pitcher from OU who committed at mid term, 5 Star freshman?

She drop out school is my understanding. The young lady is battling mental health issues, wish success in her fight.

[HookemTexas]

Texas will offer NIL but will probably not break the balance of the team. IE they aren’t going to offer any more than what Kavan, Stewart, etc get.  They have to also keep the current players content. That’s the balance and Texas seems to have done a good job there, thus only a couple of portals, likely for playing time.

[HonkEm]

4 hours ago, HookemTexas said:

Texas will offer NIL but will probably not break the balance of the team. IE they aren’t going to offer any more than what Kavan, Stewart, etc get.  They have to also keep the current players content. That’s the balance and Texas seems to have done a good job there, thus only a couple of portals, likely for playing time.

Exactly. Texas isn’t going to blow up its internal NIL structure for one person. The top of the pay scale is already set by players like Kavon and Stewart, and nobody is getting slotted above them. That’s how you keep the locker room stable.

Outside endorsements don’t mess with that balance either - those are individual deals, not team‑funded money. The only number that matters inside the program is the team NIL number, and Texas has kept that consistent.

That’s why Texas has almost no portal losses, and the few that leave are playing‑time girls, not culture one's. The balance is working.

[TexasEx_10]

Texas is 0-2 this weekend and neither made it to campus after visiting A&M and Tech.

 

[TexTheHorn24]

A slapper. They paid Polar like 650k. Absolutely ridiculous stuff from tech and I’d be mad if Texas did that. Not worth it.

[HudGar1922]

8 hours ago, GoHorns1 said:

She drop out school is my understanding. The young lady is battling mental health issues, wish success in her fight.

hell tech would boost her nil and find a way to let her pitch without taking a class at tech

[GoHorns1]

35 minutes ago, HudGar1922 said:

hell tech would boost her nil and find a way to let her pitch without taking a class at tech

Tech can acquired talent but can Tech build team. Based on 2026 season NO!

35 minutes ago, HudGar1922 said:

35 minutes ago, HudGar1922 said:

 

[HookemTexas]

2 hours ago, TexasEx_10 said:

Texas is 0-2 this weekend and neither made it to campus after visiting A&M and Tech.

 

Only player left I really want is Torres, a LHP would be nice, but Torres is the big get.

[HonkEm]

On 6/14/2026 at 10:19 AM, ClubWhatever said:

Probably been asked and answered, but what is our overall budget compared to other elite softball schools?

If you’re asking about budgets because you think Texas is getting out‑spent for elite talent, that’s not what’s happening. Texas is already in the $3.5M–$4M softball‑budget range, which puts them ahead of almost everyone not named Oklahoma. So this isn’t a “Texas can’t keep up financially” issue.

What Mike does is different: he doesn’t panic‑shop the portal or chase every 5‑star just to win a headline. His whole model is development, fit, and long‑term roster stability, then using the portal only to plug specific needs. Other programs are out there throwing offers at anything that moves - Texas doesn’t need to operate that way.

So if the question is “budget vs. elite talent,” the answer is simple: Texas has the budget. Texas has the talent. Texas just doesn’t recruit like a desperate program.

Back‑to‑back titles say the approach works.

[HookemTexas]

Have the Zache sisters from ou landed anywhere?  Recall that one of them is supposed to be a good pitcher.

[TexTheHorn24]

 

[HonkEm]

57 minutes ago, HookemTexas said:

Have the Zache sisters from ou landed anywhere?  Recall that one of them is supposed to be a good pitcher.

Nothing yet. Both Zache sisters are still in the portal and neither has announced a landing spot. Berkley’s the pitcher, and she’s got upside, but there’s been zero public movement from either one so far.

If you’re hearing anything different, feel free to share - but as of now, they’re both just sitting in the portal.

[HookemTexas]

3 minutes ago, HonkEm said:

Nothing yet. Both Zache sisters are still in the portal and neither has announced a landing spot. Berkley’s the pitcher, and she’s got upside, but there’s been zero public movement from either one so far.

If you’re hearing anything different, feel free to share - but as of now, they’re both just sitting in the portal.

I have no insider sources, just try to check social media and message boards to see if there's any news.