2027 Women's Softball Thread

[HookemTexas]

6 hours ago, koxaz nostraz said:

Looking forward to another exciting season of women's college softball! It feels like the sport keeps getting more competitive every year, with talented players coming through and programs building stronger rosters. I'm especially interested to see how the transfer portal affects teams heading into 2027 and which younger players step up. Conference matchups should be fun to follow, and I'm sure we'll see a few surprises along the way. Hopefully, this thread stays active with updates, predictions, and plenty of discussion throughout the season. Anyone have early favorites for the Women's College World Series or teams they think could surprise everyone?

 

 

I haven't read about any predictions for 2027 season yet, but the general consensus is that the top three teams are Texas, OU, and Texas Tech.  The other SEC teams Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida are also top contenders along with ATM.  Outside of the SEC, it's likely to be UCLA.  Time will tell if Nebraska is able to keep any momentum w/ Frahm-Bahl graduating.

Texas will be the favorite heading into the season as they bring back Kavan and Stewart and replaced their graduating seniors with a pretty stud transfer class.  OU still has an extremely potent offense, if any of their pitchers turn out to be elite, they will be a hard out as usual.  Tech of course bought like 90% of their team.  Everyone will be watching to see how Terry performs as the staff ace now that Canady is gone.

Hopefully it's going to be a fun season to follow, but I'm a bit cautious after what's happened with a supposedly loaded football and volleyball team this year.

[LonghornFan4Ever]

2 hours ago, HookemTexas said:

I haven't read about any predictions for 2027 season yet, but the general consensus is that the top three teams are Texas, OU, and Texas Tech.  The other SEC teams Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida are also top contenders along with ATM.  Outside of the SEC, it's likely to be UCLA.  Time will tell if Nebraska is able to keep any momentum w/ Frahm-Bahl graduating.

Texas will be the favorite heading into the season as they bring back Kavan and Stewart and replaced their graduating seniors with a pretty stud transfer class.  OU still has an extremely potent offense, if any of their pitchers turn out to be elite, they will be a hard out as usual.  Tech of course bought like 90% of their team.  Everyone will be watching to see how Terry performs as the staff ace now that Canady is gone.

Hopefully it's going to be a fun season to follow, but I'm a bit cautious after what's happened with a supposedly loaded football and volleyball team this year.

That last paragraph is how I’m feeling about UT athletics in general right now.  I know most of that has to do with football, but I just have this odd feeling that compared to their normal standards under CDC, this could be the worst season for him as an AD post-COVID for a majority of the 21 sports on campus.  This could be the most difficult Directors’ Cup for them to win.  Hope I’m wrong though.

[HonkEm]

1 hour ago, LonghornFan4Ever said:

That last paragraph is how I’m feeling about UT athletics in general right now.  I know most of that has to do with football, but I just have this odd feeling that compared to their normal standards under CDC, this could be the worst season for him as an AD post-COVID for a majority of the 21 sports on campus.  This could be the most difficult Directors’ Cup for them to win.  Hope I’m wrong though.

Or we could win our remaining football games, go on to the playoffs, and win it all.....that would be nice.

[ChanmanV]

I don't think we've had a team this stacked ever. I hope being such a favorite this year doesn't mess up the culture and mentality of the team but we're witnessing potentially a dynasty. If Kevan wins a 3rd, she will be the undisputed best collegiate pitcher of all time and if she pitches for USA next summer, we could be talking about her as the best ever period over Cat. 

The softball team is what Texas excellence looks like under Coach White. Elite coaching, recruiting, leadership and culture. 

 

Edited Thursday at 05:45 PM by ChanmanV

[Califashorn75]

I think this year's softball team is better than last years.  

[Beldar]

17 hours ago, ChanmanV said:

I don't think we've had a team this stacked ever. I hope being such a favorite this year doesn't mess up the culture and mentality of the team but we're witnessing potentially a dynasty. If Kevan wins a 3rd, she will be the undisputed best collegiate pitcher of all time and if she pitches for USA next summer, we could be talking about her as the best ever period over Cat. 

The softball team is what Texas excellence looks like under Coach White. Elite coaching, recruiting, leadership and culture. 

 

Sadly  , let him have one bad season and our fair weather fan base would be howling to fire him. 

 

[HonkEm]

23 hours ago, HookemTexas said:

I haven't read about any predictions for 2027 season yet, but the general consensus is that the top three teams are Texas, OU, and Texas Tech.  The other SEC teams Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida are also top contenders along with ATM.  Outside of the SEC, it's likely to be UCLA.  Time will tell if Nebraska is able to keep any momentum w/ Frahm-Bahl graduating.

Texas will be the favorite heading into the season as they bring back Kavan and Stewart and replaced their graduating seniors with a pretty stud transfer class.  OU still has an extremely potent offense, if any of their pitchers turn out to be elite, they will be a hard out as usual.  Tech of course bought like 90% of their team.  Everyone will be watching to see how Terry performs as the staff ace now that Canady is gone.

Hopefully it's going to be a fun season to follow, but I'm a bit cautious after what's happened with a supposedly loaded football and volleyball team this year.

Texas is probably the favorite on paper.

Which is great news because I've watched enough Texas sports lately to know the championship game will not, in fact, be played on paper.

Texas, OU, and Tech all look loaded. OU is still OU. Tech bought enough players to qualify as a small nation. Texas brought back stars and loaded up through the portal.

The only thing I've learned from the football and volleyball seasons is that whenever I hear "this roster is stacked," I immediately start looking for the nearest emergency exit.

For now I'm choosing optimism. By February I'll be booking my WCWS hotel. By April I'll be questioning every coaching decision. By May I'll be convinced we're winning it all again. The annual Texas fan migration pattern remains undefeated. 😂

[WRNC]

1 hour ago, HonkEm said:

Texas is probably the favorite on paper.

1. Texas

The two-time defending champs return most of their core from their 2026 roster, including Teagan Kavan and SEC Player of the Year Katie Stewart. While the Longhorns lost Reese Atwood and Leighann Goode to the professional ranks, the transfer additions of Isa Torres, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, and Samantha Swan should fill those voids. Texas needs an arm or two to rise up behind Kavan, but they have plenty of options, including freshman Madi Doty.

2. Alabama

3. Texas Tech

4. Florida

5. Oklahoma

6. Tennessee

7. Georgia

8. Arkansas

9. Texas A&M

10. Florida State

11. Mississippi State

12. Nebraska

13. UCLA

14. Virginia Tech

15. LSU

16. Oklahoma State

17. UCF

18. Grand Canyon

19. Clemson

20. Stanford

21. Oregon

22. Arizona

23. Duke

24. South Florida

25. Washington

https://www.on3.com/softball/news/way-too-early-softball-america-top-25-rankings/

 

 

[LonghornFan4Ever]

3 hours ago, WRNC said:

1. Texas

The two-time defending champs return most of their core from their 2026 roster, including Teagan Kavan and SEC Player of the Year Katie Stewart. While the Longhorns lost Reese Atwood and Leighann Goode to the professional ranks, the transfer additions of Isa Torres, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, and Samantha Swan should fill those voids. Texas needs an arm or two to rise up behind Kavan, but they have plenty of options, including freshman Madi Doty.

2. Alabama

3. Texas Tech

4. Florida

5. Oklahoma

6. Tennessee

7. Georgia

8. Arkansas

9. Texas A&M

10. Florida State

11. Mississippi State

12. Nebraska

13. UCLA

14. Virginia Tech

15. LSU

16. Oklahoma State

17. UCF

18. Grand Canyon

19. Clemson

20. Stanford

21. Oregon

22. Arizona

23. Duke

24. South Florida

25. Washington

 

https://www.on3.com/softball/news/way-too-early-softball-america-top-25-rankings/

 

 

Seems like for the foreseeable future, in any given season, if you pick Texas, Texas Tech, or Oklahoma to win the national championship, you will probably be right because at least one of those three teams has played in the WCWS National Championship Series since 2019.  They are clearly the three best programs in college softball right now, similar to WCBB with South Carolina, UConn, UCLA, and Texas.  Alabama, Tennessee, and UCLA probably have the best chance to win it all out of the non-big three college softball teams in 2027.  Besides that, I cannot see any other team dogpiling in OKC.  I'm curious to see the NIL spending tiers for college softball like we have seen for college football and men's college basketball.

[WRNC]

11 minutes ago, LonghornFan4Ever said:

I'm curious to see the NIL spending tiers for college softball like we have seen for college football and men's college basketball.

The Texas Longhorns softball team sits in Tier 4 nationally (not top25) , with a total estimated active-roster NIL market valuation of $600,000. 

https://thesideline.co/nil-school/texas

 

Top 25 Softball NIL

Oklahoma (Est. $4.8M)

Texas Tech (Est. $3.8M)

Florida (Est. $1.2M)

Arizona (Est. $1.1M)

Tennessee (Est. $1.1M)

Kentucky (Est. $1.1M)

Auburn (Est. $1.1M)

Louisville (Est. $1.1M)

North Carolina / Oklahoma State / Iowa State (Est. $975K each)

Ole Miss / Georgia / Clemson (Est. $950K each)

NC State / Boston College (Est. $900K each)

Missouri / Arizona State (Est. $850K each)

Mississippi State / Florida State (Est. $825K each)

Arkansas (Est. $800K each) 

Virginia Tech / California (Est. $775K each)

Utah (Est. $675K)

https://thesideline.co/nil-tracker/softball

[SuperDave0805]

3 hours ago, WRNC said:

The Texas Longhorns softball team sits in Tier 4 nationally (not top25) , with a total estimated active-roster NIL market valuation of $600,000. 

https://thesideline.co/nil-school/texas

 

Top 25 Softball NIL

 

Oklahoma (Est. $4.8M)

Texas Tech (Est. $3.8M)

Florida (Est. $1.2M)

Arizona (Est. $1.1M)

Tennessee (Est. $1.1M)

Kentucky (Est. $1.1M)

Auburn (Est. $1.1M)

Louisville (Est. $1.1M)

North Carolina / Oklahoma State / Iowa State (Est. $975K each)

Ole Miss / Georgia / Clemson (Est. $950K each)

NC State / Boston College (Est. $900K each)

Missouri / Arizona State (Est. $850K each)

Mississippi State / Florida State (Est. $825K each)

Arkansas (Est. $800K each) 

Virginia Tech / California (Est. $775K each)

Utah (Est. $675K)

https://thesideline.co/nil-tracker/softball

Find it hard to believe Texas is behind the likes of Boston College and NC State in anything NIL related 

[LonghornFan4Ever]

22 minutes ago, SuperDave0805 said:

Find it hard to believe Texas is behind the likes of Boston College and NC State in anything NIL related 

Yeah you would think the Isa Torres acquisition alone would put them in the high Tier 2 low Tier 1 range.  Not to mention what they probably spent on retention.

Edited 13 hours ago by LonghornFan4Ever

[HookemTexas]

Yea I don’t think that data looks very valid.

[LonghornFan4Ever]

[ChanmanV]

14 hours ago, HonkEm said:

Texas is probably the favorite on paper.

Which is great news because I've watched enough Texas sports lately to know the championship game will not, in fact, be played on paper.

Texas, OU, and Tech all look loaded. OU is still OU. Tech bought enough players to qualify as a small nation. Texas brought back stars and loaded up through the portal.

The only thing I've learned from the football and volleyball seasons is that whenever I hear "this roster is stacked," I immediately start looking for the nearest emergency exit.

For now I'm choosing optimism. By February I'll be booking my WCWS hotel. By April I'll be questioning every coaching decision. By May I'll be convinced we're winning it all again. The annual Texas fan migration pattern remains undefeated. 😂

As long as Kevan is on the mound come playoff time, I'll take our chances against anyone (in history for that matter). On top of that, we have 2 potential play of the year candidates in our lineup that's already stacked with speed and power.  OU and Tech are good too but this lineup is better. 

[LonghornFan4Ever]

5 minutes ago, ChanmanV said:

As long as Kevan is on the mound come playoff time, I'll take our chances against anyone (in history for that matter). On top of that, we have 2 potential play of the year candidates in our lineup that's already stacked with speed and power.  OU and Tech are good too but this lineup is better. 

So if Texas ends up playing Oklahoma in the National Championship Series, you think Texas could take two out of three games despite losing to them in 2022 and 2024?

[Califashorn75]

As long as we have Katie Stewart bringing in runs, I am happy. 

[Buck Travis]

1 hour ago, LonghornFan4Ever said:

So if Texas ends up playing Oklahoma in the National Championship Series, you think Texas could take two out of three games despite losing to them in 2022 and 2024?

I think Texas is over the OU mental barrier. I've been at the last 3 NC series. We wilted on the field under the crowd pressure in 2024. Probably 10k ou fans to our 1k. Completely different body language in the last two seasons. 

[GQ03]

2 hours ago, Buck Travis said:

I think Texas is over the OU mental barrier. I've been at the last 3 NC series. We wilted on the field under the crowd pressure in 2024. Probably 10k ou fans to our 1k. Completely different body language in the last two seasons. 

I still have my doubts. Even in our championship season OU still came to Austin and took 2 of 3 and nearly swept us. It still feels like OU is the last mountain this program has yet to fully scale. We're sort of like Georgia football who had won back to back titles but still hadn't gotten over the Alabama hump.

[Beldar]

16 hours ago, WRNC said:

The Texas Longhorns softball team sits in Tier 4 nationally (not top25) , with a total estimated active-roster NIL market valuation of $600,000. 

https://thesideline.co/nil-school/texas

 

Top 25 Softball NIL

 

Oklahoma (Est. $4.8M)

Texas Tech (Est. $3.8M)

Florida (Est. $1.2M)

Arizona (Est. $1.1M)

Tennessee (Est. $1.1M)

Kentucky (Est. $1.1M)

Auburn (Est. $1.1M)

Louisville (Est. $1.1M)

North Carolina / Oklahoma State / Iowa State (Est. $975K each)

Ole Miss / Georgia / Clemson (Est. $950K each)

NC State / Boston College (Est. $900K each)

Missouri / Arizona State (Est. $850K each)

Mississippi State / Florida State (Est. $825K each)

Arkansas (Est. $800K each) 

Virginia Tech / California (Est. $775K each)

Utah (Est. $675K)

https://thesideline.co/nil-tracker/softball

If true, that is amazing. We do need to step it up there. Know this is softball thread but any way to do one of these on baseball? Thought Schloss was hinting we may be behind there also.

 

Edited 32 minutes ago by Beldar