In arguably the most prestigious of the college softball polls, Texas softball topped the ESPN/USA Softball preseason rankings for the first time in school history.

But the ranking comes with a caveat: the Longhorns, who won the program’s first national championship last season, are tied with Texas Tech atop the poll ahead of No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Tennessee and No. 5 Oregon. Both Texas and Texas Tech tallied 611 points from the voters, with Texas receiving 14 first-place votes compared to 11 for the Red Raiders.

Nine other SEC teams join Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee in the preseason ESPN/USA Softball poll, including No. 11 Texas A&M.

The Longhorns welcome back six of their nine starters from the team that beat Texas Tech in the three-game championship series at the 2025 Women’s College World Series. That includes ace pitcher Teagan Kavan, who leads a deep UT pitching staff.

Texas Tech, which topped Softball America’s preseason poll, counters with star pitcher NiJaree Canady and a roster bolstered by several high-profile transfer portal additions.

The Longhorns open the season Feb. 6 at the UTSA Invitational against No. 9 Nebraska in San Antonio.

Others receiving votes: Arizona State (27), Virginia (25), Ohio State (23), Grand Canyon (22), Florida Atlantic (19), Auburn (16), UCF (7), BYU (2), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), Northwestern (1)