Updated May 9, 2026, 7:27 p.m. ET

The Alabama Crimson Tide will be seeking their first SEC Tournament championship in five years when they take the field at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, Saturday. Standing in their way are last season’s national champion: the Texas Longhorns.

Alabama (49-6) is No. 3 in D1Softball’s top 25 rankings and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll; Texas (41-10) is No. 6 in the same rankings.

The Crimson Tide defeated the Florida Gators in a 9-1 run-rule victory in Friday’s semifinal game. Ambrey Taylor had three hits, including the walk-off single in the bottom of the fifth inning. The freshman third baseman also hit her 11th home run of 2026, a towering shot off the scoreboard in left for the game’s first run in the second inning.

After scoring nine runs over its final five games of the regular season, Alabama has outscored opponents, 16-2, through the first two games of the SEC Tournament.

Texas also had a walk-off win in its semifinal game, but it was a bit different than Alabama’s. The Longhorns gave up four runs in the fifth inning Friday against the Georgia Bulldogs and trailed 4-3 entering the sixth inning. Texas tied the game on Hannah Wells’ single in the sixth. Vivi Martinez ended the game with a two-out single up the middle to give the Longhorns a thrilling 5-4 win and a date with the Crimson Tide.

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Alabama and Texas met during the regular season back at the beginning of April. The Tide took two of three from the Longhorns at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Texas was ranked No. 1 in the nation entering that series.

Coach Patrick Murphy and the Tide are seeking their seventh outright SEC Tournament championship in program history, and Alabama is making its 10th overall appearance in the championship game of the tournament.

The Crimson Tide are the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will be the designated home team. Texas is the No. 4 seed. Jocelyn Briski is in the circle for Alabama against Texas’ Teagan Kavan in a battle of aces.

Follow along for live updates from Alabama-Texas in the 2026 SEC Tournament championship game on Saturday from Lexington.

Stream Alabama vs. Texas Alabama falls to Texas in championship game of SEC Softball Tournament

Kavan finished off a complete-game masterpiece with 108 pitches. She allowed just three hits against an Alabama lineup that had totaled 21 hits in its first two games at the SEC Tournament.

Kavan finished with 12 strikeouts in seven innings. Texas wins it, 7-1, and is your 2026 SEC Tournament champion.

Freshman Kaitlyn Pallozzi tosses scoreless inning for Alabama softball

Pallozzi yielded back-to-back singles with two out but escaped without giving up any damage. All the same, Alabama is down to its last three outs against Texas.

Audrey Vandagriff, Ambrey Taylor and Salen Hawkins are due up for the Tide as Kavan looks to finish off a complete game victory.

Teagan Kavan strikes out 10th batter in 1-2-3 sixth inning

Kavan picked up her 10th strikeout when she retired Alexis Pupillo to open the bottom of the sixth. Ana Roman flied to left, and Alisa Sneed made a running catch in left on a hard-hit fly ball from Marlie Giles for a 1-2-3 inning.

Texas leads, 7-1, and is three outs away from an SEC Tournament championship.

Texas softball plates another run in sixth inning of SEC Tournament championship

Reese Atwood drove in the Longhorns’ seventh run of the afternoon with an RBI sac fly to deep left. Hannah Wells flied out to center for the third out.

Texas now leads it, 7-1. Alabama wil look to get something going off Teagan Kavan in the sixth with Alexis Puplilo, Ana Roman and Marlie Giles due up for the Tide.

Texas slugger Katie Stewart hits monstrous home run, Longhorns extend lead over Alabama softball

That home run felt inevitable. Stewart crushed her 25th homer of the season over the scoreboard in left to extend Texas’ lead to 6-1 in the sixth inning.

Texas is still threatening with runners at the corners and one after. Moten just departed after taking a hard-hit line drive to the stomach. Moten was in some obvious pain as Patrick Murphy and the trainers came out to check on her. Hopefully Moten will be OK and just got the wind knocked out of her a bit.

She leaves after 2 1/3 innings. Kaitlyn Pallozzi (8-0, 1.62 ERA) takes over in the circle for Alabama.

Texas carries four-run lead over Alabama into sixth inning of SEC Softball Tournament championship

Nothing doing for Alabama in the fifth.

Kristen White used her speed to leg out an infield single to shortstop with one down. Teagan Kavan fell behind 3-1 on Jena Young before getting Alabama’s leadoff hitter to swing at a rise ball for the second out. Brooke Wells grounded into a force at second to end the inning.

Texas holds a 5-1 lead over Alabama after five innings. Kavan has thrown 86 pitches and surrendered three hits.

Alabama’s Vic Moten makes quick work of Texas in fifth inning

Alabama pitching gets its first 1-2-3 inning of the afternoon as Vic Moten needed 10 pitches to retire Alisa Sneed, Jaycie Nichols and Ashton Maloney in order.

Can Alabama build on some momentum from the fourth and cut into this Texas lead? Longhorns are up 5-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth. Salen Hawkins, Kristen White and Jena Young are due up for Alabama against Texas’ Teagan Kavan.

Texas escapes bases-loaded jam as Alabama can’t find a clutch hit

So much for cutting into the Longhorns’ lead there. After loading the bases with one out, Teagan Kavan struck out Audrey Vandagriff for a big second out. Ambrey Taylor went down swinging to leave the bases loaded.

Alabama drove Kavan’s pitch count up a bit that inning. The Texas starter is at 72 pitches after four innings, but the Horns still lead the Tide, 5-1, headed to the fifth.

Alabama softball threatening in fourth inning vs Texas?

Alabama is starting to make more consistent contact. The Tide caught a break when Brooke Wells reached on a fielding error at first to open the fourth inning. Alexis Pupillo then grounded back to the mound to move pinch runner Kinley Pate to second.

Another ball that took a strange bounce, this time off Jaycie Nichols at third, allowed Ana Roman to reach on a single as Pate moved to third with one down. Marlie Giles drew a walk to load the bases.

Audrey Vandagriff is up with the bases loaded and one down in the fourth against Teagan Kavan.

SEC Softball Tournament championship: Texas on verge of breaking it open against Alabama

Walks, hit batters, wild pitches, errors, dropped third strikes. They all plagued Alabama in that fourth inning.

Ashton Maloney used a high hop at second base for a single with one out. With two down, a wild pitch from Moten allowed Maloney to reach second. That proved costly as Moten took Katie Stewart to a full count before the Texas slugger lined a single into left for a 3-1 Longhorns lead. Stewart took second on the throw in.

Martinez drew a four-pitch walk, and Moten hit Leighann Goode with a pitch to load the bases for her third free pass of the inning.

Alabama looked to be out of the inning without further damage, but Audrey Vandagriff appeared to lose a fly ball in the sun. Two runs cross the plate to make it 5-1.

Texas scores three runs on only two hits in the fourth as eight batters came to the plate. Moten threw 39 pitches in the fourth inning. She struck out Hannah Wells for the third out.

Still some chances for Alabama to get back into the game with the heart of the order due up, but with Teagan Kavan dealing, the SEC Tournament championship trophy looks headed to Austin midway through this one.

Jocelyn Briski out after three innings as Alabama makes pitching change

After three shaky innings from Briski in the circle, Vic Moten takes over for Alabama in the fourth. Briski allowed two runs and six hits. Moten is scheduled to face the 9-1-2 spots in the order for Texas: Jaycie Nichols (1-for-2), Ashton Maloney (0-0) and Kayden Henry (0-2).

Texas starter Teagan Kavan mowing down Alabama bats early

Kavan is dealing. She froze Salen Hawkins for a strikeout to open the bottom of the third before doing the same to Kristen White on a drop ball at the knees. Jena Young flied out to center for the third out.

Kavan, the Most Outstanding Player in last year’s Women’s College World Series, has struck out six of the first 10 batters she’s faced and has thrown back-to-back 1-2-3 innings. She’s given up one hit, the home run to Alexis Pupillo.

Texas leads Alabama, 2-1, headed to the fourth inning.

Alabama, Jocelyn Briski escape jam vs Texas in third inning

Texas strands two in the third after picking up two more hits.

Leighann Goode singled to right with one down, and Reese Atwood fought back from a 1-2 pitch for a single up the middle. After a lengthy at bat, Hannah Wells popped up in foul territory to Ambrey Taylor. Briski then struck out Alisa Sneed for the third out.

That was a 23-pitch inning for Briski, who doesn’t look comfortable at all in the circle today. She’s already thrown 70 pitches through three innings. Texas has had traffic on the bases in every inning. Salen Hawkins, Kristen White and Jena Young are due up for Alabama in the third.

Texas softball leads Alabama after two innings in SEC Tournament championship

Marlie Giles struck out swinging on four pitches to open the inning. Audrey Vandagriff, who was 4-for-7 in the tournament entering the day, just missed a double down the left field line before striking out on a rise ball up over the shoulders. Ambrey Taylor grounded to short as Teagan Kavan finished off a 1-2-3 inning.

Vivi Martinez, Leighann Goode and Reese Atwood are due up for Texas in the third. Longhorns lead Alabama, 2-1.

Texas takes the lead on Alabama softball in second inning

Texas loaded the bases after freshman Jaycie Nichols reached on an infield single to second base with one out. Longhorns coach Mike White used pinch hitter Victoria Hunter to try to capitalize. She reached on a second straight infield single to Jena Young at second as pinch runner Taylor Anderson scored the tying run.

Ambrey Taylor made a terrific stretch at third to field a force out, but Alisa Sneed scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice for a 2-1 Texas lead. Katie Stewart popped up to second base for a big third out.

Texas scores two runs on three hits. That was a 32-pitch inning for Briski in the second. Marlie Giles, Audrey Vandagriff and Taylor are due up for Alabama in the second.

Alabama softball takes early lead on Texas in SEC championship with massive home run

With two down, Alexis Pupillo got a pitch up in the zone and crushed it far out to right for a 1-0 Alabama lead. That’s Pupillo’s 17th home run of the season and her second in three days at the SEC Tournament.

Teagan Kavan threw 19 pitches in the first inning for Texas. Reese Atwood, Hannah Wells and Alisa Sneed are due up in the second inning for the Longhorns.

Take a look at Pupillo’s no-doubt blast.

Texas strands a runner in scoring position in first inning vs Alabama

Katie Stewart won the first battle between SEC Player of the Year and SEC Pitcher of the Year. Stewart hit a sharp single to right off Jocelyn Briski with one out in the first. Stewart advanced to second on a groundout by Vivi Martinez, but Leighann Goode popped up in foul territory to Salen Hawkins for the third out.

Briski retired Kayden Henry on a first-pitch pop up to open the inning, which allowed her to throw 15 pitches in the first. Jena Young, Brooke Wells and Alexis Pupillo are due up for Alabama against Texas starter Teagan Kavan.

Will the Tide keep the bats hot for the third straight day in Lexington?

Alabama vs Texas underway in SEC Softball Tournament championship

Kayden Henry, Katie Stewart and Vivi Martinez are due up for Texas against Alabama ace Jocelyn Briski in the first inning. Stewart was named SEC Player of the Year on Friday, while Briski took home SEC Pitcher of the Year honors. Patrick Murphy earned SEC Coach of the Year honors.

The Crimson Tide take the field in their home white jerseys and pants with Crimson pinstripes. Texas is wearing its Burnt Orange jerseys over matching pants.

Umpires for Alabama-Texas SEC Softball title game clash

Chris Nabors is back behind the dish to call the balls and strikes today at John Cropp Stadium. Steve Gould is the third base umpire with Marty Abezetian down at second base. Cam Ellison will be making the decisions at first base.

First pitch for Alabama-Texas is less than 10 minutes away.

Alabama, Texas unveil uniform combinations for SEC Softball Tournament title game

For Alabama:

For Texas:

Texas Longhorns announce starting lineup vs Alabama softball in SEC Tournament championship

In the circle for the Longhorns today is Teagan Kavan (20-4, 2.72 ERA). Last year’s WCWS Most Outstanding Player, Kavan is making her 27th start of the season, and her third against Alabama.

Kavan held the Crimson Tide to one run on five hits in the opener of the regular-season series back on April 2 in Tuscaloosa. Two days later, she suffered the loss after Alabama tagged her for seven runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings.

In the Longhorns’ win over Georgia on Friday, Kavan allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings. All four Georgia runs came in the fifth inning.

Here’s the 1-9 lineup for coach Mike White’s team.

CF21 Kayden HenryL.4101B20 Katie StewartR.429SS23 Viviana MartinezL.3812B43 Leighann GoodeR.375C14 Reese AtwoodR.351DP13 Hannah WellsR.302LF9 Alisa SneedR.2683B24 Jaycie NicholsR.330RF7 Ashton MaloneyL.289 Jocelyn Briski’s worst start of 2026 came against Texas

Alabama’s ace has been nothing short of magnificent in the circle this year. Her 1.38 ERA ranks second best nationally. Briski’s only real blemish in SEC play came against Texas back on April 2 in the opener of a three-game series in Tuscaloosa. She allowed five runs on six hits in three innings, marking only her second loss of 2026.

Across all three games of the series, Briski surrendered seven runs on 14 hits over 7 2/3 innings.

Alabama softball starting lineup vs Texas announced

Murph is going with the same lineup and batting order for the third straight day at the SEC Tournament. That’s hardly a surprise. Alabama produced a combined 16 runs on 21 hits in its two games against Arkansas and Florida.

Jocelyn Briski (21-2, 1.38) is in the circle for the Crimson Tide and is seeking her 22nd win. She went the distance in Thursday’s 8-1 victory over Arkansas, surrendering one unearned run on three hits. Briski struck out seven and walked two.

2B4 Jena YoungL.3311B15 Brooke WellsR.412DP31 Alexis PupilloL.404RF21 Ana RomanL.326C34 Marlie GilesR.388LF12 Audrey VandagriffL.3143B36 Ambrey TaylorR.340SS47 Salen HawkinsR.292CF3 Kristen WhiteL.328 Alabama vs Texas softball game weather forecast today

Surely there won’t be any “co-champions” in the SEC Softball Tournament this year. Today’s forecast for Lexington, according to the National Weather Service in Louisville:

“Sunny, with a high near 75. West wind around 7 mph.”

It’s currently sunny and 71 degrees in Lexington with first pitch roughly 90 minutes away. No chance of rain in the forecast either Saturday afternoon or evening, per the National Weather Service.

Where to watch Alabama vs Texas softball today: TV channel, streaming for SEC Tournament championship gameTV Channel: ESPNLivestream: Fubo, ESPN+

Alabama-Texas will broadcast nationally on ESPN in Week 14 of the 2026 NCAA softball season. Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza will call the action from the broadcast booth at John Cropp Stadium. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+ and FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Alabama vs Texas softball start time todayDate: Saturday, May 9Start time: 4 p.m. CTStream Alabama vs. Texas

The Alabama-Texas game starts at 4 p.m. CT Saturday from John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

SEC Softball Tournament 2026: full bracket, final scoresFirst-round games, Tuesday, May 5Game 1: Auburn 6, Missouri 2Game 2: Mississippi State 4, Kentucky 3Game 3: Ole Miss 2, South Carolina 0Second-round games, Wednesday, May 6Game 4: Auburn 11, Texas A&M 8Game 5: Arkansas 3, Mississippi State 0Game 6: Ole Miss 4, Tennessee 1Game 7: Georgia 7, LSU 3Quarterfinals, Thursday, May 7Game 8: Florida 10, Auburn 9Game 9: Alabama 7, Arkansas 1Game 10: Texas 6, Ole Miss 0Game 11: Georgia 10, Oklahoma 5Semifinals, Friday, May 8Game 12: Alabama 9, Florida 1Game 13: Texas 5, Georgia 4SEC Championship Game, Saturday, May 9Game 14: Alabama vs. Texas, 4 p.m., ESPN

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