Texas softball begins defense of its national championship this weekend at the Austin Regional. But before the NCAA Tournament’s second overall seed can ponder a third straight trip to the Women’s College World Series, the Longhorns have to think about tiny Wagner College, an NCAA Tournament debutante which serves as the opening test Friday at approximately 3 p.m. at McCombs Field.
And the fourth-seeded team in the region is a squad that Texas coach Mike White admittedly hasn’t ever thought about.
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Friday’s games — (1) Baylor vs. Wisconsin, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+); (2) Texas vs. Wagner 3 p.m. (ESPN+, 1300 AM)
Saturday’s games — (3) Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, noon; (4) Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2:30 p.m.; (5) Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 5 p.m.
Sunday’s games — (6) Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, noon; (7) Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (if needed)
“Obviously, I don’t know anything about Wagner, and that’s going to be our first job is to take a look at Wagner,” White said after Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show. “Did you have a losing record? I know that, but that can be deceiving sometimes.”
The rest of the region includes No. 2 Wisconsin from the Big Ten and No. 3 Baylor, a former Big 12 rival of the Longhorns.
“We can’t look past anybody,” White said. “There’s always a target on the Texas back and being a national champion, absolutely, they’re going to want to knock us off and take us down. And that comes with the territory. And we take that as a privilege.”
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Here’s a look at the three teams visiting McCombs Field this weekend as part of the Austin Regional, which is hosted by the SEC champion Texas Longhorns.
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The sun sets behind McCombs field in the fourth inning as the Texas Longhorns take on the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, April 22, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Wisconsin softball: Badgers home to continue Big Ten momentum
Wisconsin (32-19), a No. 8 seed in the NCAA’s tweaked softball format and the Austin Regional’s No. 2 seed, returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022 after knocking off ranked Oregon and reaching the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Veteran coach Yvette Healy, who’s in her 16th season at Wisconsin, has guided the Badgers to 10 NCAA appearances.
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As a team, the Badgers don’t boast much star power. No player picked up first- or second-team All-Big Ten honors nor did the team have a player on the conference’s all-freshman squad. The pitching staff ranked just 14th in the 17-team Big Ten with a 5.18 ERA. Senior Shelby Jacobson (14-9, 4.32, 108 strikeouts and 88 walks in 146 innings) and freshman Berritt Herr (11-5, 5.15 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 32 walks in 89⅔ innings) carry the load for the staff.
Wisconsin ranks in the bottom half of the Big Ten in runs (298) but does hit .310 as a team. The Badgers do boast a little power, though; Hilary Blomberg (.361 average, 15 home runs, 50 RBIs) tied a single-season program record for home runs, and freshman Jaclyn Showalter (.301, 13 HRs, 31 RBIs) set a single-season freshman record in homers.
MORE: How ‘Smash Sisters’ Reese Atwood, Katie Stewart super-charge Texas softball
Baylor softball: Limping Bears survived rugged schedule
The Bears (28-26) went just 10-14 in Big 12 play and have lost six of their past seven games, but longtime coach Glenn Moore hopes a rugged schedule has steeled his third-seeded squad for the postseason. Baylor has the No. 41 RPI while playing the nation’s 10th-toughest schedule and faced 21 ranked opponents during the regular season.
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Baylor pitching ranked fifth in the 11-team Big 12 in both team ERA (4.45) and opponent’s batting average (.280). Former Georgetown High School star Cambree Creager (9-10, 4.14 ERA, 63 strikeouts and 60 walks in 113⅓ innings) is in her first season in Waco after transferring from Arizona State. She threw a jaw-dropping 250 pitches April 2 in a 15-inning loss to Houston. However, she hasn’t thrown since leaving an April 24 game early, and her status remains in doubt for this weekend. Tennessee transfer Peyton Tanner (9-10, 4.33 ERA, 880 strikeouts and 90 walks in 119⅔ innings) will see heavy action if Creager isn’t available.
All-Big 12 defensive selection Brooklyn Carter, a center fielder, shines at the top of the lineup with .323 average and 24 stolen bases. All-Big 12 freshman honoree Kaygen Marshall finished with a team-high 10 home runs, and Amber Toven leads the Bears with a .351 average and a team-high 47 RBIs. But the Bears struggle at the plate; they ranked last in the Big 12 with a .275 batting average and an on-base percentage of .361. When they do get on the bags, they like to run with 74 stolen bases on 95 attempts, both second in the Big 12.
Wagner softball: Upstart NEC champs seek major upsets
Wagner (22-26) will make its NCAA Tournament debut after upsetting Central Connecticut 5-4 in the championship game of the Northeast Conference. The private school with about 2,000 students, located in the New York City borough of Staten Island, had never before won the NEC conference title.
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The Seahawks don’t have much offensive punch but do boast a solid one-two pitching tandem. Freshman Samantha Lotus and sophomore Karson Zavala, part of Wagner’s recruiting pipeline to the softball hotbed of San Bernadino County in Southern California, ranked first and third, respectively, in ERA in the NEC. Zavala (11-7, 3.37 ERA, 118 Ks and 41 walks in 106 innings) earned the league’s pitcher of the year award while Lotus (10-11, 3.18 ERA, 81 Ks and 32 walks in 140.2 innings) emerged as the staff workhorse.
The offense only hit seven home runs all season and ranked fifth in the NEC in batting with a team average of .274 and sixth in runs in the nine-team conference with 195. The lineup leans heavily on the infield tandem of Sydnie Trujillo and Leilani Gonzalez, two more players from San Bernadino County. Trujillo hit .400 for the season and earned NEC Tournament MVP honors after collecting seven hits, seven RBIs, three doubles and a home run in just 10 at-bats. Gonzalez, the only first-team all-conference selection for the Seahawks, hit .317 and boasts a .977 fielding percentage.
Austin Regional schedule at McCombs Field
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12:30 p.m. – Game 1: Baylor vs. Wisconsin (ESPN+)
3 p.m. – Game 2: Texas vs. Wagner (ESPN+)
12 p.m. – Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
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2:30 p.m. – Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
5 p.m. – Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3
12 p.m. – Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
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Game 7: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 (if necessary)
Note that game times are subject to change due to game length and a mandatory 35-minute break between each game.