Wild things can happen in the NCAA Tournament’s regional round. Just ask Florida State. Or Oregon. Or Texas A&M, which got pummeled on its own field at the College Station Regional by Arizona State and failed to advance to this weekend’s Austin Super Regional against rival Texas softball.
All three of those teams entered the NCAA Tournament as one of the top 16 seeds and regional hosts. But all three got knocked out in the rowdy round-robin, double-elimination format of the first round.
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But Longhorns coach Mike White seems to have solved the regional riddle. In his 17 years as a head coach at Oregon and Texas, he has advanced out of regionals and into a super regional in each season. His latest achievement included three wins in three games over Wagner, Wisconsin and Baylor at last weekend’s Austin regional by a combined score of 25-1.
Texas coach Mike White celebrates after a Women’s College World Series semifinal softball game between the Stanford Cardinal and the Texas Longhorns at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Monday, June 3, 2024. Texas won 1-0.
Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman
So, coach, how do your teams always seem to reach the super regionals?
TEXAS VS. ARIZONA STATE
When/where: 8 p.m. Friday at McCombs Field.
TV/radio: ESPN2; 1300 AM.
“It takes a little bit of luck,” said White, a self-deprecating New Zealand native who walks off praise like a foul ball to the shin. “Obviously, it takes a lot of good play by a lot of good players, and I’ve been fortunate to have great players and great coaching staffs. So, it’s a team effort. You can’t just do it by yourself. I’ve just been fortunate to be the one called head coach.”
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MORE: Texas softball: Freshmen Jaycie Nichols, Hannah Wells to play key roles in NCAA Tournament
White may have had more of those good players than the other team over the past few years at Texas, but he doesn’t always possess an edge in talent. In his first two seasons of a nine-year tenure at Oregon, he led the Ducks to upsets over NCAA regional hosts in 2010 and 2011. In his fourth season at Texas in 2022, the Longhorns had to travel to Washington for the regional round and shocked the host Huskies.
It’s White’s ability to keep the focus between the lines for every game that testifies to his all-time NCAA Tournament record of 87-38, Texas centerfielder Kayden Henry said. That record includes a 10-2 mark last season, when White led the Longhorns to both his and the school’s first national title.
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Texas Longhorns catcher Reese Atwod (14) high fives head coach Mike White at third after a home run during the NCAA D1 Softball Tournament Regional against UCF at Red and Charline McCombs Field on Sunday, May 18, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
“I would just say he just kind of keeps us present,” Henry said. “Just understanding (to) take every inning as it is, and understanding the first team to 21 outs is going to be the one that can play it cleanly and will win the game. It’s just taking it inning by inning, pitch by pitch, game by game.”
Slugger Katie Stewart, who has a single-season school record of 27 home runs this season, says White’s approach to the regular season also helps. White regularly schedules a grueling nonconference slate, and the Longhorns play in the most competitive conference in the country that includes nine SEC teams in the final 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
“He’s kind of emphasizing throughout the conference and all our big games that this is like a postseason-feeling type of game,” Stewart said after Texas beat Baylor 7-0 Sunday to advance to the Austin Super Regional. “We’re just relying on that experience from those big games to be able to feel more at ease and calm during these
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Texas Longhorns head coach Mike White disputes a call with officials during the NCAA Softball Championship Regional game against Wisconsin at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Saturday, May 16, 2026 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Austin Super Regional schedule: TV channel, time
Texas vs Arizona State softball Game 1
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: McCombs Field
TV channel: ESPN2
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Texas softball vs Arizona State Game 2
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: McCombs Field
TV channel: ESPN
Texas vs Arizona State Game 3
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When: TBA Saturday
Where: McCombs Field
TV channel: ESPN