What Mike White thinks Texas softball must do to ensure it hosts an NCAA super regional
· Yahoo Sports
When it comes to predicting the NCAA’s postseason, Texas softball coach Mike White becomes downright pragmatic.
Visit mwafrika.life for more information.
He knows the Longhorns (39-10, 16-8 SEC) have dropped to No. 10 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, their lowest ranking of the season. But he also knows Texas remains No. 4 in NCAA’s latest RPI ratings and No. 2 behind fellow SEC school LSU when it comes to strength of schedule.
So, what does Texas need to do in this week’s SEC Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky, to ensure that it plays both the Regional and Super Regional rounds in Austin as one of the NCAA Tournament’s top eight seeds?
“I think that, obviously, we'd want to go as far as we can in this tournament, but I would say we’ve probably got to win a game for sure,” White said. “Hopefully, that first one gives us a more solid chance of being in (the top eight). Looking at our strength of schedule and our RPI, we’re sitting pretty well. We’ve just got to get some wins, so that's a big goal.”
MORE: Texas softball's Katie Stewart, Oklahoma's Kendall Wells part of record-setting NCAA year
Texas Longhorns head coach Mike White talks to an official ahead of the game against Baylor at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Friday, March 20, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)If Texas does get that much-needed win in Lexington, it will all but ensure a top-eight seed. But that’s a big, 6-foot-1-inch if, which happens to be the height of Tennessee star pitcher Karlyn Pickens. The fifth-seeded Vols play No. 13 Ole Miss in an SEC second-round game late Wednesday afternoon. With a win, Tennessee will advance to play the fourth-seeded Longhorns Thursday in a quarterfinal contest.
Pickens, the top pick in the recent AUSL College Draft and a two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year, has only thrown 112 innings this season but remains one of the nation’s most dominant pitchers. She boasts a 1.44 ERA and 154 strikeouts for the season with a career-low opponent’s batting average of .126. If the Vols handle business against Ole Miss, Pickens looks poised to get the start against Texas.
Facing Pickens and her 78-miles-per-hour fastball seems like trouble for a Texas squad that hit just .216 and scored a total of seven runs while losing two of its three games against Arkansas this past weekend. But White said it could also offer an opportunity for his defending national champions.
Beating the No. 5 Vols would not only move Texas into Friday’s semifinals of the SEC Tournament, but it would also give the Longhorns a sixth win over a squad currently ranked in the top 10. And that, in turn, would strengthen the Texas case for a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament, which will reveal its field Sunday.
“Being in the top eight is a big advantage, especially when you can get to that Super Regional with your home crowd,” said White, whose team has won two consecutive Super Regional series in Austin. “That's always important. Our home crowd is great. They’ve been pretty electric here last several years, and that's never more true than a Super Regional.”
SEC softball tournament: How to watch
Who: No. 10 Texas (38-8, 15-6 SEC) vs. No. 5 Tennessee / Ole Miss
What: SEC Tournament quarterfinal
Where: John Cropp Stadium, Lexington, Ky.
When: approximately 4 p.m. Thursday
TV/radio: SEC Network; texaslonghorns.com