Texas Softball Learns Title Defense Route, Receives A Top Seed in the NCAA Tournament

The Texas Longhorns have learned how the journey back to Oklahoma City will start as they look to defend their national championship.

Texas earned an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament after winning the SEC tournament, taking down the No. 2-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide. The Longhorns had undoubtedly secured a top-eight seed and found themselves in contention for being the top overall seed.

The Longhorns' quest for back-to-back national titles will start as the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, as they will host the Austin Regional. The Longhorns will welcome the
No. 8-seeded Wisconsin Badgers, Baylor Bears, and the Wagner Seahawks, to Red and Charline McCombs Field.

The Longhorns Will Chase Another Deep Postseason Run

Texas will get back to its home field with its No. 2 seed and first SEC title in program history in hand heading into the postseason. The Longhorns will get the first round of the NCAA Tournament started, holding a 42-10 overall record after battling through a grueling regular season and conference tournament.

"Being a number two seed is awesome," Mike White said. "Very excited about that and proud of the ability for the ladies to close out the season strong with the regular season and then going into the (SEC) championship."

After securing a top-eight seed, the Longhorns will have the chance to host a Super Regional at Red and Charline McCombs Field if they can take care of business in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The power of the SEC was on full display as the conference earned six of the eight top national seeds. Alabama earned the No. 1 overall seed along with Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, and Tennessee, who earned the right to host a regional.

"There's no doubt (about) the conference and how tough it is," White said. "You see week in and week out, just the quality of softball. I think it's really helped elevate the game of softball, not only just the SEC, but also the other conferences as well."

The Longhorns were dominant throughout the SEC Tournament, outscoring their opponents 18-5 over the course of three games. Texas will look to take the momentum in its first game in the NCAA Tournament, facing off against Wagner on Friday, May 15, at 3:00 p.m. CT.

The Seahawks will head to Austin holding a 22-26 overall record and a 14-10 conference record. The 2026 season was historic for Wagner as it won its first NEC Title in program history after taking the NEC Tournament title.

The other side of the Austin Regional will start earlier in the day as the Badgers and Bears kick off the action on May 15. The two teams will get their action started at 12:30 p.m. CT.

The Badgers will roll to McCombs Field as the toughest opponent the Longhorns might face as a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, holding a 32-19 record. The Badgers came up short in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, falling to the UCLA Bruins.

The last competitor of the Austin Regional will be the Bears, who won't have to travel far for their NCAA Tournament action. Baylor will make the trip from Waco to Austin with a 28-26 overall record.

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