The 2025 college softball season has been rolling for over two months, and we’ve seen plenty of expected (the SEC is otherworldly) and unexpected plot lines (Oklahoma is vulnerable? Oregon is a contender?) thus far.
If you’re a one-season-at-a-time person, however, then with college hoops wrapping up last week, you might only now be dipping your toe into the diamond sports waters. We’re about four weeks from selections for the NCAA tournament and six weeks from the Women’s College World Series. If you haven’t already, now is as good a time to throw yourself into the 2025 softball season. So here are five primary plot lines to help you on your quest:
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OU-Texas rematch? | Serious contenders
Surprises | Mid-major spoilers
Best pitchers
1. Are we going to end up with another Oklahoma-Texas finale?
Quite possibly! But it’s not a given.
It was easy to approach the 2025 season as a long run-up to another Red River finale. Oklahoma and Texas have met in two of the past three WCWS finals, and Mike White’s entire Texas tenure has basically been defined by A. rampant success and B. losing to the Sooners. He’s 3-19 against Patty Gasso’s four-time defending national champions (a 0.136 win percentage) and 258-64-2 against everyone else (0.799).
The Longhorns and Sooners were ranked first and second, respectively, in last week’s top 25 ranking, having started the season a combined 73-6. But they went 2-4 this past weekend, and neither are first in the SEC right now: That honor currently belongs to Texas A&M (11-3 in conference play). Oklahoma and Texas have dropped series to Tennessee — more specifically, Tennessee pitcher Karlyn Pickens (3-0 with a 1.69 ERA versus the Longhorns and Sooners) — in the past few weeks, and the Sooners lost two of three to Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
There’s nothing really wrong with either team here. In terms of pitching and hitting, they’ve been among the SEC’s best — but not the best since it’s pretty hard to stand out in this conference.
Here’s where each SEC team stood regarding OPS created and allowed in conference play through Sunday. (OPS = on-base percentage plus slugging percentage, a common way of looking at an offense’s efficiency and explosiveness.)
It doesn’t include Alabama’s Monday evening win over Oklahoma.
Even before scoring only one run in eight innings Monday, Oklahoma ranked just sixth in the league in OPS — fourth in slugging percentage (and first in home run rate) but 10th in on-base percentage. It has been rather all or nothing, scoring at least six runs in six SEC games but also scoring two or fewer five times. Meanwhile, the Sooners’ overall pitching stats are solid, but they’re evidently not meant for pitchers’ duels: They’ve scored under four runs seven times this season, and they’re 2-5 in those games.
Even for a team with OU’s power, sometimes you have to win battles of attrition. The Sooners did, after all, win a 1-0 decision over UCLA in last year’s WCWS, and they had to win two epic pitchers’ duels against NiJaree Canady and Stanford in 2023. They aren’t doing that this season, at least not yet.
Texas, meanwhile, is fourth in the league in OPS and first in OPS allowed. Veteran catcher Reese Atwood still commands a scary offense, and Teagan Kavan headlines a deep pitching staff. The Horns averaged over seven runs in SEC play before this past weekend’s visit from Pickens and the Vols, but they scored just five runs in three games. We’ll see if that was a red flag or just a bad weekend, but after hosting LSU this coming weekend, they’ll visit Norman for what once seemed like the biggest series of the season. Now it’s just another week in a loaded SEC.
2. Who else is in serious contention?
The SEC boasts eight of the top 11 teams (and 13 of the top 23) in the RPI rankings. More specifically, it boasts some other serious title contenders. Here are three:
Texas A&M (37-5, 15-5 vs. RPI top 25): The Aggies are first overall in RPI, and since dropping two of three to Florida in early March, they’ve won 16 of 17, including a three-game sweep of then-No. 6 LSU this past weekend. They don’t boast quite as much firepower as a lot of other contenders (they’re 73rd in home run rate), but they always have baserunners in scoring position. The Aggies are ranked sixth nationally in on-base percentage — Mya Perez and Amari Harper are getting on base over 55% of the time — and they scored 25 runs on LSU in three games with just two homers.
Florida (37-9, 10-8 vs. RPI top 25): The Gators took Oklahoma to the brink in last season’s WCWS, and they have the pop that A&M doesn’t: They’re ranked seventh nationally in home run rate and 11th in runs per game. Five players have hit double-digit home runs, led by second baseman Mia Williams, who hit three in a series win over then-No. 19 Ole Miss this past weekend. Their pitching isn’t as stable as A&M’s — they allowed 42 runs in six SEC losses — but they can smash a softball.
Tennessee (34-9, 10-8 vs. RPI top 25): Tennessee’s offense lacks compared to most contenders. But if you can take four of six games against OU and Texas, allowing just 14 total runs in the process, you can beat anyone at any time. Karlyn Pickens is 17-4 with a 0.94 ERA — it won’t take too much offense from Taylor Pannell (13 HRs, 49 RBIs) and company to take the Vols a long way in Oklahoma City.
2:14
Pickens breaks down two days of brilliance for Lady Vols
After firing a complete game for the second day in a row and striking out 10 in No. 5 Tennessee’s 4-1 win over No. 1 Texas, Karlyn Pickens says all her pitches were working.
Florida State (40-6, 9-6 vs. RPI top 25): After a solid nonconference run, the Seminoles are 14-1 in the ACC and, this past weekend, outscored California — a team ranked in the preseason — by a combined 35-7 in a three-game sweep. The Seminoles are in the nation’s top 15 in basically everything: runs per game (eighth), runs allowed (10th), on-base percentage for (13th) and against (ninth), etc. And they beat Florida 4-0 in early April, too.
UCLA (40-5, 6-4 vs. RPI top 25): Along with fellow newcomer Oregon, Kelly Inouye-Perez’s Bruins are the class of their new conference, having gone 12-1 to start Big Ten life. While their nonconference schedule wasn’t quite as packed as others, they’re still sixth nationally in OPS and fourth in OPS allowed. Megan Grant has hit five home runs in her past four games (she has 22 overall), Jordan Woolery has produced a 1.397 OPS with more homers (nine) than strikeouts (five), and the Bruins can throw three unique potential aces at you.
Oregon (38-4, 3-0 vs. RPI top 25): Oregon’s schedule hasn’t given the Ducks that many marquee opportunities (their RPI ranks only 20th overall), but they have beaten all three RPI top 25 teams they have faced (Tennessee once, FSU twice), and they have a big-time offense (fourth in runs per game) to pair with the dominance of pitcher Lyndsey Grein. They will host UCLA in this weekend’s most telling series.
Arizona (36-7, 6-2 vs. RPI top 25): The Wildcats split extra-inning affairs with Texas (loss) and UCLA (win) in nonconference play, and since an 0-2 start in the Big 12, they’re 13-3. They swept Kansas by a combined 28-4 last weekend. We’ll see if the pitching holds up, but they’re fifth nationally in on-base percentage, and half of their batting lineup has an OPS of at least 1.181, led by Sydney Stewart’s 1.320.
South Carolina (32-10, 15-9 vs. RPI top 25), LSU (35-8, 8-7), Mississippi State (33-11, 8-6) and Arkansas (31-9, 7-9) are also well-positioned to make big runs from the SEC. Virginia Tech (36-5, 6-4), Duke (30-13, 5-9) and Texas Tech (34-9, 4-7) are other potential non-SEC contenders.
3. Who are the happiest surprises thus far?
Of the nine primary contenders I mentioned above, six were in the top seven in the preseason rankings, and only Arizona (17th) and Oregon (23rd) ranked worse than 12th. Outside of the Wildcats and Ducks, here are three more teams that have exceeded expectations thus far. All were unranked in the preseason.
Clemson (35-11, 5-6 vs. RPI top 25): The Tigers were voted seventh in the preseason ACC poll, but they’re currently third in the standings and 31-5 since a 3-6 start. They’ve given up 36 home runs (253rd nationally), but they’ve hit 65 of their own (tied for 12th) — 25 from the combination of Julia Knowler and Maddie Moore. Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over South Carolina offered pretty solid proof of concept.
South Carolina (32-11, 15-10 vs. RPI top 25): The Gamecocks have been SEC also-rans for quite a while, but in Ashley Chastain’s first season in charge, they’ve been strong. They swept Duke in early March, and of their eight SEC losses, five have been by just one run, including Sunday’s 5-4 loss at Arkansas and all three defeats in a narrow sweep at Oklahoma.
Florida Atlantic (35-9, 2-0 vs. RPI top 25): Currently the highest-ranked mid-major, per RPI, the Owls beat Ole Miss and Clemson in the opening week of the season. While the pitching has faltered in a recent rough patch — they’re just 3-4 in their past seven games — ace Autumn Courtney (18-2, 1.92 ERA) has still been mostly awesome. Their hitters make constant contact, and five of nine regulars are batting at least .331.
4. FAU aside, who are the most likely mid-major spoilers?
It hasn’t been a very friendly year for the mid-majors of the world in many sports, with the SEC and Big Ten further consolidating their money advantages and power conference teams occupying all 32 spots in the recent Sweet 16s in men’s and women’s basketball.
No mid-majors reached last year’s super regionals either, but 10 still reached regional finals — among others, Southeastern Louisiana eliminated Clemson and Grand Canyon eliminated Virginia Tech — and plenty have some star power to offer in the coming weeks. FAU and its active bats were mentioned above; here are five more potential Cinderellas to watch when the postseason rolls around.
Liberty (36-9 overall, 2-5 vs. RPI top 20, 29th in RPI). The Flames are proven entities, having made two straight regional finals and beating Georgia, UCLA and Tennessee over the past four NCAA tournaments. They scored a 7-6 win over Alabama early in the season and knocked off Virginia (25th in RPI) last week, and they have a decent ace in Elena Escobar (16-3, 2.23 ERA).
ELENA. ESCOBAR. pic.twitter.com/qdPnNP9qaM
— Liberty Softball (@LibertySB) April 5, 2025
Grand Canyon (34-6 overall, 0-3 vs. RPI top 20, 35th in RPI). The Lopes have beaten Virginia Tech and UCLA in the past two NCAA tournaments. They’re 34-3 against teams outside the RPI top 25, and they nearly earned big upsets early in the season, falling 6-4 to Florida and in extra innings against Arizona. They’re third nationally in ERA, with the duo of Taryn Batterton and Meghan Golden going a combined 25-1 with a combined 1.35 ERA. Batterton shut out Arizona State on Tuesday night.
Coastal Carolina (32-12 overall, 1-0 vs. RPI top 20, 41st in RPI). The Chanticleers beat South Carolina in March and are 6-2 against power conference opponents. They can outslug just almost anyone: They’re 13th nationally in home run rate, led by Delaney Keith’s 17 dingers. After a bumpy recent run — they went 6-8 from March 15 to April 8 — they swept lowly Georgia State to potentially get back on track.
Belmont (30-11, 0-1 vs. RPI top 20, 57th in RPI) and Marist (30-6, 0-0 vs. RPI top 20, 101st in RPI). I’m mentioning these two teams because of pitching. In Maya Johnson (17-3, 1.07 ERA), Belmont has the best strikeout pitcher in the country (261 Ks in 144⅓ innings, including 12 in an early-season win over Arizona State). And in Kiley Myers (15-1, 0.71 ERA), Marist has the nation’s ERA leader. She’s given up only two homers all year, none since Feb. 22.
5. Anyone pitching better than NiJaree Canady?
Maybe the biggest story of the offseason was Stanford’s NiJaree Canady not only transferring to Texas Tech but doing so with a seven-figure NIL deal. Canady was otherworldly with the Cardinal, going 41-10 with a 0.67 ERA over two seasons. You won’t be surprised, then, to learn that she’s been incredible in Lubbock, too: 17-4 with a 0.72 ERA. And somehow those numbers almost understate her dominance — of her 127 innings pitched, 113⅓ have come against power conference opponents, and 40 came against Texas, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State. Her ERA against those five contenders is 1.05.
That she’s second in the nation in overall ERA, behind Marist’s Myers (0.71), despite this strength of schedule speaks volumes. (She’s also batting .316 with a 1.151 OPS and six home runs in 57 at-bats.)
Tech’s offense has been a bit of an issue — the Red Raiders are 39th in runs per game (6.3) and 45th in OPS (0.900) and were held to a total of five runs in six losses to South Carolina (twice), Texas (twice), OSU and MSU. But they’re 14-1 in Big 12 play, and anytime Canady is on the mound, Tech has a chance. “Pitcher” might only be second to “quarterback” among the single most important positions in a team sport, and Tech has the best one.
If Tech’s bats can’t hold up its end of the bargain, there are plenty of other pitchers, with potentially stronger supporting casts, who could become dominant forces in the WCWS in a few more weeks.
Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee. She struck out 13 in 7⅓ innings in a 1-0 loss to Oregon. She shut out Duke in a 1-0 win. And since giving up six runs (three earned) to Arkansas on March 22, she’s made seven appearances — all against either Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi State or Arkansas — and has gone 6-0, allowing five earned runs and one home run with 38 strikeouts in 35 innings. That’s absurd. Like Canady, Pickens might not end up getting the offensive support she needs in May and June. But she certainly doesn’t need much.
Lyndsey Grein, Oregon. The junior and former Virginia Tech star has been the best transfer west of Lubbock; she’s 22-1 this season with 152 strikeouts in 121 innings, and she outdueled Pickens in February and shut out Florida State in March. If she quiets UCLA’s bats this weekend, that will send quite the message to the rest of the country about what the Ducks are capable of this spring.
Kenzie Brown, Arizona State. ASU is a solid but unspectacular 31-14 overall and 35th in RPI. But the Sun Devils are 21-6 when Brown pitches (and 10-8 when she doesn’t). She’s 18-4 with a 1.18 ERA and a strikeout rate of 41.9%, better than Canady’s 41.4% and behind only that of Belmont’s Johnson (50.5%). In the postseason, when the pitching rotation shrinks and Brown’s share of innings rises, ASU is going to be an awfully tricky out.
Teagan Kavan, Texas. Texas boasts solid pitching depth, with four righties recording at least 40 innings and an overall No. 3 ranking in OPS allowed. But Kavan, a 6-foot sophomore, is the ace. She’s eighth nationally in strikeout rate (34.3%) and 18th in OPS allowed (0.517). Since an up-and-down February, she’s gone 14-2 with a 1.05 ERA. OU will represent the ultimate test for her next week: As a freshman, she allowed eight earned runs and four home runs in six innings against the Sooners.
Sam Landry, Oklahoma. The bespectacled Louisiana transfer is 13-3 with a 1.77 ERA. After falling into a late-March funk — 13 of her 25 earned runs allowed came in a three-game, five-day sample against Wichita State and Tennessee — she’s allowed just four earned runs and 23 baserunners in her past 23⅔ innings, all against teams in the RPI top 30 (Alabama, Oklahoma State and UCF).
Looking specifically at performances against power conference opponents, these five have been as good as just about anyone … and nearly as good as Canady.
Let’s give a quick shoutout to one more pitcher, Nebraska’s Jordy Bahl. She is 14th nationally with a 1.44 ERA (1.86 against power conference opponents) and also batting .392 with a 1.241 OPS and seven home runs in 74 at-bats. In a two-game sweep last weekend against Northwestern, she gave up one run with 11 strikeouts in five innings and went 5-for-7 with two homers and seven RBIs.