The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Missouri
No. 6/9 Softball preview: NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic
02.09.2023 | Softball
Texas to face four Top 25-ranked teams in upcoming weekend’s NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic.
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Texas softball program will begin its march towards yet another postseason appearance when the Longhorns open their 2023 regular season at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla., on Friday, Feb. 10.
Texas, which finished as the nation's runner-up in 2022, will face four nationally-ranked softball programs (Missouri, Northwestern, Tennessee and Kentucky) during its stay in the Sunshine State. This weekend's action will mark the first of two trips to Florida for the Longhorns as the program will also participate in the South Florida Showdown hosted by the University of South Florida during the middle of March.
SCHEDULE
Friday:
vs. #23 Missouri (4 p.m. CT)
vs. #8 Northwestern (6:30 p.m. CT)
Saturday:
vs. Illinois (4 p.m. CT)
vs. #12 Tennessee (6:30 p.m. CT)
Sunday:
vs. #17 Kentucky (12:30 p.m. CT)
Note: All five Texas softball games can be watched on a Gamechanger platform and heard on AM 1260 with Andrew Haynes calling the action.
LEADING OFF
- The University of Texas softball program will enter Friday's action against No. 23 Missouri with a 26-0 record in season-opening games dating back to the initial varsity season for the program in 1997. During that stretch, the Longhorns have registered 17 shutouts and outscored their opponents, 173-13.
- Heading into this weekend's NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic, The University of Texas softball head coach Mike White needs only five more wins to reach the 600 career wins mark. White, who enters his 14th season as a Division I softball head coach this year, will take an overall career record of 595-167-2 (.780) into the Longhorns' first game of the 2023 season.
- This weekend's NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic will mark the first time since the 2010 season that The University of Texas softball program will open a season against four-or-more nationally-ranked opponents. In 2010, Texas opened the season by hosting the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational and earned wins over then-No. 20 DePaul (3-1), then-No. 19 North Carolina (1-0), then-No. 13 LSU (2-1), then-No. 20 DePaul (4-1) and then-No. 13 LSU (2-1).
- In its five seasons following a Women's College World Series appearance, The University of Texas softball program is a combined 194-94 (.673) with the best marking coming in 2006, when the Longhorns earned a single-season record 55 wins and a return trip to the WCWS behind USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Cat Osterman.
- The 2023 season will mark the first time in The University of Texas softball program's history the Longhorns will have played multiple non-conference tournaments within the state of Florida.
- A win over either Missouri, Northwestern, Tennessee or Kentucky would give The University of Texas' softball program its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent in a non-conference game played in the state of Florida since the Longhorns beat then-No. 15 Clemson, 4-0, on Feb. 11, 2022 as part of the FGCU Kickoff Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.
- When The University of Texas' softball program has played its first regular season game in the state of Florida, the Longhorns have gone on to not only make the Women's College World Series but also played for a national championship.
- The University of Texas softball program will begin the 2023 season ranked in the top 14 in five different Division I polls: 6 (USA Today/NFCA Coaches), 9 (ESPN.com/USA Softball; Softball America), 13 (Extra Inning Softball) and 14 (D1 Softball).
FOLLOW US
For the latest information on the team, follow @TexasSoftball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at @TexasLonghorns on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
