No. 1 Softball preview: at No. 4 Alabama

AUSTIN, Texas – No. 1 Texas Softball hits the road to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a top-five road matchup at No. 4 Alabama on April 2-4 at Rhoads Stadium. Thursday's series opener is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network, and Saturday's series finale will begin at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Michele Smith (analyst) will be in the booth for Friday and Saturday's games.

Notes

The Longhorns are 8-0 on the road this season. Texas' eight-straight wins on the road tie for the fourth-longest streak in the country.
The Longhorns are coming off a Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown series win vs. No. 15 Texas A&M on March 27-29 at McCombs Field.
Texas saw its program-record 29-game win streak end in its series finale vs. No. 15 Texas A&M on March 29.
The Longhorns are 11-2 against ranked opponents this season.
Texas is ranked No. 1 across all four major polls this week in ESPN.com/USA Softball, NFCA, D1Softball and Softball America. Texas has been ranked in 67-consecutive NFCA Coaches polls.
Texas has accumulated 16 run-rule victories this season.
Thursday will be the 13th all-time meeting between Texas and Alabama. Alabama leads the all-time series, 8-4.
Texas and Alabama will meet for the first time since 2023. It'll be the first meeting as Southeastern Conference members for the two programs.
Texas is making its first trip to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama since the 2022 season. Alabama won both matchups that season. Texas is just 1-6 vs. Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Texas is fresh off of the program's first Women's College World Series (WCWS) National Championship in 2025. The Longhorns finished the historic season with a program-record 56 victories and a 56-12 overall record.
The Longhorns' 10-2 postseason run in 2025 culminated with a 2-1 Championship Series (third appearance in four years) win over Texas Tech. In the winner-takes-all game three, the Longhorns clinched a 10-4 victory.
Head coach Mike White is in his eighth season at helm of the Texas program and holds a 347-95-2 (.784) overall record during his time on the Forty Acres. In 17 combined seasons between Oregon (nine seasons) and Texas (eight seasons), White sports a 783-206-4 (.791) overall record.
With a series win vs. Alabama, it would mark Texas' highest ranked conference road series win since taking two of three games at No. 3 Florida on March 15-17, 2025.

Longhorns Claim Lone Star Showdown

The Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown trophy is staying in Austin after the Longhorns topped No. 15 Texas A&M in a three-game set on March 27-29. Texas claimed the first two games of the series, increasing their program-best win streak to 29 games.
A&M salvaged the series and avoided the sweep with a 9-7 victory in this past Sunday's series finale.
Texas leads the all-time series vs. Texas A&M, 28-25.

In the Rankings

Texas is No. 1 across all four major polls for the second-straight week.
Texas has been ranked inside the top-5 of the NFCA Coaches poll for 40-consecutive weeks.
The Longhorns have been ranked inside the NFCA Coaches' poll top-10 in each of the last 41 weeks.
Texas has been ranked in each of the last 67 NFCA Coaches polls.
Texas has been ranked No. 1 in the NFCA Coaches Poll 19 times in program history.

Feeling Golden

Following last Saturday's 3-2 win vs. No. 15 Texas A&M, Texas Softball seniors Reese Atwood and Leighann Goode were recipients of the Athlete's Unlimited "Golden Ticket". The Golden Ticket signifies that Atwood and Goode were both drafted to the AUSL.
Atwood and Goode are two of four total Golden Ticket recipients this season. They join Texas Tech's Nijaree Canady and Arizona's Sydney Stewart.
The 2026 AUSL College Draft will take place on Monday, May 4, at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Up Next

Following a top-five showdown with the Crimson Tide, Texas returns to the friendly confines of McCombs Field to host No. 3 Oklahoma on April 10-12.

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Players Mentioned

Reese Atwood

Leighann Goode

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics