The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Ole Miss (13th seed)
No. 4 Softball preview: SEC Tournament
05.06.2026 | Softball
Texas will face the Game 6 winner between No. 5 Tennessee and No. 13 Ole Miss.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 5 Texas Softball travels back to Lexington, Ky., for the 2026 SEC Tournament at John Cropp Stadium. Texas, who received a double-bye for the second-straight year, will face either No. 5 Tennessee or No. 13 Ole Miss (Game 6 winner) at 4 p.m. CT Thursday, May 7, in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. The game will broadcast on SEC Network with Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, Michele Smith and Holly Rowe (reporter) on the call. Fans can also tune into Andrew Haynes on Texas' radio broadcast on https://texas.leanplayer.com/ or the iHeart Radio app.
Notes
- Texas, in its second year as an SEC member, will play in its second-ever SEC Tournament this week. Last season, Texas went 1-1 at the 2025 SEC Tournament with a 7-6 victory over Ole Miss on May 8 and then suffered a 14-2 (5) loss to No. 1 Texas A&M in the tournament semifinals.
- Texas is a 34-27 in conference tournaments (21 Big 12, 1 SEC). This week will be Texas' 23rd conference tournament appearance.
- Freshman RHP/DP Hannah Wells' 12 home runs are the second-most by a freshman in program history. Wells needs one home run to tie Katie Stewart's freshman home run program record of 13.
- Junior first baseman Katie Stewart set the program's single-season home run record after hitting her 24th at Kentucky on April 26. Stewart surpassed the previous record of 23 which was set in 2024 by Reese Atwood.
- With an Ole Miss win in Game 6, Texas and the Rebels will meet for the fourth time this season. Texas swept Ole Miss at home on March 13-15, winning by run rule in two of three games. Texas has not played against Tennessee this season.
- Against Oklahoma on April 10, junior RHP Teagan Kavan became the sixth player in program history to eclipse 500 career strikeouts. Kavan, who currently has 530 career strikeouts, joins Cat Osterman (2,265), Blaire Luna (1,428), Meagan Denny (988), Christa Williams (678) and Tiarra Davis (508) as the only players in program history to reach 500 career Ks. Kavan's 530 career strikeouts rank fifth in program history.
- Texas remains in the top-10 across all four major polls this week in ESPN.com/USA Softball, NFCA, D1Softball and Softball America. Texas has been ranked in 71-consecutive NFCA Coaches polls.
- Juniors Katie Stewart and Teagan Kavan were named top 25 finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Yera Award on April 29. Kavan has been a finalist for the award in back-to-back years.
Conference Tournament History
- Texas will be making its 23rd overall conference tournament appearance and its second SEC Tournament appearance on Thursday.
- The Longhorns played in 21 Big 12 Conference Tournaments from 1997-2024, holding a 33-26 all-time record.
- Texas, which went 1-1 at the 2025 SEC Tournament, is 34-27 overall at conference tournaments.
- Texas has failed to win a game at a conference tournament just four times (2001, 2006, 2007 and 2019).
- Texas has not lost in a postseason conference tournament to a team outside of Texas or Oklahoma since the 2019 Big 12 Tournament (L, 2-0, vs. Iowa State).
- Texas has four conference tournament championships, all in the Big 12 (1999, 2002, 2003, 2005).
Hannah Hunts Homers
- Texas freshman RHP/DP Hannah Wells' 12 home runs this season tie for the second-most home runs by a freshman in program history. Wells needs to hit one home run to tie Katie Stewart's freshman program record of 13, which was set in 2024.
- Wells' 12 home runs ties with Tallie Thrasher (2007) for the second-most home runs by a freshman in program history.
- Wells has homered in three of Texas' last four games, including two-consecutive games after hitting home runs this past weekend in games two and three vs. Arkansas. Wells has recorded a base hit in five of Texas' last six games.
Texas Freshman Home Run Record
Player (Year) Home Runs
1. Katie Stewart (2024) 13
2. Hannah Wells (2026) 12
2. Tallie Thrasher (2007) 12
4. Reese Atwood (2023) 11
4. Taylor Thom (2011) 11
