Tennessee softball is set to meet Texas for a spot in the 2026 Women’s College World Series national championship series. The Lady Vols will need to win one of two games against the Longhorns on Monday, while Texas will need to rattle off back-to-back wins.
What is Tennessee going to have to deal with when it meets the Longhorns, though? Well, it’ll be a familiar matchup. The Lady Vols already downed Texas 6-3 in the opening round of the bracket and also met the Longhorns in the WCWS semifinals a year ago. That year, Texas won the first game, needing only one win, to advance.
The Longhorns went on to win the national title and are attempting to defend their throne. In the face of elimination, they’ve now won consecutive games, as well. This included a 4-0 win over Mississippi State to knock out the Bulldogs on Friday and a 3-1 comeback win over Nebraska on Sunday.
The win over the Cornhuskers was in dramatic fashion. Texas used a Katie Stewart three-run shot in the sixth inning with one out to take a lead that it held onto thanks to the pitching of Teagan Kavan.
KATIE FREAKIN’ STEWART. NO DOUBTER. 💣#HookEm pic.twitter.com/NF3ZWbqStL
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) May 31, 2026
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Stewart, the team’s first baseman, has been the best hitter for Texas this year. She owns a .424 batting average to lead the team. She also has mashed an impressive 28 home runs, which is 10 more than her next teammate, Reese Atwood, at 18.
The Longhorns’ pitching has also been elite. Tennessee held the SEC-best ERA at 1.82 heading into the WCWS, but Texas was in second. The Longhorns’ mark sat at 2.55.
They’ve relied primarily on two pitchers this year. That features Kavan, who owns a 2.41 ERA and a 26-6 record. However, Citlaly Guiterrez has statistically been better this year, producing a 2.38 ERA and a 9-3 record.
