NCAA Softball committee chair explains why Texas earned No. 1 seed

Despite falling to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament title, Texas softball earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. It marked a first for the Longhorns, who had previously hosted several regionals but never been the top overall team according to the committee.

NCAA Softball Tournament committee chair Kurt McGuffin, the athletic director at UT-Martin, joined the Selection Show on ESPN2 to explain why Texas stood out. He cited the team’s strength of schedule in the nonconference and the success they had in that stretch as the main reason.

“I think we constantly had Texas in the No. 1 seed,” McGuffin explained. “Sixteen top 25 wins, which is more than anybody else, and their nonconference strength of schedule with a lot of quality wins.”

The Longhorns ranked No. 1 in the country in RPI according to the NCAA’s official website. Six of their seven losses this season have come against teams also ranked inside the top 10. Additionally, they are 6-5 overall against such teams.

Texas is led by Reese Atwood, who is batting .427 with a team-high 22 home runs and 86 RBI. She isn’t the only big hitter in the Longhorns lineup, however, as five players are batting over .380. The Longhorns leading the nation with an overall batting averaging of .383.

Katie Stewart and and Kayden Henry are also names to watch with 20 homers between them.

As far as pitcher, Texas has the country’s No. 7 overall ERA at 1.80. Teagan Kavan leads the way with 101.1 innings pitched this season to record 101 strikeouts with a 2.00 ERA. Citaly Gutierrez is second on the team with 55 strikeouts across 84.2 innings pitched.

The Longhorns are paired in a regional with Saint Francis (PA), Northwestern and Siena. They will open NCAA Tournament play against the Saints, who are the No. 4 seed in the regional.

Texas finished this past season 47-7 overall and won the Big 12 regular season championship. They also advanced to the Big 12 Tournament Championship, where they fell 5-1 against the Sooners.

The Longhorns have advanced the the Women’s College World Series six previous times, including in 2022 when they finished runner up. This time they will aim to continue making history with their first ever national championship.

First pitch for the game between Texas and Siena has still yet to be announced.