Four-time defending national champion Oklahoma suffered its first loss of the 2025 season after a 28-0 start, falling to Missouri 3-1 in the middle game of a three-game series. The Sooners won the first (8-0 run-rule) and third (5-1) games against Mizzou, leaving OU currently at 29-1. Texas Tech travelled to South Carolina for a three-game nonconference series and the Gamecocks took two of three. South Carolina took the opener 5-2 and the second game 1-0. In the latter, the Gamecocks' Jori Heard and Sam Gress combined for a three-hit shutout . Combined, they struck out only two Raider batters, meaning that Texas Tech put a lot of balls in play. NiJaree Canady made her only start of the weekend in this game, giving up just a third-inning solo-shot to South Carolina's Natalie Heath ( video ). Canady struck out nine, allowing only two hits and two walks. The Red Raiders were in real danger of getting swept, as they trailed 5-0 after three innings in Sunday's finale, before sco...

No. 2 Texas took two of three from No. 3 Florida in Gainesville this past weekend (actually Saturday through Monday) in a battle of national contenders. The Longhorns swept a Saturday doubleheader 7-2 and 13-7. After the teams skipped Sunday action due to weather considerations, the Gators came back to salvage Game 3 on Monday by a 3-1 score.  No. 1 Oklahoma moved to 26-0 overall, sweeping Arkansas in Fayetteville, 7-0, 6-4, and 10-7.

The Big 12 opened up on an exciting note last Friday, with No. 13 Oklahoma State (a program that has made the last five Women's College World Series) visiting No. 15 Texas Tech for a three-game series in Red Raider pitcher NiJaree Canady's conference debut. With newly added outfield seats  in place, a  stadium record 2,122 fans  attended Friday's opening doubleheader. The crowd was not disappointed , as Texas Tech not only swept the doubleheader, but also held the Cowgirls scoreless on the night by scores of 9-0 (run-rule) and 2-0. After an off-day Saturday due to forecast inclement weather, Oklahoma State did salvage Sunday afternoon's finale, 10-1 (run-rule). As shown in the following chart, Raider coach Gerry Glasco limited Canady's innings to some extent, as she threw nine innings total out of a possible 17. This included only two innings on Sunday, during which Canady allowed five baserunners (four hits and a walk). Cowgirl ace Ruby Meylan, who did not pitch ...

With the most recent ESPN.com/USA Softball poll (Week 2) showing eight of the Top 10 teams being from the SEC (No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 9 Georgia, and No. 10 Arkansas), it's very tempting to just wait for SEC conference play to begin. At that point, the teams will be playing three-game series against each other, which will be a better gauge of the teams' relative standing than some early-season tournaments. At this point, we have only a fragmentary sense of how good these teams are. Texas is off to an 11-0 start, but narrowly survived visiting Texas Tech and NiJaree Canady in a 2-1, nine-inning win on February 14. With Canady not pitching for the Red Raiders in a rematch two days later, however, the Horns  romped 11-0 in a five-inning rule-run decision.  OU is 10-0, but have been taken to extras against unranked San Diego State and Long Beach State. Florida is 13-1, with the Gators' loss coming last ...

This weekend's Clearwater Invitational includes four Top 10 teams, namely No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 9 Florida State, and No. 10 Oklahoma State. ESPN.com's preview, which provides an overview for all 16 participating teams, is available here .

Several big stories surround the opening of the 2025 college softball season, which begins tomorrow for many leading teams. Can Oklahoma make it five Women's College World Series national championships in a row? I recognize only a few names on the Sooners' 2025 roster . On NCAA.com's list of 10 players to keep an eye on , only one is from OU (Ella Parker, No. 8). Oklahoma is ranked No. 3 in the preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball poll , behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Florida. NiJaree Canady, the star pitcher who transferred from Stanford to Texas Tech with a million-dollar Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal , is No. 1 on the NCAA.com list. The Red Raiders have never before been a major national contender, but that could change this year, as the team is ranked No. 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Another star transfer pitcher, Jordy Bahl, is scheduled to return for Nebraska . After transferring last year from Oklahoma to Nebraska, Bahl suffered an ACL injury in the Cornhus...