AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Longhorns softball team will play against 10 teams ranked or receiving votes in the 2021 USA Today/NFCA preseason poll. Five of those squads are rated in the Top 10: No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 LSU, No. 8 Alabama and No. 9 Louisiana. Texas will also battle No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 20 Mississippi State and No. 22 Baylor as well as two teams receiving votes in North Texas and Texas Tech.
The postseason begins with the annual Big 12 Tournament at the USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on May 14 and May 15.
The NCAA Tournament schedule gets underway at campus sites from May 21 to May 23 with NCAA Regionals and follows with the best-of-three NCAA Super Regionals from May 27 to May 30. The annual Women's College World Series at the USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is scheduled to be from June 3 to June 9.
Texas junior second baseman Janae Jefferson and junior utility player Lauren Burke were each selected as D1Softball Preseason All-Americans.
Jefferson was named to the first team at second base, while Burke was named to the second team as a first baseman. The UT duo represented two of the seven total Big 12 Conference student-athletes included among the pair of preseason squads.
The softball team was 24-3 before COVID-19 canceled the 2020 season.
Here is a look at the Texas Longhorns softball 2021 season:
Texas Longhorns record: 43-14 (12-6)
- Feb. 11-14: Texas Classic– canceled
- Feb. 17: vs. North Texas – postponed
- Feb. 19 - 20: Tracy Beard Invitational – canceled
- Scrap Yard Blizzard Challenge
- Feb. 21 (two games): W 8-0 (5 innings) vs. Wichita State; W 5-1 vs. North Texas
- Feb. 24: vs. Texas State – W 1-0 (8 innings)
- Lone Star State Invitational
- Feb. 26 (three games): vs. Sam Houston State – W 9-3; vs. Lamar – W 10-0
- Feb. 27: vs. Mississippi State – W 8-7
- Feb. 28 (two game): vs. UCONN – W 16-2; vs. Ole Miss – W 5-2
- March 3: at Houston – Texas wins, 9-0 (5 innings)
- March 5/6 (two games) at LSU – W, 8-5; L 2-1 (8 innings); L 7-2
- March 10: vs. Texas A&M–Corpus Christi – W 10-6
- March 12: vs. Tarleton State – W 9-1 (6 innings)
- March 12: vs. Texas Southern – W 11-2 (5 innings)
- March 13: vs. Tarleton State – W 21-5 (5 innings)
- March 13: vs. BYU – W 10-7
- March 16: at McNeese State – W 5-2
- March 17: at Louisiana (two games) – W 4-0; L 10-9
- March 19/20 (three games): vs. New Mexico – W 5-3; W 12-0 (5 innings); W 8-1
- BEVO Classic
- March 26: vs. South Dakota – W 6-5
- March 27 (two games): vs. UT–Arlington; vs. UTSA – W 2-1; W 8-0 (5 innings)
- March 28: vs. UT– Arlington – W 9-1
- April 1/2/3 (three games): vs. Texas Tech – W 5-0; W 10-1 (5 innings); W 2-1
- April 7: at UT–Arlington – W 12-0
- April 9/10/11 (three games): at Iowa State – W 8-5; W 11-5; W 10-0 (6 innings)
- April 16/17/18 (three games): at Oklahoma – L 11-1 (5 innings); L 10-2 (5 innings); L 9-0 (5 innings)
- April 21: vs. Texas State – W 5-4
- April 23/24/25 (three games): vs. Kansas – W 8-1; W 10-1 (5 innings); W 10-8
- April 30/May 1,2 (three games): vs. Oklahoma State – L 3-1; L 5-1; L 6-4
- May 7: vs. Baylor – W 8-0 (6 innings)
- May 8/9 (two games): at Baylor – W 6-0; W 5-0
Big 12 Championship
- May 14: vs. Oklahoma State – L 3-2 (9 innings)
- May 14: vs Iowa State – W 7-4
- May 15: vs. Texas Tech – L 5-1
NCAA Regionals
Texas hosted the regional in the NCAA tournament
- May 21: vs. Saint Francis – W 12-0 (5 innings)
- May 22: vs. Texas State – W 6-0
- May 23: vs. Oregon – L 3-2 (8 innings)
- May 23: vs. Oregon – W 1-0
NCAA Super Regionals
- May 27/28/29/30: vs. Oklahoma State: L 6-1; W 4-2; L 2-0
Women's College World Series
- June 3 - June 9: TBA, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
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