Over the past weekend, the AUSL's Texas Volts and Carolina Blaze faced off in a three-game series that featured some of the best Texas Longhorn softball players of the past few years.
With catcher Reese Atwood lacing up for the Blaze and second baseman Leighann Goode repping the Volts, there were Longhorns on both sides of the plate.
Before one game, however, there was an extra Longhorn Legend in attendance: current Texas star pitcher Teagan Kavan, who threw out the first pitch to Atwood.
Longhorns reunite 🥎🥹#NCAASoftball x 📸 @TexasSoftball pic.twitter.com/h0kGoKQHDC
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) July 13, 2026
Atwood and Kavan quickly became one of the most widely recognizable duos in college softball, dominating in the circle and behind the plate as they secured back-to-back National Championships for Texas and became best friends along the way.
Teagan Kavan still has the connection with Reese Atwood
The Horns, led by head coach Mike White, have built a dynasty on the 40 Acres over the last two seasons, securing the two national titles and also winning the SEC Softball Tournament this year, a first for the Longhorns.
Kavan and Atwood were a big part of that success, leading the Texas defense, with Atwood also dominating at the plate during her final two years with the program.
Also read: Teagan Kavan set herself apart from the rest of college softball in the Super Regional
The connection between pitcher and catcher was invaluable for White and the Horns, and with Atwood now in the AUSL, Kavan will have to figure out how to find that connection once again.
Luckily, White added an experienced and talented catcher to his depth chart this offseason, picking up former Arizona State Sun Devil Samantha Swan out of the transfer portal. He also found a possible replacement for Goode, landing a commitment from star infielder Isa Torres, who transferred from Florida State this offseason.
Read more: Texas softball transfer portal tracker: Longhorns' path to a 3-peat starts now
Simply put, the Texas softball team will look very different next season, but White has ensured that it will still be of a championship caliber.
In the three-game series between the Volts and the Blaze, Goode and Texas swept Atwood and Carolina, securing the team's first-ever series sweep. Texas earned 1-0, 4-3, and 8-0 wins over Carolina, which featured a couple of big-time at-bats for both Atwood and Goode.
However, for Longhorn Nation, the box scores didn't matter as much as seeing their beloved players still connecting on the softball field.
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