Texas softball ranks No. 2 in D1Softball poll after dominant weekend

After a thoroughly dominant showing in Southern California on the opening weekend of the 2024 regular season, No. 2 Texas softball and head coach Mike White looks like the real deal in the Big 12. Texas went undefeated in five contests, four of which were part of the Stacy Winsberg Tournament at Easton Stadium in Los Angeles, CA.

Of the Longhorns' five wins to open the 2024 campaign last weekend, four resulted in run-rule endings, with Texas having at least an eight-run margin of victory. Three of the wins saw the Longhorns defeat their opponents by at least 15 runs.

Texas softball and head coach Mike White look like they can threaten No. 1 OU with their opening-weekend showing

Easily Texas's most impressive performance of the weekend came in a record-breaking 16-0 mauling of the No. 8 UCLA Bruins on Feb. 10. That was the second of two victories for the Longhorns against the Bruins in top 10 matchups at the Stacy Winsberg Tournament over the weekend.

The first matchup between Texas and UCLA was much closer, ending in a 3-2 victory for the Longhorns.

Texas also defeated San Diego by a combined margin of 34 runs in two meetings last weekend. The final victory of the five games for the Longhorns was a convincing 10-2 win thanks to a late rally from the Texas bats against LMU.

The incredible showing by White's squad last weekend to open the 2024 campaign has certainly caught the nation's attention. D1Softball ranked the Longhorns as the No. 2 team, behind only the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners, in this week's top 25 poll.

Three of the top four teams in this week's D1Softball Top 25 are from the Big 12. Oklahoma and Texas round out the top two, with Oklahoma State Cowgirls ringing in at No. 4. The top of the Big 12 looks as strong as any conference in the nation again this season in college softball.

Texas's bats certainly look as dangerous as any team in the nation early this season. Texas plated double-digit runs in four of its five games to open the season. White's squad scored at least 15 runs in three games last weekend, led by three home runs and 12 runs batted in from sophomore Reese Atwood and double-digit RBIs from sophomore Viviana Martinez.

Texas has four more top-25 games on tap this coming weekend

White and the Longhorns will get a few more tests to prove that they're the real deal this season in the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational in Clearwater, FL, this coming weekend. Texas faces four ranked opponents, including the No. 2 and 3 ranked teams in the preseason USA Softball poll.

Texas opens up the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational this weekend against the No. 2 Tennessee Lady Vols and the No. 3 Stanford Cardinal on Feb. 16.

The Longhorns face Tennessee at 5 p.m. CT, and then the Cardinal a few hours later at 8 p.m. CT.

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