Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan has been the star of the Longhorn softball team for three years now, and as her final season with the team flies into focus, head coach Mike White is on the hunt for her eventual replacement.
The Horns already landed five-star prospect Madi Doty from the class of 2026, but White may have set his sights on the next great Texas pitcher: Sophia Schlader.
Schlader is a top-three recruit out of the class of 2028 and the No. 1 pitcher in the recruiting cycle. As the two-time defending National Champions, it should come as no surprise that the Longhorns are on her radar, but so are their biggest rivals: the Oklahoma Sooners.
On Wednesday, Sept. 16, Schlader is set to commit to one of the two powerhouse programs, and if she chooses Texas, she could undeniably become the next legend to step into the circle as a Longhorn. She has had official visits with both the Horns and the Sooners.
— Waukee Northwest Softball (@waukeenwsb) September 15, 2026
Texas's history of elite pitchers should entice Sophia Schlader to the 40 Acres
Kavan is far from the first star pitcher to grace the Texas campus, following in the footsteps of quite a few collegiate softball legends like Cat Osterman and Blaire Luna.
The opportunity to follow in the footsteps of a legendary bullpen like the one the Longhorns boast should be more than enough to entice any elite prospect to the 40 Acres, even when Texas is having to go up against the head coach with the highest-ever winning percentage in the sport.
Of course, the Sooners and head coach Patty Gasso can flex a plethora of star players of their own, but over the last two years, the tide in the world of college softball has shifted in Texas's direction.
Kavan had been a big part of that, and while Schlader wouldn't overlap with the Horns' current go-to pitcher, the legacy that Kavan is about to leave behind will last forever.
Doty is indisputably the highlight in Texas's class of 2026 as the highest-rated player in the group, and she will likely be one of Kavan's understudies throughout the 2027 season as the Longhorns look to three-peat.
Then, in the class of 2027, White has landed a commitment from four-star pitcher Brooklynn Hagerty, a top-100 prospect in the cycle. If Schalder commits to the Horns over the Sooners, she would be the first prospect White has landed in the class of 2028.
Texas's class of 2026 ranked No. 3 in the nation, only trailing Oklahoma and the LSU Tigers. So far, the Horns' class of 2027 ranks 18th, with just three players in the cycle committing to Texas so far.
The five-star pitcher is set to commit at 5 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and she could be the perfect sparkplug for another top-tier recruiting class for the Longhorns.
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