The Texas Longhorns are on their way back to the Women's College World Series for the third year in a row, and their first time as the defending National Champions.
Reveling in their SEC Tournament and Super Regional victories, the Horns are awash in the limelight that has followed them through the postseason in recent years.
The joyful environment in Austin is made even better by the disaster that is currently unfolding just a handful of hours up the road in Norman, OK.
Texas's rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners, not only lost their home series in the Super Regional but are also witnessing one player after another hit the transfer portal.
Sooners Super Regional loss made worse by transfers
In the couple of days following Oklahoma's loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Sooners have already had three players announce they were leaving, entering the transfer portal instead of spending another season with OU head coach Patty Gasso.
Tia Milloy, Riley Zach, and sister Berkley Zache have all entered the transfer portal, leaving Gasso for an opportunity at a different program, something that the Sooners have not experienced in recent years.
Gasso is the winningest active softball coach, securing eight National Championships with the Sooners since taking over in 1995. It isn't often that the winningest program in the history of the sport sees players flee to the transfer portal.
Also read: Teagan Kavan set herself apart from the rest of college softball in the Super Regional
As Oklahoma works to cling to the players still in Norman, the Horns are heading back to Oklahoma City to continue their title-defending run.
Last season, Texas defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the National Championship series, earning a 2-1 series win. The title was the first in Longhorn program history, and this postseason could lead to another step towards dethroning Oklahoma as the top dog in the sport.
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