Ole Miss head coach Jamie Trachsel holds the Rebels’ Super Regional Championship Trophy in 2025 at Arkansas.
It’s not quite the middle of March, and it is the SEC, so early-season struggles are no surprise. That’s even for a team that may be good enough to get back to Oklahoma City and the mecca of college softball at the end of season.
Ole Miss stumbled out of the gates last weekend, as the Rebels were swept by No. 6 Alabama in a three-game SEC series at Oxford. The reward this week is a three-game SEC series at defending national champion and the No. 2-ranked Texas Longhorns.
The Rebels, though, are off to a respectable start as SEC play begins to unwind. Ole Miss owns a 19-8 overall mark to go with its 0-3 conference start. The Rebels have 18 games remaining against the current RPI top-25, with nine of them being true road opportunities. That stretch begins this weekend in Austin.
Ole Miss will open the series against the Longhorns (23-1, 3-0 SEC), beginning on Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT. Game two is set for Saturday at 12 p.m. CT and game three will also open at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday. All three games will be streamed via SEC Network Plus.
Texas Longhorns star Katie Stewart
SCOUTING THE LONGHORNS
The defending national champion Texas Longhorns are off to another strong start in pursuit of a second national title, entering the weekend at 23-1 and 3-0 in the SEC. Head coach Mike White, has the Longhorns firing on all cylinders, hitting .369 with 199 RBI as a team.
Junior Katie Stewart is having a season to remember, hitting 14 home runs and driving in 36 while hitting a scorching .492. Stewart is joined by the continued elite play of Reese Atwood, who has hit nine home runs and drove in another 36 while hitting .413.
The offense has also seen production from senior Leighann Goode (.491 BA, 15 RBI), junior Kayden Henry (.403 BA, 13 extra-base hits, 14 steals and 23 RBI) and transfer Kaiah Altmeyer (.444 BA, 18 RBI) who have allowed this offense to continue to be potent.
In the circle, World Series hero Teagan Kavan is back and continuing her high-level play, going 9-0 with a 1.96 ERA (57.0 IP) and 73 strikeouts. The Longhorns have searched for a No. 2 by committee this season, with four others making at least one start. Sophomore Cambria Salmon is the leading candidate thus far at 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA (30.2 IP) while Citlaly Gutierrez, Brenlee Gonzales and Hannah Wells each chipping in for the bullpen.
While the Longhorns have just one blemish on the season, in a loss to Nebraska, there have been a number of close calls, including a one-run win over Stanford and three-games to open SEC play against South Carolina that were separated by three runs or less.
OLE MISS CLUBHOUSE NOTES
- Ole Miss is set for its SEC road opener, facing off with No. 2 Texas in conference play for the first time.
- The Rebels are seeking the first ranked victory of the season and first ever win in Austin.
- Freshman Madi George has been the breakout star of the season thus far, hitting a sizzling .427 with a team-high eight home runs and 16 walks, while adding 26 RBI through the first 27 games of her career.
- Sophomore Persy Llamas remains scorching hot as well, hitting .411 through the first 27 games with five home runs and 26 RBI. Llamas leads the team with 37 hits.
- The Rebels have hit 34 home runs in 2026, averaging 1.26 home runs per game. The Rebels set a program record last season with 67 home runs in 63 games (1.06 per game).
- Defense has become paramount for the Rebels, who are 12-1 when they don’t make an error, versus 7-7 when making one or more errors.
- In addition to a quick .375 start at the plate in SEC play, junior Cassie Reasner has rapidly improved on defense, leading the SEC in infield assists.
THIS WEEKEND’S SERIES
Ole Miss at No. 2 Texas
No. 8 Florida at Kentucky
Boston College at No. 24 South Carolina
Minnesota at Missouri
No. 1 Tennessee at No. 14 Mississippi State
‘No. 9 Arkansas at No. 6 Alabama
Auburn at No. 4 Oklahoma
South Dakota at Missouri
SEC SOFTBALL STANDINGS
conf | cpct | overall | opct | home | road | neutral | strk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tennessee | 3-0 | 1.000 | 25-0 | 1.000 | 9-0 | 2-0 | 14-0 | W25 |
 Alabama | 3-0 | 1.000 | 24-0 | 1.000 | 12-0 | 7-0 | 5-0 | W24 |
 Florida | 3-0 | 1.000 | 26-1 | 0.963 | 15-0 | 3-0 | 8-1 | W5 |
 Texas | 3-0 | 1.000 | 23-1 | 0.958 | 11-0 | 6-0 | 6-1 | W21 |
 Arkansas | 2-1 | 0.667 | 22-2 | 0.917 | 13-1 | 3-0 | 6-1 | W3 |
 Auburn | 2-1 | 0.667 | 19-7 | 0.731 | 11-3 | 0-1 | 8-3 | W2 |
 Kentucky | 1-2 | 0.333 | 19-6 | 0.760 | 6-0 | 5-4 | 8-2 | L2 |
 Georgia | 1-2 | 0.333 | 20-7 | 0.741 | 14-4 | 1-2 | 5-1 | W1 |
 Mississippi State | 0-0 | 0.000 | 26-2 | 0.929 | 12-1 | 6-1 | 8-0 | W9 |
 Oklahoma | 0-0 | 0.000 | 25-2 | 0.926 | 11-0 | 6-1 | 8-1 | W14 |
 Texas A&M | 0-0 | 0.000 | 17-8 | 0.680 | 10-2 | 0-1 | 7-5 | L1 |
 LSU | 0-3 | 0.000 | 18-7 | 0.720 | 15-0 | 2-3 | 1-4 | W1 |
 Ole Miss | 0-3 | 0.000 | 19-8 | 0.704 | 8-3 | 3-2 | 8-3 | W1 |
 South Carolina | 0-3 | 0.000 | 16-10 | 0.615 | 12-7 | 2-0 | 2-3 | W1 |
 Missouri | 0-3 | 0.000 | 8-16 | 0.333 | 3-2 | 0-6 | 5-8 | W1 |