The West ruled college softball for the better part of three decades. UCLA in the 1980s. UCLA and Arizona in the 90s. In the 2000s, five schools from the old Pac-10 claimed eight championships.
The balance of power was more dispersed in the 2010s, when UCLA, OU and Florida combined for seven national titles.
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So far the 2020s have belonged to two schools: Oklahoma and Texas.
From the 405 to the Forty Acres, softball supremacy runs through the Red River.
Texas beat Texas Tech 4-1 Thursday night at Devon Park to repeat as national champions. Just like last year, it was the Longhorns over the Red Raiders in the final series.
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Texas is indeed back. Back-to-back. And on the heels of a Sooner fourpeat, a Longhorn repeat equals six Women’s College World Series in a row won by the Red River rivals.
OU in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Texas in 2025 and 2026.
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“They’ve set the standard for softball,” Texas coach Mike White said of Patty Gasso’s Sooners, “and we’re trying to match them.”
The Longhorns are two for two in national titles since OU and Texas left the Big 12 for the SEC — without question the best conference in the sport.
“It’s been tough at times, but it’s risen our level of softball,” White said of the realignment.
You have to go way back to the pre-pandemic days (the 2020 WCWS was canceled due to COVID) to find a champion not named OU or Texas. The 2019 UCLA Bruins hold that distinguished honor.
Only four schools have even played for a national championship in the 2020s. OU, Texas, Texas Tech and Florida State. The Seminoles twice lost to the Sooners just as the Red Raiders have been doubly downed by the Longhorns. The runner-ups in OU’s other two titles of the 2020s? Texas and Texas.
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“They’re the trendsetters,” White said of OU. “Unfortunately they didn’t make it this time, but the crowds here still showed out. They love softball.”
Gasso and White have been in a years-long tug of war, the flag shifting from one bank of the Red River to the other.
The Sooners and Longhorns are fierce rivals, but they’re simultaneously strengthening the other. College softball has turned into an OU-Texas arms race, with the right arm of Teagan Kavan lifting the Longhorns to consecutive crowns.
“We push each other, without a doubt,” White said. “We look forward to playing them every single time. I know I’m not their biggest fan up there, but it’s mutual respect I have for that program.”
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OU took two of three from Texas in the regular-season series. And that was in Austin. But it was the Longhorns who made it to Oklahoma City while the Sooners, stunned by Mississippi State in the super regionals, watched from home.
“Texas Fight” chants rang out at Devon Park on Thursday night, uninterrupted by Sooner fans displacing “fight” with “sucks.”
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OU’s reign isn’t over. The Sooners have eight national championships this century. The last two for Texas are also its first two. OU is still the team of the 2020s, but Texas is amid a Sooners-esque run. At the same time, Texas is only halfway there.
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“I believe that they can three-peat,” said senior catcher Reese Atwood, whose legendary Longhorn career is over. “I believe that they can four-peat. I believe with the standards this program has set and just with the culture and the love that our support staff and everybody gives us that anything we want is possible.”
White, whose words are usually unfiltered, was rather measured when asked if Texas is now the team to beat in college softball. What the question was really getting at: Have the Longhorns supplanted the Sooners as the preeminent program?
“Well, that’s to be seen,” said White, who went into a longer spiel without directly addressing the question.
Truth is, there are two teams to beat. Two teams that have dominated the decade.
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And they reside on either side of the Red River.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NCAA softball dominance has shifted to Red River rivals OU and Texas
