Overview Of SEC Softball And What It Means For Florida

Four of the top five college softball teams ranked by ESPN/USA Softball are in the SEC.

The Gators gear up to face some of the best in conference play beginning next week.

Texas A&M

Florida kicks off SEC play against the Aggies, heading to College Station to face off against the fifth-ranked team in the country.

TAMU is coming off a disappointing finish to its 2024 season after losing to Texas in the Super Regional and has come into 2025 looking for revenge, storming to a 15-1 record. The Aggies are on a seven-game heater, including a twin-bill sweep of No. 8 Florida State.

Mya Perez has led the way for TAMU. The sophomore was named SEC co-player of the week after tallying three homers during the JoAnne Graf Classic and leads the team in batting average, OPS, and RBI.

This weekend, Mya Perez hit .529 (9-for-17) with 11 RBIs and launched a trio of homers 👀 https://t.co/ZjgIZXqSz2

— Kay Naegeli (@KayNaegeli) February 24, 2025

Pitching has also been key for the Aggies— the team boasts a cumulative ERA of 1.89, good for 20th in the nation.

Texas

The Gators face a one-two punch of Texas teams this season; after TAMU, they host the Longhorns the following week.

Texas lost its first game of the season last Friday, but it was to a top-25 team in Stanford. Ultimately, this is still the same team that made it to the Women’s College World Series in 2024, only losing out to champion Oklahoma.

Like other elite teams in the country, the Longhorns are an offensive powerhouse. They’re scoring at a rate of 8.69 runs per game, only behind Florida in the SEC.

Oklahoma

Everyone knows them. Everyone fears them.

The Sooners have won four consecutive WCWS titles, and are seemingly looking for a fifth. They’re one of three teams in the SEC to remain undefeated— a flawless 14-0.

Oklahoma’s dominance is reflected on the stat sheets— Ella Parker not only leads the team in nearly every conceivable hitting metric, she’s also third in the nation in batting average. Similarly, Isabella Smith is one of the nine remaining pitchers in the country to still have an ERA of 0.

Sooners get it done in five!#ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/L6b46eksyq

— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 24, 2025

If there’s one caveat to the Sooners’ success, it’s that they haven’t faced many top-ranked teams this season. However, they’ve looked commanding in each of their wins, outscoring their opponents 86-15.

Takeaways

Florida has been able to cruise through the season thus far, with its only real challenge coming against Duke. Conference play acts as the more legitimate metric for a team’s success, and the Gators start with a true test against Texas A&M and Texas on back-to-back weeks.

Though the Gators don’t face Oklahoma until the final series of the regular season, Florida will be competing with the Sooners in the standings all year long.

Looking Ahead

Before conference play begins, the Gators will host the Florida Invitational from Friday to Sunday.