With back-to-back national championships under their belts, the historic senior class of Texas softball will now move on. Some are leveling up their games to the professional level; others will enter the workforce with just the memories of being on the diamond.
However, they will be remembered by Longhorn fans as legends: players who brought two national championship trophies back to Austin.
It’s difficult to discuss Texas softball without mentioning their senior catcher Reese Atwood.
Known for her clutch moments on both defense and offense, Atwood was a staple of the Longhorns’ roster throughout her four years at the University.
“She’s just such a focal point of this program. She’s the definition of what it means to be a Texas Longhorn,” junior infielder Katie Stewart said. “Those records aren’t a fluke, she’s just worked so hard, and so it’s such an inspiration to be able to take the same field as her.”
Atwood, who broke the record for career home runs during the home season opener, slammed a total of 74 long balls in her time as a Longhorn, 19 of which were during her senior season.
In her final remarks after her last game as a Longhorn, the usual stoic demeanor of Atwood broke down to reveal an athlete with immense love for the sport and her team.
“Going back to being recruited to Texas, it was just such a dream come true to me,” Atwood said. “To have a coach like (head) coach (Mike) White that never lost faith in me and was able to develop me for years and just make me into the absolute best player that I could be, I’m just so incredibly grateful.”
Her time behind the plate isn’t coming to a close. It’ll be a quick turnaround, jumping on a plane to go join the Carolina Blaze at Smith Family Stadium on June 9.
Senior infielder Leighann Goode won’t be traveling far as her last season wearing burnt orange comes to a close. She begins her Athletes Unlimited Softball League career on June 9 after being selected by the Texas Volts as the eighth pick of the 2026 AUSL Draft’s second round.
Goode played an important part in Texas’ uphill battle at Devon Park after the team dropped its first game of the double-elimination tournament.
Starting in 62 games her senior season, Goode was an anchor at second base, accumulating a .970 fielding percentage while also racking up 55 hits and 40 RBIs throughout the season.
With all the press about Texas’ star pitcher, junior Teagan Kavan, it’s easy to forget that senior pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez played a huge part in the season’s success. Gutierrez came through in the first game of a do-or-die doubleheader against Tennessee to send Texas to the finals. At the finals, she only allowed Texas Tech to score one earned run, giving Kavan’s arm a rest to later pitch five strikeouts in the last two innings of the championship game.
“We trusted in Citlaly Gutierrez to get us through,” White said. “(She) was focused on what she could do to help this team.”
Senior outfielders Kaiah Altmeyer Ashton Maloney, and junior infielder Victoria Hunter also had their standout moments in the postseason.
Hunter, as a pinch hitter against ASU in the Austin Super Regional, hit the season-saving two-run bomb in game two to allow Texas to advance to the Women’s College World Series. Altmeyer, although not a consistent face in the Texas order, cemented her spot in the second game of the WCWS against Mississippi State with her first career bomb as a Longhorn. Maloney, who had consistency struggles at the plate this season, still registered a .981 fielding percentage with 45 putouts.
