Amid transfer portal chaos, head coach Mike White will look for two new coaches to fill his staff while Texas softball welcomes a new player to the program.
Justin McLeod at D1Softball broke the news on Monday that associate head coach Kristen Zaleski will not return to the Texas coaching staff for the 2027 season. It wasn’t stated if Zaleski was asked to leave the program or if her departure was of her own accord.
Headed into 2026 and Zaleski’s fourth season with the team, White had announced Zaleski’s promotion to associate head coach on Feb. 3.
“Coach Zaleski’s promotion to associate head coach is richly deserved,” White said. “She has been instrumental to our success — leading our outfielders, serving as first base coach on game day and elevating our hitters with her approach. Her standards, teaching acumen and ability to connect with our student-athletes has raised our program’s ceiling year-after-year.”
Zalenski is credited with placing junior outfielder Kayden Henry in center field during her first year on the Forty Acres. Her mentorship was integral to the Longhorns’ outfield, with Henry maintaining a perfect fielding percentage in 2026 and keeping it above .980 in both her freshman and sophomore years.
Just a day later, Tennessee softball announced Ehren Earleywine, Texas’ other associate head coach, as its newest addition to the staff. Earleywine spent just one season coaching at Red & Charline McCombs Field, focusing his talents on the Longhorns’ offense.
“I’m leaving Texas with nothing but gratitude,” Earleywine said in a Tennessee news release. “It’s been one of the most rewarding chapters of my life, and I’ll always be proud to have been a Longhorn.”
Even with the departure of multiple coaches, Texas has its focus on the transfer portal, which opened on Monday.
Incoming senior catcher Samantha Swan announced on X that she will be joining the Longhorns for her final year of eligibility on Wednesday.
Swan isn’t an unfamiliar face. The Longhorns faced off against her during the three-game Austin Super Regional, in which Swan launched a homer off the scoreboard in centerfield. Additionally, Swan spent her time playing softball at Georgetown High School.
“It felt so good to be back in town,” Swan said after the first game of the Austin Super Regional. “Seeing some of the girls in Texas that I played with growing up, and just being able to compete with them … was really great.”
As a Sun Devil in 2026, Swan was selected unanimously to the First-Team All-Big 12 with her 69 hits and 12 home runs throughout the season. As a catcher, she recorded a .987 fielding percentage and managed to throw out three players in their attempts to steal a base against the ASU defense.
