Old Wisdom hangs heavy like a crown of shackles over last year's Softball Champions. They made moves in the portal and sport future professionals across the roster. Yet no one feels that weight more than the Longhorns' bullpen.

With the 2025 Women’s College World Series garnering a record number of viewers, 2.4 million for the championship game, the Longhorns have set the bar high. As for the bullpen, fans have inspected its pitchers with a fine-tooth comb.

Entering the 2026 season, there was no question who Texas’ ace was. Junior right-handed pitcher Teagan Kavan entered the season aware of the attention, but was only focused on the road back to Oklahoma City.

“We talked a lot about not getting complacent,” Kavan said ahead of the season. “We know that (winning another championship) is not easy, and so that’s our goal, but we have to take it day by day and step by step, and it starts with the preseason.”

Kavan was one of the best pitchers in the nation last season, and a key piece of any Longhorn postseason success

Kavan appeared in the circle during every game in Texas’ last regular season series against No. 7 Arkansas. Despite giving up just three hits on Thursday, the Longhorns suffered their third shutout in the last month, losing 2-0.

Kavan wasn’t granted a game of respite on Friday. She entered the circle after the Razorbacks elevated themselves to 4-3 after scoring two earned and two unearned runs. Kavan was able to shut down Arkansas’ offense for the remaining 2.1 innings, but Texas’ batting lineup couldn’t find the momentum to bounce back and even the series.

“She fought really good tonight, threw the ball well,” head coach Mike White said after Friday’s loss.

While fans got a break from the action after Texas won its first national championship, the work didn’t stop for Kavan, even after being declared the 2025 Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player. She returned to the field, fine tuning her craft to be the best pitcher she could be. Beyond that, she wanted to work on her mindset ahead of the 2026 season.

“A lot of it’s a mental piece too, being stronger mentally,” Kavan said. “I think at the end of the day that that is what pushes you over the edge sometimes, more than the physical ability to do something. That’s always (at the) forefront of the mind.”

In 2025, including postseason play, Kavan registered a 2.16 ERA through 207 innings pitched, conceding 64 earned runs on 171 hits. Of those 64 runs, only 16 of them were home runs while striking out 230 batters.

This year, after the conclusion of the regular season, Kavan has accumulated 183 strikeouts in 150.2 innings pitched. During the opening game of the Red River Rivalry series, Kavan became the 6th pitcher in Texas history to reach 500 strikeouts — a major milestone for any pitcher at the collegiate level.

She has maintained her ERA under 3.00 this season, recording a 2.74 through 20 wins and four losses. Additionally, she’s given up 133 hits and 59 earned runs, ushering her team to its 39-10 record. Even with some early-season struggles, the ace has shown that she can be someone to lean on.

“I told her she’s the best pitcher of missing by three inches I’ve seen, so I was like ‘let’s make three inches on the other side,’” White said after the Longhorns’ win against the University of the Incarnate Word. “She took it in control and was more aggressive with her pitches,”

While Kavan picked up right where she left off for the Longhorns, White was hesitant to name a No. 2 pitcher, even as the first conference series against Ole Miss approached. It would take a strong showing from senior right-handed pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez against Oklahoma State to push White to finalize that selection.

“She’s actually proven that she’s No. 2,” White said. “It’s pleasing to see and (I’ve) been waiting for somebody to grab that.”

Gutierrez, who pitched the full game against Oklahoma State, struck out four batters while only allowing two hits through five innings. While the last two innings weren’t Gutierrez’s strongest, allowing five Cowgirls to make their way around the bases back home, it was enough for White to feel confident in the senior, despite the shutout.

Gutierrez recently released her own line of NIL trading cards via IG.

Just a few weeks prior, Gutierrez’s performance against Texas State left White scratching his head about what to do about his pitching staff. In two innings pitched, Gutierrez walked three batters while allowing the Bobcats to get ahead by two runs. After a weak 1.2 innings pitched by the right-handed sophomore Cambria Salmon, Kavan had 3.1 innings to clean up the mess and get Texas out of San Marcos, Texas, with the win.

“I think (Gutierrez) was just a little nervous out there, and I’m not sure why, being a senior, you get nervous,” White said. “That’s something we have to talk to her about and just calm the nerves a little bit.”

Perhaps it was the Bobcat’s rowdy crowd or the hot sun. Regardless, Gutierrez took that performance as well as Coach White’s feedback, and changed her game for the better.

Against a top-10-ranked Arkansas on Friday, Gutierrez only gave up two earned runs and four hits through 4.2 innings before being swapped for Salmon and Kavan once again — reminiscent of the Texas State game. However, this time Gutierrez pitched with confidence, striking out four batters in 18 at-bats and not giving up a hit until the fifth inning.

While White has his No. 1 and 2, beyond that, troubles in the circle stump the Longhorns. Despite Salmon boasting the lowest ERA at 2.17, she has only pitched 38.2 innings this season, just 12 percent of the season. Comparatively, Kavan has spent 48 percent of the season in the circle. When used as relief against Arkansas to get the last out in the fifth inning, Salmon couldn’t deliver with two runners advancing on two errors, one made by herself.

The only left-handed pitcher on the team, sophomore Brenlee Gonazales, also has not spent extensive time in the circle, throwing for just six percent of the season, 20.1 innings, and racking up a 3.10 ERA.

Entering the season, there was quite a bit of chatter about an incoming freshman with an arm and a bat. Now, at the end of the season, right-handed pitcher and utility Hannah Wells has made an impact on the team, however it’s behind the plate, not in the circle.

Wells was named Gatorade National Player of the Year coming out of High School

In her second collegiate game, Wells hit a bomb past the University of Texas at San Antonio’s blue wall to secure the win against a top-25-ranked Washington at the UTSA Invitational. It didn’t stop there, though. To take the series against the Ole Miss Rebels, Wells came in clutch, launching her first career walk-off home run into the street behind Red & Charline McCombs Field to send her around the bases and into the arms of her teammates.

“I was just thinking of a good pitch to hit,” Wells said. “(I was) just trying to stay through the ball and give my team a chance.”

Wells ended the regular season with 12 home runs, three of those being in the last four games. As the Longhorns inched closer to the end of the season, hits became more sporadic and not easy to come by. With Wells in the order, batting in the six-hole as the designated player, Texas was able to harness her energy and attempt to capitalize on her game.

“She just continues to ask good questions and learning,” White said. “I remember (associate head) coach [Ehren] Earleywine telling me ‘if she gets into battle time, she’s going to hit a dozen home runs for us.’”

Even with her impact at the plate, she still made appearances in the circle, although infrequently. With just 42 innings thrown, Wells has a 5-3 record with a 3.33 ERA. Still, Wells has made herself available at the plate and in relief.

Headed into the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament, the Longhorns will face some tough competition. It was announced by the SEC Saturday night that Texas received a double bye and will begin its road to the SEC championship on Thursday.

“We’ve got to play better all around,” White said. “We got to get some quality pitching, which we’ve been getting, we just haven’t been great with the sticks.”

This week’s bracket will be the real test of the team’s bullpen if they advance into multiple games and will serve as a pulse check as the team eyes the road back to Oklahoma City.