While much of the country, myself included, is bracing for a snowstorm, the NCAA softball season has started for 2025 to give us some hope that spring — and the Women’s College World Series — will come. Last year, Oklahoma became the first team in NCAA softball history to win four straight titles. With the new season underway, let’s look at the biggest questions looming over the college softball landscape and which teams could be in the hunt for a title.

Can Oklahoma do it again?

When Oklahoma won its fourth straight title, it entered the rarefied air of dynasty-type programs such as Iowa men’s wrestling and North Carolina women’s soccer. These teams were so dominant that even people who didn’t pay attention to the sport knew how good they were.

But Oklahoma has changed. Riley Boone, Nicole May and the other seniors who won four titles in four years are gone. However, you shouldn’t count the Sooners out quite yet. They are ranked second in the country, and sophomore Ella Parker has already tallied an SEC Player of the Week honor for her hitting in the first few weeks of the season. Oklahoma just wrapped up a 6-0 West Coast road trip, during which Parker hit .519 with 10 runs, five doubles, one home run, eight RBI, three walks and three stolen bases. The No. 3-ranked Sooners also still have plenty of great pitching, and they’re coached by Patty Gasso, whose success earned her the job coaching Team USA as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics near.

Or is this the season that Texas or Florida breaks through?

Oklahoma’s stranglehold on the NCAA softball title meant that some incredible teams haven’t been able to win it all. With a younger, less experienced Oklahoma team, perhaps this is the year that another team can shine through.

One of those teams might be Texas (6-0). The Longhorns lost in last year’s final to the Sooners, a familiar foe. The two teams faced each other often in the Big 12, and then came to the SEC together for the 2025 season. Currently the top-ranked team, Texas has the experience and pitching to win, with players like Reese Atwood providing hitting power.

For the first time, No. 2-ranked Florida (6-0) is in the same conference as the Sooners and Longhorns. The Gators made it to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series in 2024, and added key transfers for the 2025 season. Jocelyn Erickson is back to lead the team after hitting .382 with 15 home runs and 81 RBI last season. She’ll be joined by grad student Rylee Holtorf, who was a speedster (7-for-9 in stolen base attempts in 2024) for Washington, and shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan, who transferred from Alabama and hit .296 with eight doubles, five triples and 30 RBI in 59 games last season.

Beyond the SEC, UCLA (currently ranked fourth) and Oklahoma State (10th) can make noise and challenge for a title, as well.

How will conference changes affect softball?

Conference changes may have been all about football, but the SEC also happened to create a super-conference in softball, as well. The SEC was already one of the toughest conferences in softball, with 13 teams playing in last year’s tournament. Now, they’ve added Oklahoma, the 2024 national champion, and Texas, the 2024 runner-up. In fact, 11 SEC teams were in the first Top 25 poll of the season. These teams will play each other more often, and get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Texas will play three games at Florida in mid-March. In April, they will run a gauntlet of conference games against Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma — all top-10 ranked teams. Oklahoma’s last six games before the SEC tournament are against Texas and then Florida.

Beyond the SEC’s power, the Big Ten’s expansion means that teams like UCLA, Nebraska (No. 17), Oregon (No. 20) and Northwestern (No. 21) will face off early to strengthen their teams while trying to knock off the SEC.

Will I get to watch softball on television?

This is a very easy question to answer: yes! After the 2024 Women’s College World Series broke TV ratings records, netting 2 million viewers for the most-watched WCWS finals on record, the powers that be wisely decided to make sure plenty of college softball will be televised.

This weekend, ESPN networks will broadcast the Clearwater Invitational, featuring teams like UCLA, Texas A&M (No. 5), Florida State (No. 9), Oklahoma State, Alabama (No. 12), Missouri (No. 16), Kentucky (No. 24) and more.

This season, SEC Network will air 50 softball games and the entire SEC tournament, which runs from May 6 to 10 at Georgia. The Big Ten Network’s coverage begins March 10, including the entire Big Ten Tournament, which runs May 7 to 10 at Purdue. And ESPN will air the Women’s College World Series in its entirety beginning May 30 from Devon Park in Oklahoma City.