Well, college softball fans and newbies, this is the weekend we’ve all been waiting for and knew would happen — one of dramatic movement after shocking upsets and big-time matchups.

As the season continues and the postseason push starts to come into view, we’re seeing the true identities of these teams. Is Tennessee’s offense as strong as we once thought? Maybe not. Is Jordy Frahm leading Nebraska to Oklahoma City? Potentially. We’ll just have to see how things play out as we get deeper and deeper into conference action. This is when teams separate into clear tiers.

Let’s get into what stood out this weekend.

1. Should MLB’s automated ball-strike system make its way to college softball? Texas coach Mike White seems to think so. With the series already in hand against in-state rival Texas A&M after two hard-fought comeback victories, the Longhorns weren’t able to complete the sweep on Sunday in a 9-7 loss, during which White was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Umpires are always a factor in college softball and can often be inconsistent. But White went full Billy Martin, kicking dirt onto the plate in the sixth inning after a questionable call. He sure made his opinions on the matter known. You don’t see this often in softball, but it was pure comedy. Maybe those robo umps could be a consideration in college sports someday … but for now, this diamond still relies on the human factor.

This angle of Mike White’s ejection is even better than the TV broadcast. Feels safe to say that the Longhorns’ leader was not a fan of the strike zone. pic.twitter.com/3accYjI2hz

— Justin McLeod (@justfactsmaam) March 29, 2026

2. Nebraska is coming for the Big Ten crown and a shot at the Women’s College World Series. Despite the many must-see sporting events that occurred this weekend, I had the UCLA-Nebraska series circled on my calendar. While Oklahoma’s power surge — the Sooners already broke the SEC season record for home runs — has been the talk of the town, it’s impossible to ignore just how dominant the Bruins’ offense has been to start the season.

UCLA has hit 104 home runs this season, led by the highly touted duo of Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery, who have tallied 23 and 20 long balls, respectively. Grant has an eye-popping 2.152 OPS and leads the country in walks per game. But the Huskers held her to just three hits this series, though it could have been four if not for the home run robbery by left fielder Natalia Hill in Game 1.

ALL THE WAY 🆙 pic.twitter.com/8MY9cHNfnn

— Nebraska Softball (@HuskerSoftball) March 28, 2026

Frahm, as expected, led the way for the Huskers in the circle in what has become a more common role for her this season: closer. The senior broke the Nebraska program record after recording her eighth save this season Friday night, surpassing the total set by current coach Rhonda Revelle. Hannah Camenzind was the offensive star for the Huskers on the weekend, as she hit two homers — one of which was the game-winner in Friday’s comeback victory — and tallied six RBIs, leading the team to its best series win of the season so far.

3. Hello, Ole Miss! There were lots of upsets this weekend, whether it be in single games or series. The most notable was the Rebels’ surprising series win against Tennessee, at one point the top-ranked team in the nation. Ole Miss downed the Vols in Games 1 and 2 with 2-1 victories in each, before dropping the series finale 4-3 on Sunday.

This is the third straight weekend against an SEC opponent in which the Vols have struggled to score, and it’s more than just a coincidence at this point. While the pitching staff is still keeping Tennessee in games, hitters like Ella Dodge, Emma Clarke and Mackenzie Butt have gone relatively quiet. Props to Ole Miss for shutting down the Vols in the majority of Game 3 as well — it took a walk-off bases-loaded walk for Tennessee to salvage the weekend with a win.

Elsewhere in the SEC, LSU upset Oklahoma in Game 2 despite losing that series to the Sooners, two games to one. Credit the Tigers for keeping the potent OU offense relatively quiet, allowing just three runs in the first two games. We knew the SEC was good, but now I’m fully prepared for more surprises for the rest of the regular season.

4. If there’s anything we learned about the ACC this weekend, it’s that while Duke and Stanford both may struggle in the pitching department, boy, can they score some runs. The Blue Devils took the series, two games to one, with a combined 56 runs scored between the two teams. Stanford outscored Duke 29-27 on the weekend, but the Blue Devils secured the rubber match victory in a 17-14 slugfest on Sunday.

The Blue Devils hit eight home runs — from just five players, with Tyrina Jones, Aminah Vega and Layla Lamar each launching two round-trippers in the game — and scored seven runs in the seventh inning to complete the comeback. Stanford’s offense was led by River Mahler and Taryn Kern, as Kern tallied three homers on the weekend, while Mahler racked up seven RBIs. But the trend for both of these squads so far this season is that, as well as they can hit, their pitching staffs keep putting them in vulnerable situations. Duke’s team ERA is at 4.71, while Stanford’s sits at 4.24.

5. Two quick shout-outs for memorable milestones that took place this weekend. Belmont pitcher Maya Johnson’s 1,000th career strikeout, and Florida State coach Lonni Alameda’s 1,000th win. With 12 strikeouts against Murray State on Tuesday, Johnson is now the only active Division I player to reach the mark.

Alameda, a beloved figure in the sport who last year was battling breast cancer, hit the career 1,000-win mark as the Seminoles completed the sweep of Clemson on Sunday. During her 18 years in Tallahassee, Alameda’s squad has never missed the NCAA Tournament, has won nine ACC titles and collected the WCWS championship in 2018.

6. It’s Golden Ticket time! If you have started to make yourself familiar with professional softball leagues, then you know what this honor is all about. Starting last season, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, a league backed by MLB and led by former MLB general manager Kim Ng, started touring the country in March and April to gift college softball’s most notable stars with Golden Tickets. The tickets signify that one of the league’s teams has privately drafted the recipient, which will then be revealed during the draft show in early May.

This week, potential No. 1 pick and Texas Tech star NiJaree Canady was the first honoree and received the message from former Red Raider Patrick Mahomes. Texas seniors Reese Atwood and Leighann Goode, as well as Arizona star Sydney Stewart, also received tickets. We’ll see more throughout the season, but for now, it’s time to start predicting where the biggest names in college softball will end up in the AUSL this summer.

RankTeamLast WeekOverallPrev WeekRPI

1

Texas

3-1

31-2

1

1

2

Texas Tech

4-0

34-2

2

7

3

Oklahoma

3-1

34-3

4

9

4

Arkansas

3-1

30-5

8

3

5

Nebraska

2-1

26-6

9

2

6

Florida

2-2

33-4

3

6

7

Alabama

4-0

33-2

6

4

8

UCLA

2-2

29-5

7

10

9

Florida State

4-0

32-4

10

11

10

Tennessee

2-2

30-5

5

5

11

Georgia

4-0

27-8

11

8

12

Virginia Tech

3-0

31-4

12

17

13

Washington

4-0

30-6

14

18

14

Mississippi State

2-1

31-7

13

14

15

Arizona

4-0

27-8

16

12

16

Virginia

4-0

31-3

15

25

17

Oregon

3-1

26-9

17

13

18

Duke

2-1

24-11

19

19

19

Texas A&M

2-2

24-11

18

23

20

Arizona State

5-0

28-9

21

26

21

LSU

2-2

23-12

22

15

22

Grand Canyon

3-1

36-2

20

28

23

UCF

4-0

28-10

24

24

24

Oklahoma State

4-0

25-10

25

21

25

Ole Miss

3-1

23-15

UR

16

Dropped out: Clemson
Just missed: Stanford, South Carolina, Louisville, Kansas, Indiana