KU softball opens NCAAs Friday in Norman. Jayhawks’ regional features juggernauts
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2015 after a 35-19 season.
- Kansas will open the Norman Regional as a No. 8 seed against Michigan Friday.
- Oklahoma hosts the regional and has defeated Kansas 25 straight times.
Jennifer McFalls knew back in August — at the start of the 2025-26 school year — that her eighth Kansas Jayhawks softball team would turn out to “be a special group.”
“I remember meeting with (KU athletic director) Travis Goff in the fall and telling him, ‘I think we have a chance to be really good.’ If we stay healthy and all the things continue to come together like they were or possibly could, then I thought we had a real chance to get ourselves into postseason,” said McFalls, KU’s head coach.
She was speaking to reporters this week at a news conference in advance of KU’s NCAA Tournament appearance. And her observations were accurate.
The Jayhawks (35-19, 15-11 Big 12) placed fifth of 11 teams in the conference’s regular-season standings. They went 1-1 in the league’s postseason tournament and in the process earned the program’s first NCAA Tourney bid since 2015 (and 13th overall).
As a No. 8 seed, KU will open a four-team NCAA regional in Norman, Oklahoma, with a game against Michigan (34-20) at 5 p.m. Friday. All of the regional’s games will be played at Love’s Field, home of the Sooners. No. 1 seed Oklahoma (48-8) will take on Binghamton (20-25) at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Friday’s winners will meet in game three of the regional at 2 p.m. Saturday. The losing teams from Friday will meet in game four at 4:30 p.m Saturday. Saturday’s games will conclude with the loser of game three and the winner of game four squaring off in a win-or-go-home meeting at 7 p.m.
The winner of the Norman Regional, to be determined Sunday, will advance to the NCAA Super Regionals against the winner of the Eugene Regional (hosted by the Oregon Ducks).
“It’s emotional. It’s obviously so exciting,” said McFalls, who recently was named USA Today Sports Network’s Big 12 coach of the year.
“My heart just bleeds so much for this senior class and the all the players that have poured in all the work over the last couple years,” she said. “Our junior and senior classes have been really special to me. They’ve been committed and loyal. And then obviously adding the freshman and sophomore classes to that … I think they’re just laying the foundation of what the future is for Kansas softball.”
The Jayhawks’ 35 wins are the most under McFalls and the most overall for the team since 2015. KU also set program records for conference victories (14), home runs (81), doubles (94), runs (360) and RBIs (342). KU finished the season 6-2 in Big 12 series, tied for the second-best in the conference.
Catcher Ella Boyer, a KU newcomer from Spring, Texas, was recognized as a unanimous Big 12 freshman of the year, as well as first-team all-league. Hailey Cripe, a senior shortstop from Royal Center, Indiana, was Big 12 co-defensive player of the year.
Boyer and first baseman Anna Soles, a junior from League City, Texas, were first-team all-league. Presley Limbaugh, a senior outfielder from Cooper, Texas, was second-team.
Joining Boyer on the all-freshman team were teammates Blakely Barber, a pitcher from Georgetown, Texas, and Lila Partridge, a pitcher from Petaluma, California.
“I think more than anything this team just needed some confidence and to be able to look in the mirror and realize they were really good,” McFalls said of the secret to success in year eight of her tenure.
The Jayhawks will face some rugged competition in Norman. Michigan, Friday’s opponent, defeated the Jayhawks, 4-2 on Feb. 8 in Tampa. The Wolverines of the Big Ten erased a 2-1 deficit by scoring three times in the sixth inning.
The Wolverines are making their 32nd NCAA Tournament appearance and 30th in the last 31 years. Michigan is 91-27 all-time in NCAA regional games and has won 18 regional titles. The Wolverines are led by sophomore utility player Lauren Putz, who has a .442 batting average with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs.
“We played them the first weekend (of this season),” McFalls said. “We had the lead in that game and probably should have won that game. So it’s exciting. I think it’s a great matchup for us to start off.”
Oklahoma, meanwhile, which has been in the SEC the last two years, has hosted a regional for 15 straight seasons. The Sooners lead the all-time series versus KU, 68-12. KU’s last victory over OU was a 5-2 decision in 2016.
KU has lost 25 consecutive games to OU. The Jayhawks are 0-18 vs. the Sooners in McFalls’ eight seasons. And OU has outscored KU 152-12 in the team’s last 15 meetings.
“It’s familiar territory, for sure,” McFalls said of Norman. “This is the one year we haven’t played OU (in the regular season). It’s kind of interesting we end up back there.
“I just told them (KU players) anything could happen. We’ve got to be able to go in there and have a lot of faith and confidence of what we’re doing. And it’s a whole lot more pressure on OU than Kansas right now going into this tournament.”
McFalls continued: “I think this team that has a chance to go there and play in its first postseason opportunity, it’s going to make them realize, ‘Hey, this is the real deal. And what do we have to do to put ourselves in position and in a better position next year?’”
