Kentucky softball (19-6, 1-2 SEC) enters its conference home opener coming off a costly 2-1 series loss to Auburn. The Cats continue conference play in search of their first winning season in conference play since 2022.
The Cats have proven in the last two years that you do not have to have a tremendous year in the crash course that is the SEC to make the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky went 7-17 in conference play last season, and it still snuck into the tournament for the 15th straight season.
Last season, 14 of the 15 SEC schools (Vanderbilt does not have a softball team) made the NCAA tournament. The conference is packed full of elite competition from top to bottom. The path for Kentucky, in particular, is about as difficult as it could get.
Of the Cats’ seven remaining weekend series in conference play, all seven of their opponents are currently ranked in the top 16. Of those seven teams, four are in the top six. That is just the reality of playing in the SEC.
What exactly do the remaining matchups look like for Kentucky, and, better yet, what do the Cats need to do to be dancing for the seventeenth straight year come May?
No. 8 Florida (March 13-15)
Florida comes into Lexington after a sweep of Missouri. The last time the Gators visited John Cropp Stadium, the Cats took the series over then No. 16 Florida 2-1. That Gators team was not the Women’s College World Series qualifiers that will travel to Lexington this season.
Last year, the Gators entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 overall seed and were sent home in the WCWS by the eventual national champion Texas Longhorns.
This year’s Gators (26-1, 3-0 SEC) are led by a trio of power hitters who have all hit over 10 home runs, all three towards the top of the conference. First is two-time Gold Glove catcher and 2024 NFCA Player of the Year Jocelyn Erickson. She leads the team with 13 home runs and a 1.630 OPS.
Joining Erickson are Taylor Shumaker and Kenleigh Cahalan, who each have hit 10 homers themselves. Shumaker, an All-American and reigning NFCA Freshman of the Year, boasts a .500 batting average with 22 extra base hits and 40 RBIs in the Gators’ 27 games.
Cahalan is currently tied at second on the team with 40 in her second year in Gainesville. The Alabama transfer and former All-SEC infielder is hitting .442 on the year.
Keagan Rothrock is expected to lead the weekend pitching rotation for the Gators. She has posted a career 2.74 ERA and 399 strikeouts in her three years with the Gators.
This is a tough series for the Cats. A series loss would not hurt their tournament hopes too much. But, at home, this is a series win that would be huge for Kentucky, especially coming off the series loss in Auburn.
Overall, if the Cats can take one from Florida and compete throughout the series, keeping games close, they can leave the weekend feeling good about themselves.
At No. 16 Texas A&M (March 20-22)
The Cats’ trip to College Station might not be the scariest on paper, but looking at the week as a whole, it might be the hardest trip remaining on Kentucky’s schedule.
When Kentucky heads off to Texas to take on last year’s No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, it will be looking for its first series win over the Aggies since 2021. It definitely does not help the Cats’ case that they make a stop in Houston to take on the Cougars midweek.
The game against Houston, another power conference opponent, is a pretty big step up from the typical mid-major matchups that happen mid-week, aside from the yearly matchups against Louisville.
When the Cats do get to the weekend to take on Texas A&M (17-8), the Aggies will be led by All-SEC junior Mya Perez and Oklahoma State transfer Micaela Wark. Perez boasts a .464 batting average and 1.576 OPS this season, drilling 10 home runs and 30 RBIs in her 25 games. Wark has picked up right where she left off in her last season as a Cowgirl, leading the team with 34 RBIs and 10 home runs.
The Aggies’ weekend rotation is expected to be led by the duo of sophomore Sydney Lessentine and junior transfer Sidne Peters. Lessentine has started 10 games for A&M, the most on the staff. She has posted a 2.46 ERA, and opponents have only recorded a .196 batting average against her. She has been the go-to in big games for the Aggies, and she has been inconsistent against those tough teams.
Peters transferred from Washington after the 2024 season. She faced injuries last year, causing her to appear in only 11 games. But, in those 11 games, she looked amazing, posting a 7-0 record with a 1.75 ERA. She has appeared in 15 games this season, striking out 55 and recording a 2.54 ERA.
Kentucky leads the all-time series against A&M 13-12. Both Peters and Lessentine have been inconsistent against tough teams but have shown flashes.
If the Cats can get to both Lessentine along with Peters and come out with two wins, their tournament hopes get a big boost. But, considering the travel and the tough mid-week opponent, one of three does not hurt too badly. A win in Houston definitely helps as well.
No. 13 Georgia (March 27-29)
This is a series that the Bulldogs have dominated throughout history, with an all-time series record of 62-19. However, the Cats did win the series against then No. 7 Georgia in 2024, the last time they played.
The Bulldogs (20-7, 1-2 SEC) have been battle-tested early this season. They have faced five ranked opponents before conference play, posting a 2-3 record. However, their two wins were big ones. First, a 6-5 win over then-No. 8 Nebraska (now No. 5), followed by a 9-1 run-rule victory over then-No. 19 Duke (now No. 25).
Georgia is led by former Louisville standout and third-year Bulldog Sarah Gordon. The outfielder has tallied 69 total bases and 24 RBIs in 27 games. Gordon is currently leading the team with a .486 batting average and 1.521 OPS.
Cal transfer Randi Roelling is expected to step up and lead the Bulldogs in the circle after being the team’s second option last season. Roelling has started the most games on the staff and has posted a 8-4 record with a 3.46 ERA and 65 strikeouts.
The rest of the Bulldogs’ weekend rotation will be by committee. UCLA transfer Addisen Fisher is a strong candidate to get a start during their trip to Lexington. Coming off a Big Ten All-Freshman year, the sophomore has had a tremendous year, recording a 1.81 ERA, but in limited appearances.
Presley Harrison, Destin Howard, Maddie Johnson and Ada Little have all recorded starts throughout the year so far and are all names to watch to get the ball against the Cats.
Although Kentucky is not as battle-tested as Georgia is currently, it will be by the time the two teams meet at the end of March. This series is the best chance Kentucky has at winning a series against a ranked opponent, especially considering it is in Lexington.
Taking two, or maybe even getting the sweep over Georgia, could certainly help solidify the Cats as serious contenders for tournament play.
At No. 4 Oklahoma (April 2-4)
This series marks the first time Kentucky will make the trip to Oklahoma since the softball powerhouse joined the SEC in 2024. The Sooners lead the all-time series 10-1, with the last two games being in 2023, both being taken by the then No. 1 Sooners.
The Sooners are the single most dominant program since 2010, winning seven national championships in that span, including six of the last nine.
The only win Kentucky can boast against the Sooners came 12 years ago, in February 2014, when the Cats won a 10-inning thriller by a score of 5-4.
Oklahoma (25-2) is basically unstoppable at the plate. The Sooners hit .457 as a team, leading the SEC by far. They’ve recorded 108 home runs and 344 RBIs in their 27 games, both also leading the SEC by a landslide.
Kasidi Pickering, a 2025 First Team All-American and All-SEC utility player, leads off for the Sooners. Their whole lineup produces at an elite level, but Pickering starts everything off for Oklahoma. She is hitting .493 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs from the leadoff spot.
Coach Patty Gasso has jumbled up the batting order for the Sooners all year after Pickering at the leadoff spot. Despite this, they continue to score runs and be the most dangerous team at the plate in the conference.
Audrey Lowry leads the Sooners’ pitching staff with a 1.63 ERA in her 51.2 innings pitched. Outside of Lowry, however, Oklahoma’s pitching staff is the weaker part of the team.
This series is just not a good matchup for the Cats, who thrive on amazing pitching. If they can find a way to force a pitchers’ duel and take one in Norman, that would be huge. But this is Oklahoma; nobody will fault the Cats for being swept. If Kentucky can just stay within the run rule in all three games, avoiding a blowout loss, the team should leave Oklahoma feeling okay.
No. 1 Tennessee (April 11-13)
If Oklahoma is the scariest team in the conference at the plate, the Lady Vols (25-0, 3-0 SEC) are the scariest team in the conference in the circle. In 25 games this season, Tennessee’s pitching staff has given up only 22 runs, 11 of which came from its sweep of No. 17 LSU.
The Lady Vols have faced elite competition in nonconference play as well, including six top 25 teams and three top 10 teams. In those six matchups, the Lady Vols only allowed three runs total.
A trio of shutdown starters leads Tennessee’s pitching staff. Reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year Karlyn Pickens is the standout of the staff. Pickens has gone the distance in five of her six starts so far, striking out 68 and recording a 0.60 ERA. She suffered an injury against Belmont on March 3 and has not played since, but is listed as day-to-day.
Erin Nuwer joins Pickens in the rotation for the Lady Vols. Nuwer boasts a 0.89 ERA and 52 strikeouts in her 13 appearances. She threw a complete game shutout against UCLA, then No. 6 in the country (now No. 7), on February 14, allowing only one hit in the Lady Vols 11-0 victory over the Bruins.
The last of the trio is junior Sage Mardjetko, who has recorded a 0.83 ERA and 62 strikeouts in her eight appearances. Mardjetko got the start against then-No. 11 Nebraska on February 13, striking out four and allowing one run on one hit in three innings in Tennessee’s 4-1 victory.
The Wildcats match up much better against the Lady Vols than the Sooners. Kentucky also has a tremendous pitching staff and could hang around with the top-ranked team in the country. The two teams have had similar success at the plate thus far, granted Kentucky has not played the level of competition that Tennessee has.
Kentucky has not won a game against Tennessee since April 2021 and has not won a series against the Lady Vols since 2018. Assuming Pickens is back by then, this series is Tennessee’s to lose. But, if the Wildcats can win a low-scoring game at home against the top-ranked Lady Vols, they should be happy. But, like the Oklahoma series, nobody will fault Kentucky for being swept.
At No. 6 Alabama (April 17-19)
Alabama (24-0, 3-0 SEC) is another team that has dominated Kentucky throughout history, leading the all-time series 56-13. But Kentucky has won two of the last series against the Crimson Tide, the most recent being a 2-1 series win in Lexington in 2024.
If Tennessee has the scariest pitching staff in the SEC, Alabama is a close second. The Crimson Tide staff has a combined 0.88 ERA, leading the SEC. The Crimson Tide has allowed only 21 runs in its 24 games this season. Alabama has not had as difficult a schedule as Tennessee, however, with back-to-back games against then-No. 6 Florida State (now No. 10) being the only two games the Crimson Tide has played against a ranked opponent.
The Crimson Tide staff is led by the duo of Vic Moten and Jocelyn Briski. Moten, the 2025 Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year, has thrived early in her first season in Tuscaloosa. She has recorded a 0.55 ERA with 62 strikeouts in her 12 appearances. Moten’s only struggle in the circle has been walks, issuing 16 free passes so far this season.
Briski has been extremely successful this season as well. She has appeared in nine games, posting a 1.26 ERA and recording 70 strikeouts. Briski starred in the second game against FSU, giving up only one run and striking out nine in her complete game victory over the Seminoles.
The Crimson Tide also ranks fifth in the conference with a .369 batting average and third with 46 home runs. Senior Alexis Pupillo anchors the Crimson Tide lineup in the three hole. Pupillo, a two-time first-team all-conference player at Northern Iowa, is hitting .463 with 14 extra base hits in her second year in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama is one of the most complete teams in the SEC. Kentucky took the last series between the two teams in 2024, but with this series being in Tuscaloosa, a series win for the Wildcats would be a tough ask. One win from Kentucky in this series will do just fine in helping its tournament hopes.
No. 3 Texas (April 24-26)
Kentucky closes out the regular season against the reigning national champions, the Texas Longhorns. A Longhorns team that Kentucky has not beaten since February of 2014. The Wildcats were an out away from defeating the Longhorns in a 2023 extra innings matchup, but the drop-dead time limit in the NFCA Lead-Off Classic caused the score to revert to the 4-4 tie that the inning began with.
The Longhorns (23-1, 3-0 SEC) swept the Wildcats in Austin to close out the regular season last year. Unfortunately for the Cats, Texas has returned a lot of the same faces that they saw during last season’s sweep.
The returning Longhorn that has had the best season is WCWS hero Leighann Goode, who launched a three-run home run in the deciding game three of the national championship series. Goode is hitting .491 this season, leading the Longhorns.
Other returning stars for the Longhorns in the lineup include Kayden Henry, who is hitting .403 on the year and Reese Atwood, who is hitting .413. But Katie Stewart might be the one the Cats fear the most coming into the matchup. Stewart is hitting .492 and leads the team with 14 home runs, but she thrived against the Cats last year. She went 7-9 with four RBIs in the three games.
Another familiar face in the Longhorns lineup is Ashton Maloney, who, although is off to a slow start this season, was one of three Longhorns to start all 68 games last season, recording a .415 batting average.
The Texas pitching staff also has multiple returners, including preseason All-American Teagan Kavan. Kavan led Texas in starts last year, including complete games in both of its wins in the national championship series. Backing Kavan are returners Cambria Salmon and Citlaly Gutierrez. Salmon has posted a 2.05 ERA in her nine appearances, while Gutierrez has been even better with a 1.59 ERA in her six appearances.
Texas has been a national threat in softball since the COVID break, with three WCWS appearances in five years. The reigning national champions are not to be played with. This is another series like Oklahoma and Tennessee, that nobody would fault the Cats for being swept in.
A single win in this series could make the Cats a threat to make the tournament as long as they string together just a few wins earlier in conference play. But Texas takes this series nine times out of ten.
Overall
Kentucky has had a lackluster conference record the last two seasons, but has kept the NCAA Tournament streak alive. With the brutal schedule remaining for the Cats, it can be more of the same this season.
Last year’s Cats went 7-17 in conference play and were missing a truly defining non-conference win to solidify their resume going into conference play. This year, they can hang their hat on an 11-7 victory over then-No. 13 Stanford (now No. 20) that they dominated from start to finish.
The team last year also had the luxury of starting out conference play against Missouri, the only team in the SEC to not make the NCAA Tournament, which led to three of the team’s seven conference wins. They also got a big series win over No. 20 Ole Miss that solidified their resume.
The series loss to Auburn, the only unranked team on Kentucky’s schedule, could end up costly for the Cats. Now, Kentucky is going to have to find a way to string together wins against the loaded opponents they find themselves up against.
Series wins are not necessarily mandatory, but taking at least one series certainly is. Other than that, single games can help the Cats’ chances tremendously. Taking single games against one of the powerhouse teams like Oklahoma, Tennessee or Texas could especially establish the Wildcats as tournament contenders.
With the schedule that Kentucky finds itself facing, if it can put up another 7-17 season in conference play, considering the season it put together in non-conference play, the Cats will find themselves in the tournament come May.
