UCLA and Oklahoma enter the NCAA softball regionals locked in a historic home run chase, while Texas A&M’s Mya Perez tries to keep an on-base streak alive. Across the bracket, Nebraska’s 21-game win run, Texas’s title-defense push, and pitchers like Maya Johns
Friday’s NCAA softball regionals begin at 11 a.m. ET, and the weekend is set up like a high-stakes sprint: as many as 112 games within 72 hours, with teams chasing momentum, records, and a spot in the WCWS.
The biggest spotlight is on a power showdown.. Oklahoma and UCLA have turned the season into a home run race for the record books. and it’s close enough to feel like a daily countdown.. The Sooners became the fastest DI team ever to reach 100 homers. doing it in just 25 games in April to break their own NCAA single-season record from 2021.. But UCLA caught fire late. driven by Megan Grant’s NCAA-record 38 home runs. and moved past Oklahoma during the Big Ten tournament.. Heading into this weekend, UCLA leads the total with 182 home runs to Oklahoma’s 174.
UCLA’s power surge doesn’t exist in a vacuum, though.. Texas A&M’s Mya Perez brings a different kind of pressure—because she’s been nearly impossible to shut down all season.. Through 53 games, the junior is the only DI player to reach base safely in every contest.. Her numbers read like consistency turned into a weapon: .435 batting average, 57 hits, 52 walks, and a .615 on-base percentage.
Nebraska’s own momentum story is hard to ignore, too.. The Huskers enter the tournament on a 21-game win streak, the longest in the nation.. They’re also fresh off a Big Ten tournament title, beating UCLA 7-2.. The question now is whether that streak survives when Nebraska faces South Dakota at 6:30 p.m.. ET.
If the weekend is about who can keep building, Oklahoma is also about where it can continue to land.. The Sooners have appeared in the WCWS for nine straight years, excluding 2020—the longest active streak in the nation.. They arrive with power at the plate, too, led by freshman Kendall Wells, who has 36 home runs.. OU’s regional in OKC gives them a home-field path that includes Kansas. Michigan. and Binghamton. with a potential Super matchup against Oregon depending on how the top seeds shake out.
Texas is chasing another kind of certainty: repeat history.. No.. 3 Texas enters the weekend as the 2025 reigning national champion. coming off an SEC tournament title after a 7-1 win over Alabama. which entered as the tournament’s top overall seed.. In the circle. ace Teagan Kavan has been dominant enough to earn 21 wins so far. and the Longhorns are asking the same question every title team faces—can they make a run and defend their championship?
Behind the scenes, the “dark horse” conversation is already getting its own legs. NCAA’s Michella Chester pointed to three teams she believes can shake up the field of 64: Belmont, Texas State, and Grand Canyon.
And in the circle, Maya Johnson’s name sits at the center of the pitching story.. The Belmont pitcher has recorded over 1,000 career strikeouts and currently leads the NCAA with a 0.66 ERA.. After last season. she entered the transfer portal as one of the biggest names but stayed with the program that first recruited her.. She has already built her case with a perfect game against Missouri State to open the season. plus a win over a then-No.. 14 Mississippi State in Starkville.. Johnson is set to take Belmont to Tuscaloosa this weekend.
Even the paths to Oklahoma City are being treated like a storyline of their own. Chester also identified what she believes is the toughest route to the WCWS. Though Alabama and UCLA both have a case, Oregon’s regional with South Carolina and a potential Super matchup against Oklahoma won out.
For all the talk of who might break through, the weekend’s outcome may come down to a simple reality: records, streaks, and opportunity are all sitting on the same schedule. From the home run race to the team that keeps winning without stopping, the regionals are where reputations get tested.
NCAA softball regionals UCLA Oklahoma home run race Megan Grant Mya Perez Nebraska win streak Maya Johnson Texas title defense Oklahoma WCWS streak Kendall Wells Teagan Kavan