If one word could describe the Texas A&M softball season, it would be adversity.
In 2025, one of the most historic seasons in program history ended with a crowd-silencing two-out strikeout with tying and winning runs on base.
Just like that, a 48-win season and a No. 1-overall seed watched its year end with questions of what could’ve been. For A&M, it seemed like being the best of the best still wasn’t good enough.
One year later, despite the what-ifs, Trisha Ford & Co. have earned yet another spot as a top-16 national seed and are preparing to host their third consecutive regional as the 2026 NCAA Tournament’s No. 15 overall seed.
A&M begins its postseason run vs. UConn at 1 p.m. CT on Friday at Davis Diamond.
“It’s definitely the elephant in the room,” Ford said, “(Kennedy Powell) and Mya (Perez) were both here last year, and they know what it felt like. I don’t think we’ll ever forget that feeling. At the same time, we know we’re in control.
“Some of your hardest lessons you learn from are the losses, and that’s what drives you to hopefully win and succeed.”
Piecing it together after a 17-8 non-conference slate, Ford has mentioned that it’s good to go through hard times early, something that last year’s team wasn’t used to coming into the tournament.
“The target is on us for this first game,” Ford said. “We have to understand that and just go out and execute our game. They’re going to punch, but we can sustain punches.”
Throughout the noise, what stands true for A&M is the standard in the circle.
Sidne Peters earned All-SEC Second Team honors in her first full season after recovering from a back injury last year, and she has come into her own in 2026. Peters leads A&M with a 14-5 record, 2.84 ERA, 125 strikeouts and 47 walks in 115.2 innings.
Counterpart Sydney Lessentine follows right behind with a 14-4 record, 3.18 ERA and 99 strikeouts with only 27 walks in 125.2 innings.
The “S-Squared” duo’s performance could easily determine A&M’s success against its foes, paired with a pitch-by-committee staff in Kate Munnerlyn, Taylor Pannell and Grace Sparks.
The circle is only one half of the story, as the power at the plate has pushed A&M through battles all season.
An All-SEC first-teamer, Perez has been a game-changer, hitting a career-best .435 with 18 home runs and 52 RBI as a junior.
One of Perez’s infamous home runs came against Mississippi State, when she crushed a grand slam, to bring A&M back from a 6-0 deficit and secure a sweep against the 14th-ranked Bulldogs.
“I feel probably the strongest mentally right now,” Perez said. “Having that hurt the past two years, honestly, just knowing we can go out there and don’t let the moment be too big and play our game that we’ve been playing since forever.”
Paired with the Aggies’ hit leader in Powell, home run leader Micaela Wark and a plethora of Aggies batting above the .300 mark, the A&M offense is flashy and lethal, a combo that ranks among the top 20 nationally
“I love playing in front of the 12th Man,” Powell said. “It’s great to be home.
“I’m glad I get to play in front of the 12th Man one last time, and my goal is to just get wins and keep moving through the postseason.”
Despite the powerful potential, A&M ended the season on a three-game skid, most recently suffering an 11-8 loss to Auburn in the SEC Tournament.
“That’s kind of how the season goes,” Ford said. “We’ve been punched before, and we’ve been punched obviously earlier in the year, and we respond well. I think it was a good gut check.”
Knowing how to battle will come in handy because there’s no slacking when it comes to this regional field.
Beyond UConn, Arizona State and McNeese are in College Station as conference champions.
Killing a giant is a challenge of its own, but that's what makes this tournament special. And after facing 10 national seeds this season, A&M is no stranger to giants.
“There’s not an arm in this country that these ladies haven’t seen,” Ford said. “KP said it after the OU series. She’s like, ‘We can hang. You know what this series taught us? We can hang with anybody, anytime, anyplace.’”
