For the fourth time in five full seasons under head coach Samantha Ricketts, Mississippi State is heading to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs again enjoyed a stress-free Selection Sunday and will go to a regional in Lubbock, Texas, hosted by No. 12 seed Texas Tech.
MSU (37-17, 13-11 Southeastern Conference) finished above .500 in SEC play for the first time since 2001. But a few bad losses early in the year and an early exit from the conference tournament prevented the Bulldogs from hosting their first-ever NCAA regional. Instead, MSU is set to play Washington in the opening round on Friday.
All regionals are double elimination, a format that helps protect seeded teams. The Bulldogs could have bussed to Tallahassee, Florida — the site of their only regional championship in 2022 — but were instead shipped west for a second straight year. Here’s all you need to know about each of the three teams MSU could face at Rocky Johnson Field.
Washington (34-17, 12-9 Big Ten)
The Huskies are one of college softball’s most storied programs, having made every NCAA Tournament since 1994. Head coach Heather Tarr, who played at Washington in the mid-1990s, has led her alma mater since 2005 and won a national championship in 2009. Tarr’s teams have been regulars at the Women’s College World Series, with eight trips under the Huskies’ current leader and 15 in all.
But Washington has not played up to that standard in 2025, its first season in the Big Ten following the breakup of the Pac-12. Several key players transferred out last summer, and the Huskies had an up-and-down regular season, with a marquee win over Arizona and a 14-game winning streak from Feb. 22 until Mar. 14 but some questionable losses in conference play with a difficult travel schedule.
Big Ten Freshman of the Year Alexis DeBoer — yes, the daughter of current Alabama and former Washington head football coach Kalen DeBoer — paces the Huskies’ offense with a .369/.458/.846 triple slash and 20 home runs in 51 games. Jadyn Glab, a sophomore, also has an impressive OPS of 1.098 with a .316 average, 14 homers and more walks than strikeouts.
The pitching staff runs three deep, and none of Washington’s arms have been overworked. Cal Poly transfer Sophia Ramuno leads the way with a 2.16 ERA in 110 ⅓ innings, Stevie Hansen transferred from rival Oregon and has a 2.75 ERA in 76 ⅓ innings, and freshman Morgan Reimer has actually thrown one more inning than Ramuno with a 3.02 ERA.
The Bulldogs are 1-7 all-time against the Huskies, including an 0-4 record in NCAA regional play. MSU lost twice to Washington in the Seattle Regional in 2019.
“They’re a young team, but they’ve got some good transfers in there,” Ricketts said. “They can throw a lot of different arms at you, and then some really solid young bats. They have one of the best freshmen hitters in the country right now. It’s going to be a challenge. They know how to play, they know how to win in the postseason, and it’s definitely a team that we cannot take lightly to start off a regional.”
No. 12 Texas Tech (45-12, 20-4 Big 12)
The Red Raiders had never won a conference title — regular season or tournament — before claiming both Big 12 championships this year. Everything changed in Lubbock last summer, starting when Texas Tech lured head coach Gerry Glasco away from Louisiana, where he had led the Ragin’ Cajuns to the Sun Belt title in all six of his years in Lafayette.
A month later, the Red Raiders landed the hottest transfer portal commodity in softball history, signing superstar pitcher NiJaree Canady to a seven-figure NIL deal. Canady, who spent her first two seasons at Stanford, helped instantly elevate Texas Tech into national relevance. She is 26-5 with an ERA of 0.81 in 181 innings, racking up 263 strikeouts and just 35 walks.
The Bulldogs have seen Canady before in the postseason, losing to her in last year’s regionals at Stanford. But MSU ace Raelin Chaffin outdueled Canady in this year’s season opener, with the Bulldogs scoring three runs off Canady in the eighth for an extra-innings win.
Chloe Riassetto and Samantha Lincoln help round out the Red Raiders’ pitching staff. Texas Tech does not hit for a ton of power, but does have a .323 team batting average, led by Raegan Jennings, Mihyia Davis, Logan Halleman and Lauren Allred. Alexa Langeliers, part of the mass migration from Lafayette to Lubbock that followed Glasco, is the sister of Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers.
“They’re a great team. They’re a different team than when we faced them in February, and so are we,” Ricketts said. “Getting a chance to see (Canady) is helpful, but at the same time, they got a chance to see Raelin. It’s going to make it a good, even matchup for us.”
Brown (33-15, 13-8 Ivy League)
The Bears finished fourth in the Ivy League, but won the conference tournament to reach their first NCAA Tournament since 1997. Brown has a win over Boston University, which is also in the tournament, but did not play a Power 4 opponent all season.
Catcher Laurel Moody is by far the Bears’ best hitter, earning Ivy League Player of the Year honors. Moody has a .436/.534/.829 triple slash with 15 home runs and 42 RBI in 48 games, walking 31 times with just 10 strikeouts.
Alexis Guevara has carried the pitching staff, going 20-7 with a 1.75 ERA in 180 ⅓ innings. She is striking out nearly five batters for every walk she allows and will need to be at her best for Brown to avoid going two games and out.
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