When you take all of the success that Gerry Glasco and the Texas Tech Red Raider softball team had last season and then combine it with the Red Raiders loading up from a talent perspective, it’s easy to understand why expectations might be kind of high for TTU this coming softball season.
I mean, folks are expecting the Red Raiders to go out and win the Big 12 again and to try to compete for a national title in the Women’s College World Series this summer. And with the talent that is all over the field for the Texas Tech softball team, it’s easy to understand that. The Red Raiders are loaded with preseason All-Big 12 talent.
And this Texas Tech team is being projected as the preseason favorite to come out on top of the Big 12 this season according to *checks notes* the Big 12.
Or, well, the Big 12 preseason softball poll, to be a little more precise.
Texas Tech Red Raiders selected as the No. 1 team in the 2026 Big 12 preseason softball poll
The Red Raiders, again, are leading the way (and they’re doing it in unanimous fashion). Here’s what the rest of the conference looks like in the preseason Big 12 softball poll:
- No. 1 Texas Tech Red Raiders
- No. 2 Oklahoma State Cowgirls
- T-No. 3 Arizona Wildcats
- T-No. 3 Arizona State Sun Devils
- No. 5 UCF Knights
- No. 6 BYU Cougars
- No. 7 Iowa State Cyclones
- No. 8 Baylor Bears
- No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks
- No. 10 Utah Utes
- No. 11 Houston Cougars
In addition to the high expectations, it’s also clear that the Red Raiders have plenty to prove this season. With all of the Texas Tech softball players on the preseason All-Big 12 team and now seeing that the Red Raiders are at the top of the preseason Big 12 poll, there are going to be plenty of teams (and fanbases) that will want to see the Texas Tech softball team struggle and stumble.
It’s not like Glasco and the Red Raiders can just sneak up on anyone this season. After last year’s national title runner up run (and all of the excitement along the way) and with all of the offseason hype, people are paying attention to this Texas Tech team.