Heading into the 2025 season, two things were simultaneously true for Texas State softball: Expectations were sky-high and nobody quite knew what to expect. Hard to imagine, but that’s the product of a program coming off of a Sun Belt Tournament championship victory and NCAA regional championship appearance, all while boasting a completely new look on the field this year.

Here is a look back on the Bobcats’ 2025 season.

The 2025 season was filled with ups and downs. From rattling off seven and eight game winning streaks early in the season, but dropping crucial conference series against top teams in the Sun Belt, to sweeping Louisiana-Monroe on the final weekend of conference play to win the Sun Belt regular season championship and finally being eliminated in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament, the Bobcats never quite found their stride for an extended time.

“I thought it was an up and down battle for us all year long, we never really found a consistent spot to sit in,” Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard said. “The good part about it is most of [the team] is returning, so the experience we gained this year is only going to pay dividends moving forward.”

Even with all the ups and downs, Texas State played themselves into winning their second outright Sun Belt regular season conference championship and their first since 2018.

Entering the final weekend of play, the Bobcats sat second in the conference behind Louisiana-Monroe and needed to win two-of-three for at least a share of the conference title. Texas State went on the road and swept the conference leading Warhawks to claim the outright regular season championship, highlighting the growth and resilience of the Bobcats’ young core.

“To go into Monroe and do what we did in that three-game series in that atmosphere, with that pressure, shows me that the growth is where I wanted it to be throughout the season,” Woodard said. “That puts us in a good spot moving into next year to tell me we have the ability to [win].”

Despite winning the regular season championship and securing the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, the Bobcats’ run came to an end shortly after.

Drawing James Madison in their first round of the Sun Belt tournament, the Texas State offense was stifled by JMU pitching. The Bobcats couldn’t make anything happen at the plate and ended up losing to the Dukes 2-0, ending their tournament and ultimately their season as selection Sunday came and went without Texas State being selected to a regional.

There were a few talking points as to why Texas State wasn’t selected to the tournament, even as the regular season champions in one of the better conferences in the nation. But the answer was simple in the eyes of Woodard.

“You never want to put yourself in a spot where one game determines whether you make the postseason or not and because of our inconsistency that’s where we landed.” Woodard said. “We didn’t play well in April. We want to be playing our best ball in April and May and we didn’t do that.”

Even though Texas State missed the postseason this year, there is strong reason to believe the Bobcats will be right back in contention for a tournament berth next season. Only graduating two seniors, Texas State is primed to bring back its core group that led to much of this season’s success.

Even with the transfer portal and all the movement in collegiate athletics these days, one of the hallmarks of Texas State softball has been coach Woodard’s ability to retain the talent on her roster, such as Maddy Azua, Ciara Trahan, Jessica Mullins, Sara Vanderford and more. If Woodard continues to do so, the Bobcat softball program is poised for success in 2026.

“You never really know, but I feel pretty good right now about the core group returning,” Woodard said. “The core group I feel like is going to be back next year to make a statement that we didn’t get to make this year,”

While the ultimate goal is to be the last team standing in Oklahoma City, success is measured differently in every program. For Texas State, not reaching the NCAA tournament is a disappointing end, but what such a young team was able to accomplish is a reason to look at the 2025 season as a positive.