Texas
Texas Longhorns Star Wanted to Face Oklahoma, Not Texas Tech, for National Title
For the third time in four years, the Texas Longhorns will play for a national championship at the Women’s College World Series, finally taking on a new opponent, the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The last two times the Longhorns were in the championship series, they’ve run into the Oklahoma Sooners dynasty that has won four straight national championships, with the Longhorns being defeated twice in that stretch, with series sweeps in both 2022 and 2024.
This time, the Longhorns will avoid the dynasty in the championship series, but for graduate Joley Mitchell, getting the chance to beat OU for their first national championship would have made the win a whole lot better.
“Personally, I wanted it to be OU,” said Mitchell in a media availability. “If you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man, so I’m happy regardless and I want to win this thing and I’m ready to go…wish it would’ve been OU but it’s not, so we just have to focus on what’s in front of us.”
Oklahoma Sooners head coach Patty Gasso has had a dominant hold on the softball world; her accolades read like a laundry list, with eight national championships, 16 conference Coach of the Year awards, appearing in every championship series since 2019, and since 2016, winning six out of their seven national championship appearances.
Putting an end to Oklahoma’s streak was first a loss to Texas in the second game of the WCWS, where Mitchell hit a dagger solo home run in the sixth inning, which moved the Sooners to the other side of the bracket, forcing them to come out of the losers’ bracket.
And after defeating the Oregon Ducks, the Sooners needed to win twice against the Texas Tech Red Raiders to reach the championship series. The Red Raiders delivered the final blow to Oklahoma, defeating them in the first game in walk-off fashion, 3-2.
Finally, the Texas Longhorns will avoid Oklahoma in the championship series, but are still facing a challenge with old Big 12 foe Texas Tech. Led by superstar ace junior Nijaree Canady, who on the season is 33-5 with a .90 ERA and 304 strikeouts, and has pitched the entirety of the WCWS for Tech.
Game one of the championship series begins on Wednesday, June 4, at 7 p.m. C.T. on ESPN
No. 1 seed Texas (51-12, 16-8 in SEC play) and No. 3 seed Texas Tech (61-8, 21-3 in the Big 12) begin their three-game series at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday in Oklahoma City. Each
Texas
Brazoria County deputy shoots, kills Texas State University student after car chase, report says
BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas – A Texas State University student was shot and killed by a Brazoria County Sheriff’s deputy early Monday morning after an attempted traffic stop in Lake Jackson.
The news was first reported by The University Star, Texas State’s student-run newspaper.
In a Tuesday statement to KSAT, the university identified the student as John Gabriel Mendoza Jr., 18. He was a freshman who studied management, according to the school.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, classmates, and all those affected by this tragedy,” the university said in its statement.
Deputies attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle just after midnight Monday near Farm-to-Market 2004 and This Way Street in Lake Jackson, the sheriff’s office said.
The driver of the vehicle, who was identified as Mendoza by The University Star, did not stop, deputies said. The deputies then chased after the vehicle for approximately a mile into a neighborhood located in the 100 block of Indian Warrior Trail.
According to the sheriff’s office, the driver went inside a home’s garage and parked before a deputy approached the vehicle, the release said.
The deputy then pulled out his firearm and shot into the vehicle. The sheriff’s office said the gunfire struck the driver.
The University Star reported that Mendoza was the one shot. He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The deputy who pulled the trigger has since been placed on administrative leave in accordance with the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office policy.
KSAT reached out to the Lake Jackson Police Department and the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office for more information, but neither agency has responded at this time.
The shooting investigation is being led by the Texas Rangers, according to a Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office news release.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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