• Wisconsin softball lost to Texas, 9-0, in the NCAA Tournament’s Austin regional.
• Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan held the Badgers hitless until the fifth inning while the Longhorns jumped to an early lead.
• Wisconsin will play an elimination game against either Baylor or Wagner.

Wisconsin softball could not keep up with the reigning national champions.

Texas – the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament – run-ruled the Badgers, 9-0, in six innings on May 16 in the Austin regional of the NCAA Tournament, easily sending UW to the consolation side of the double-elimination bracket.

Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan took a no-hitter into the fifth inning until Alivia Bark’s single. The Badgers’ only other baserunner during Kavan’s five innings in the circle was on a walk in the first inning.

The Badgers did not have a runner in scoring position until the sixth inning, when Emily Bojan hit a double off Texas reliever Cambria Salmon.

The Longhorns, meanwhile, wasted no time in distancing themselves from the Badgers with their bats. They scored three runs in the first inning after back-to-back hits by Kayden Henry and Katie Stewart, a sacrifice fly by Viviana Martinez and a two-run home run by Reese Atwood.

Texas scored another two runs on a Henry double in the second inning, prompting the Badgers to pull UW ace Shelby Jacobson. One day after her complete-game win over Baylor, Jacobson gave up five earned runs against the Longhorns in 1 ⅓ innings pitched.

Texas piled on with two more runs in the third inning in small-ball fashion after loading the bases, and completed the run-rule win with Henry’s two-run homer in the sixth inning – her third hit of the afternoon – off UW reliever Jordan Felci. (The mercy rule in college softball is eight runs after five or more innings.)

All three UW pitchers to face the Longhorns – Jacobson, Berritt Herr and then Felci – each gave up at least two runs against the host and SEC tournament champion.

When, who will Wisconsin softball play next

The Badgers will look to keep their tournament run alive later today in a consolation game against the winner of the Baylor-Wagner game. (The winner of UW’s next game would then need to defeat Texas twice on May 17 to win the Austin regional.)

UW defeated Baylor in the first round following Hannah Conger’s walk-off double in the ninth inning. Wagner is coming off a 9-1 loss against Texas. The first pitch of UW’s second game is expected to be at approximately 5 p.m., depending on the duration of the Baylor-Wagner game.

This story will be updated after Wisconsin’s second game against Baylor or Wagner.

MILWAUKEE – The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of southeast Wisconsin late Friday night. It remains in effect until 5 a.m. on Saturday, May 16.

The watch covers Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine, Walworth and Waukesha counties. Storms could produce gusty wind and hail.

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Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:  

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We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.

School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.

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Add CBS Sports to the growing list national outlets that are decidedly low on Wisconsin football heading into the 2026 season.

In the website’s updated full 1-through-138 offseason rankings, the Badgers check in at a dismal 61st nationally and 15th in the Big Ten.

Here’s how the outlet ranks the entire Big Ten:

Yes, Wisconsin is coming off its worst season since the early 1990s. Yes, the Badgers are running it back with head coach Luke Fickell, who has a losing record through three seasons in Madison.

But whenever the national media has ranked the Badgers this offseason, it feels like they’re ranking their 2025 squad in the context of the upcoming campaign. It may not seem like it to an outsider (or, ahem, the national media), but a lot has changed in Madison since the worst football season in over 30 years.

Wisconsin is lower than who??

Again, I understand why the Badgers are ranked low on this list. They haven’t inspired any sort of confidence in at least two seasons. But some of the teams ranked above them are…extremely questionable.

Maryland man-handled Wisconsin in Camp Randall Stadium last fall, but the Terps proceeded to go 1-8 in Big Ten play. Folks are high on their offense with sophomore quarterback Malik Washington, but placing the Terps a full 10 spots ahead of Wisconsin seems a little excessive.

How about UCLA? The Bruins went 3-9 last fall. Sure, they’ve vastly upgraded their coaching staff and flipped almost half their team, but that means their entire roster is essentially projection.

What about Northwestern? Sure, the Wildcats won seven games last season, but how excited are we about new quarterback Aidan Chiles, who’s struggled through three combined years at Oregon State and Michigan State?

How about some of the non-Big Ten teams ranked higher than Wisconsin? The UTSA Roadrunners are ranked above the Badgers. Though it’s only by two spots, that in particular might be the biggest slap in the face.

Even a team like Virginia Tech, ranked No. 37 (24 spots higher than the Badgers) is puzzling. Sure, there’s signs of life under new head coach James Franklin, but the Hokies went 3-9 last fall.

Wisconsin’s offseason remains slept on

What rankings like these, especially the teams ranked higher than Wisconsin tell us, is that the national media is still sleeping on the Badgers’ offseason. Clearly, other programs (like Virginia Tech coming off a 3-9 campaign) were thought to have improved drastically. Wisconsin, on the other hand? Not so much.

The Badgers didn’t have the flashiest transfer portal haul, but they did address every position of need and sign a handful of plug-and-play starers at key spots. Every position on offense appears to be deeper and more talented after a dismal 2025, while the same looks true on defense except potentially at defensive line and outside linebacker.

Yes, Wisconsin was terrible last year. Everybody knows that. But the national media remains skeptical the Badgers did much to change that this offseason, which, in my eyes, is a grave miscalculaiton.

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