Texas UIL softball postseason brackets start filling up as the regular season comes to a close originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
High school softball's regular season is wrapping up in the state of Texas this weekend, and the UIL playoffs are set to begin next week.
Brackets are still being filled out in the meantime, but one thing's for certain – many of the nation's best teams will be competing for championships in the Lone Star State, including the nation's No. 1-ranked team in MaxPreps.
The Barbers Hill [Mt. Belvieu, TX] Eagles took over the top spot in the MaxPreps rankings last week after the previously unbeaten and top-ranked Orange Beach [AL] Makos lost to the South Warren [Bowling Green, KY] Spartans. The Eagles moved up one position to take over at No. 1 with star pitcher Macie Bryant continuing to dominate. The future LSU Tiger is now 20-0 with 211 strikeouts on the season.
Other top-ranked teams in the MaxPreps list include the No. 4 Lake Creek [Montgomery, TX] Lions, No. 6 Melissa [TX] Cardinals, No. 11 Midway [Waco, TX] Panthers, No. 21 Kingwood [TX] Mustangs, and No. 25 Byron Nelson [Trophy Club, TX] Bobcats.
District certification deadline for all conferences
Texas had a total of eight teams ranked in the MaxPreps national Top 50 heading into the final weekend of action. Those teams have all qualified for the playoffs, and the deadline for district certification for the postseason is Tuesday, April 21, with the playoffs beginning later in the week.
The University Interscholastic League divides each of its classifications starting with Class 2A and up into two playoff divisions based on enrollment, and the final brackets will be posted once all of the district certifications are in.
But we do know which classification the top contenders hail from, including those national Top 50 squads – even if we don't know all of their individual brackets and opponents, yet.
Five of those Top 50 teams play in the UIL's top Class 6A ranks, and we do know the brackets for two of those teams. The No. 21 Kingwood Mustangs and the No. 25 Byron Nelson Bobcats will each compete in the Division II bracket later this week when the playoffs get under way. They are on opposite sides of the bracket, and depending on where the No. 11 Midway Panthers are slotted, they could potentially be the two highest-ranked teams in the field.
Beyond the Top 25, the No. 34 Guyer [Denton, TX] Wildcats and the No. 47 Katy [TX] Tigers will also be competing in one of the two Class 6A brackets.
The two top-ranked teams in Texas are both Class 5A schools, and they also both play in Region III with the big question now being whether No. 1 Barbers Hill and No. 4 Lake Creek will both end up in the same postseason division.
No. 6 Melissa is also a Class 5A school playing in Region II meaning, theoretically, three of the nation's top six teams could all be competing for the same state championship in Texas.
Why CIA-Bella Vista is the 2026 SN Boys Basketball National Champion
Why Ontario Christian is the 2026 SN Girls Basketball National Champion