The 2025 Big 12 Softball Tournament is set to begin on Wednesday, May 7, at OGE Energy Field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, with a champion to be crowned on Saturday, May 10.
After securing the regular season title last weekend, Texas Tech enters OKC as the No. 1 seed and will be the favorite to clinch the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Softball Tournament.
However, the Red Raiders don’t appear to be in the conversation to host after the first weekend at this point and could certainly do themselves a favor with a big showing.
Meanwhile, teams like Arizona, Arizona State, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State are seeded just behind TTU and will be looking to make a statement of their own before regional weekend, and here’s how we see things shaking out.
2025 Big 12 Softball Tournament: Bracket Predictions
Let’s take a look at the bracket for this week’s action, courtesy of the Big 12 Conference.
First Round
Wednesday, May 7 (ESPN+)
Game 1: No. 8 Baylor vs. No. 9 Kansas – 2:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 UCF vs. No. 10 Utah – 5:00 p.m.
Game 3: No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 Houston – 7:30 p.m.
Predictions: Baylor def. Kansas, UCF def. Utah, BYU def. Houston
There’s really not much to glean from this opening round, other than that the bottom of the league is pretty bad this season. Baylor lost a series to Kansas in Waco back in March, but has been playing much better softball in recent weeks, so I’ll take the Bears in that one. I wouldn’t expect UCF to have much trouble from Utah, and although Houston’s offense gets hot at times, I don’t think they’ve got enough to hang with BYU—all chalk on Wednesday.
Quarterfinals
Thursday, May 8 (ESPN+)
Game 4: No. 4 Oklahoma State vs. No. 5 Arizona State – 11:00 a.m.
Game 5: No. 1 Texas Tech vs. No. 8 Baylor – 1:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 7 UCF – 5:00 p.m.
Game 7: No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 6 BYU – 7:30 p.m.
Predictions: Oklahoma State def. Arizona State, Texas Tech def. Baylor, Arizona def. UCF, BYU def. Iowa State
The quarterfinal matchups are much more interesting, as all eight of my projected teams left at this point are in the discussion to make the NCAA Tournament field on Sunday. Oklahoma State should ride a heavy home crowd to a win over Arizona State before Texas Tech gets a tricky matchup with a Baylor team that is playing for its season. Ultimately, Texas Tech gets it done. Then, we move on to Arizona vs. UCF, which is about as intriguing a two vs. seven matchup as you’ll see. The Knights took down Arizona in a three-game series in Tucson earlier this year, but I see the Wildcats moving on this time around. Then, to close out the day, we’ve got our first upset of the tournament with BYU taking down Iowa State in the nightcap.
Semifinals
Friday, May 9 (ESPN+)
Game 8: No. 4 Oklahoma State vs. No. 1 Texas Tech – 3:00 p.m.
Game 9: No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 6 BYU – 5:30 p.m.
Predictions: Texas Tech def. Oklahoma State, Arizona def. BYU
Despite several ups and downs throughout the year, it’s been pretty apparent that the two best teams in the league are Texas Tech and Arizona. NiJaree Canady has led the Red Raiders to their best season in school history, and she’ll stymie Oklahoma State’s offense to advance them to the Championship Game on Saturday. Meanwhile, it’s a potent offense that lifts Arizona over BYU in the other semifinal, giving the Wildcats a 3-1 record over the Cougars this season.
Championship Final
Saturday, May 10 (ESPN+)
Game 10: No. 1 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 Arizona – 11:00 a.m.
Prediction: Arizona def. Texas Tech
Yes, it’s chalky, but this feels like the most feasible outcome in OKC this weekend. Now, I want to preface by saying that I would not be shocked at all if this bracket caused so much chaos that we see something like Arizona State vs. BYU on Saturday. This season has been incredibly hard to predict, and as such, the conference tournament will probably follow suit.
With that said, I’m sticking with the top two seeds to make it to the weekend. However, instead of giving the Red Raiders a regular-season and tournament championship sweep, I’m actually going to roll with Arizona to grab the tournament crown and an autobid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats are 43-10 on the year, but to this point, it feels like they’ve been a little disrespected. With big-time performances from Dakota Kennedy, Devyn Netz, and Regan Shockey, the UofA adds another trophy to the case and locks up the right to host a regional site in the tournament.
2025 Big 12 Softball All-Tournament Team Predictions
The 2025 Big 12 Softball Tournament is loaded with talent—and while only one team will lift the trophy in Oklahoma City, several individual stars are bound to leave their mark. Based on matchups, momentum, and postseason pedigree, here’s our prediction for who makes the All-Tournament Team by the time the dust settles at Devon Park.
2025 Big 12 Softball All-Tournament Team (Projected)
- NiJaree Canady, Texas Tech
- Devyn Netz, Arizona
- Miranda Stoddard, Arizona
- Regan Shockey, Arizona
- Mihyia Davis, Texas Tech
- Shaylon Govan, Baylor
- Sydney Stewart, Arizona
- Ilove’a Brittingham, BYU
- Rosie Davis, Oklahoma State
2025 Big 12 Softball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Devyn Netz, RHP, Arizona
If Arizona is going to make a run to Saturday and topple Texas Tech, it’s going to be because Devyn Netz made the plays necessary to help lead her team there. Whether it comes in the circle or at the plate, Stoddard has game-changing ability as a pitcher and a hitter. She’s more than capable of changing a game with one swing (17 HR) and is a steady arm in the circle (2.00 ERA, 20 wins) for the Wildcats. Netz will have to play her best in OKC for Arizona to start their postseason off with a tournament victory.
