The Kansas softball season is nowhere near finished and the Jayhawks have already toppled last season’s win total by 12 wins.
Last season, head coach Jennifer McFalls’ program finished sub-500 with a 22-28 record and a season that ended in a 7-3 loss to the Baylor Bears in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Heading into Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup against No. 4 UCF, the Jayhawks will be bringing a 34-18 record with them to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
McFalls and Co win awards
Minutes ago, McFalls was handed the USA Today Coach of the Year award, freshman catcher Ella Boyer followed it up with a Big 12 Freshman of the Year award, lastly, shortstop Hailey Cripe was handed the Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
The 2025-26 campaign has seen the most overall wins since 2015 (40), and the most ever Big 12 wins at 14.
According to Kansas Athletics, McFalls coached the Jayhawks to 17 top 100 RPI wins, nine top 50 RPI wins and four top 25 RPI wins. McFalls has also guided Kansas to break multiple program records, including doubles (94), home runs (80), runs (354) and RBIs (336).
Boyer’s 18 home runs are the highest a freshman has ever reached in KU colors, and she sits fourth in the Big 12, tied with Katie Chester (Arizona State) and behind a trio of players with 20 homers in Maddie Hartley (Houston), Sydney Stewart (Arizona) and Mia Williams (Texas Tech). Boyer also leads Kansas with 56 RBIs, a 1.275 OPS, a .794 slugging percentage, 35 walks and a .481 on-base percentage, and is just four home runs away from tying the KU single-season record.
Earlier Wednesday, Boyer became the third Jayhawk to win Freshman of the Year, doing so unanimously.
Cripe made just four errors on 98 assists and 85 putouts on 187 total chances. Her Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive team honors are the first Big 12 honors Cripe has received in her career.
What is next for Kansas?
The Jayhawks lost the season series against the Golden Knights, falling 6-3, 2-9, before winning the final matchup 4-2.
“I feel like we've just been kind of steady, Eddie. Like we don't get too high or too low. And that's been a great thing, obviously. I think we've handled pressure well,” quoted McFalls leading up to the conference tournament.
“We've tried not to make the bigger games bigger than they were. Probably the biggest thing has been some growing moments and opportunities for young kids, like Lila Partridge, and Ella Boyers, and kids like that, that are figuring out what Big 12 really looks like, and powerful competition looks like. But they're handling it great.”
First pitch is set for Thursday at 11 a.m. CT at OGE Energy Field at Devon Park, with streaming available on ESPN+.
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