The Rouse Raiders closed out their final regular 5A season in style, crushing Lockhart twice and knocking off Lake Belton in a playoff tuneup to finish atop this year’s Baseball Power Rankings. And oh, for a showdown with 2nd-place Lake Travis, the District 26-6A champion. That won’t happen this year, but they could collide next year as 6A clubs.

Third place Georgetown should cross the 30-win threshold once playoffs begin this week, while #4 Dripping Springs shrugged off an upset at the hands of Westlake to win the rematch in a no-hitter, followed by a tune-up win against 7th-ranked Bowie. Anderson, meanwhile, twice dispatched a decent Navarro squad to go undefeated in district play, then knocked off yet another 6A power in Buda Johnson to round out this year’s Top 5.

Apparently, Mother Nature is over her hissy fit – for now at least – which should mean clear skies as the 2026 UIL Softball playoffs get underway.

There are lots of familiar faces filling the Austin-area post-season field, joined by a smattering of newcomers. As with other sports and as it was last year, the six conferences are, unfortunately, once again divided into Division 1 and Division 2 brackets instead of the old familiar (and fairer) seeding format where the winner of District A plays the 4th place team from District B; District A’s runner-up faces the #3 seed from District B, and so on.