2026 WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

May 31, 2026

Mike White

Katie Stewart

Jaycie Nichols

Teagan Kavan

Texas Longhorns

Postgame Press Conference

Texas 3, Nebraska 1

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Texas. We'll start with an opening statement from Coach.

MIKE WHITE: Congratulations to Nebraska on their run through the season. Doesn't seem like three months from when we first played them. Who would have thought those pitchers came out of a 15-10 ballgame. Amazing spectacle of pitching from both teams. Jordy Frahm is a true warrior. I was hoping the game wouldn't rest on just one hit, one home run. Teagan pitched a great game there. Limited her pitches to 91 pitches, an average of 13 per inning, which is what we shoot for.

Again, really hot out there today. Right now we're just happy to be on the right side of things in a tough ballgame.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up to questions for the players.

Q. Katie, obviously Jordy was dealing for a while. What adjustments were you making?

KATIE STEWART: Yeah, just knowing how I got pitched in February, kind of similar this time around. Just kind of banking on that, knowing I was starting to see well leading up into the at-bat. Just trusting my process, my plan.

I think it all worked out in that at-bat (smiling).

Q. Jaycie, you got the first hit off Jordy. What were you guys talking about in the dugout?

JAYCIE NICHOLS: I think like Stewy said, I was getting pitched the same pitches through my first at-bat, really just learning through every pitch. I've seen almost every pitch that she'd thrown.

Yeah, really just adjusting to her pitches and what she was throwing.

Q. Teagan, it seemed like some more drops today than average. Why did you think that plan was going to work?

TEAGAN KAVAN: I think we learned a lot from last night's game that they played. The drop ball was effective then. We kind of used that going into today, knew I had to get my drop ball on.

Yeah, tried to work my defense with that and help me be more effective and throw less pitches being able to rely on that pitch.

Q. Jaycie and Katie, this sets up a rematch with Tennessee. How do you think having played both of their two main pitchers help you going into tomorrow?

KATIE STEWART: Knowing we got to make quicker adjustments, we've seen them already. Still knowing they're a really good pitching staff and they're going to bring it. Just being ready for that. I think just going back, watching film, looking how we got out and building off that.

JAYCIE NICHOLS: Just really paying attention to what we've been pitched. Making adjustment in game. They have a great pitching staff. Credit to them. Making in-game adjustments.

Q. Jaycie, it's a homecoming for you. What has this week been like? Do you have a lot of friends and family up here? How did you end up at Texas and not 0U?

JAYCIE NICHOLS: Honestly, it's been great being here back in my home state. I don't know. I do have a bunch of family here watching. Texas was just home. I really loved it. It is great being back here.

Q. Katie, what's the key to coming up with big hits in big moments in this setting?

KATIE STEWART: Just trusting the process, making sure that my heart rate is getting too high, making sure I'm staying present, not dwelling on the past. I can get in my head sometimes.

I know at bat, be present one pitch at a time, knowing I was going to get something I could hit, knowing I had to get on it. I got there.

I think having being in those moments, in those games, it really did help in that moment.

Q. Teagan, what went through your head after that first at-bat? How did you clear it? Are you going to have any gas in the tank for tomorrow considering the heat?

TEAGAN KAVAN: Yeah, I always got gas in the tank for this team on this stage any day. I want the ball. Of course.

I think I knew that game probably wasn't going to be a shutout. So it took the pressure off a little bit to get it out of the way. Wanted to keep my team in it and keeping us in it meant no more runs after that. Keeping us in it no matter what it looked like.

I thought it was an okay pitch that she hit. I knew that I wasn't going to give her that same one again. So just adjusting off of that, like they're talking about, end-game adjustments on the pitching side, too. Kind of just shake it off. Score is probably going to come at some point anyway. Yeah, just relax after that.

THE MODERATOR: Players, thank you. We'll continue with questions for Coach.

Q. How did you lure her from Oklahoma to Texas? What have you noticed from her being home this week?

MIKE WHITE: Yeah, well she played for the epic team at Oklahoma. We just liked the way she played. Her quickness. I like the speed, her ability to field and play. Just took the opportunity to get her on campus. Really liked her demeanor, the way she carried herself. Fortunately she said yes to us. It was great.

Q. The pitch Katie hit wasn't exactly a mistake. How much does that talk about her growth as a hitter?

MIKE WHITE: Yeah, we knew we had to start hunting pitches because she was so good out there really mixing it up. The ball was moving both ways. Had the change-up that was throwing us off. You really got to take your opportunities there and sit on something. I think that's what she was able to do. Got the barrel to it. You always worry about those things going foul. Once I saw the flight of it, it was going to stay fair.

It takes risk. She was able to take the risk and hit a good pitch. I'm sure Jordy wishes she had it back. It's no coincidence that both those pitches are rise balls that went out of the ballpark. With that wind blowing, you always worry about that, and that played into playing a little more drop balls, too.

Q. This rematch with Tennessee, how does that help you going into tomorrow?

MIKE WHITE: Well, it won't help us if they throw Nuwer at us. They have another one that's out there that's pretty good. We're not forgetting her as well. And they have the luxury of us having to beat them twice.

These pitchers are so good now, they're able to study what we did, what they did. It becomes that cat-and-mouse game of strategy. That's what we love about the game, is all the strategy, kind of pitching nuances of the game.

It's going to be a fun matchup.

Q. You mentioned Jordy. With her career coming to an end, what do you feel like her impact on the sport has been?

MIKE WHITE: I love hitting pitchers. That came from my men's days to get DP'd for, and I hated it. You're taking away the part of the game you really love. I think she really wanted to do that come back to Nebraska. She showed all those young girls in Nebraska you can do this, play on the big stage. What would it mean if she won two different titles with two different clubs. She spearheaded that team, coming off another injury as well.

Just a role model for all young players. You don't have to be the biggest kid in the world to be effective and have power at the bat, also with pitching. Just her determination and courage. It's just tremendous.

Q. Teagan has been your workhorse. You go early tomorrow in the heat. How much gas do you think she has? What do you want to see from her? What do you need from your other pitchers?

MIKE WHITE: We need to fill her up with some high octane.

We'll see how she's feeling in the morning. It's going to be a strategy. The strategy is do you go for it all in the first game, worry about what happens in the second game - try something different. That's what I'm going to be sleeping on tonight, talking with my coaching staff, figure out what plan we're going to play.

You don't get to the second game unless you win the first game. Captain obvious there. It is what it is. We feel really confident right now that we can hit in those situations. Jordy made us look really average for a little bit. The confidence was flowing that we could kind of get to her.

Hopefully we've seen their two main pitchers. They have Nuwer as well. Hopefully we can continue where we left off.

Q. You mentioned that your team being able to hit. What makes Katie so prolific, having these moments?

MIKE WHITE: It's just her strength. She's strong as an ox. Her exit velocity is really high. When she makes contact, she doesn't need much of it. I think she even got that up the handle a little bit. I'm not sure she got all of it. Some of her home runs are prodigious. If you look at the building across the street, there's some damage on that thing at our home field.

She's just grown as a leader and a hitter. She's really taking it onto herself to shoulder the load. Especially when it was kind of fun watching her and Reese going at the start of the season. Reese cooled off a little bit. Katie didn't. Set a record for home runs with us, 27, now 28, climbing hopefully.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

MIKE WHITE: Thank you.