Ella Parker announce a devastating news

The 2025 college softball season is here!

Can Oklahoma win its fifth-straight title or will another team hoist the national championship trophy? Will former Stanford ace NiJaree Canady find success at Texas Tech? Are the Florida Gators really that good after all of their offseason additions? And what about conference realignment?

They also made early picks for Player of the Year, WCWS predictions and shared what they are watching for at the Clearwater Invitational, which starts on Feb. 13

Jenny Dalton-Hill: Which transfer class will make the biggest impact? We have seen the softball world’s attention shift to Texas Tech because of pitcher NiJaree Canady, but how will other transfers improve the trajectory of a program quickly?

Amanda Scarborough: All of the unknown. This year will be the year of the breakthrough players and teams with so many changes entering the season — teams in new conferences, many impact transfers, a ton of head coaching changes and many legacy seniors classes graduating last season!

Michele Smith: All the ‘newness’ many of the power conferences will have to deal with. It will be interesting to see how the conference realignment plays out with new travel issues and players competing in new stadiums. It may be a challenge for some to adjust quickly.

Madison Shipman: Adjusting to the new changes, without a doubt, is going to be one of the biggest storylines of the season. But another that comes to mind for me is following Oklahoma this year. After graduating a senior class that won four consecutive national championships, will the Sooners be able to make it five in a row?

What is the biggest obstacle in Oklahoma’s quest for a five-peat?

Dalton-Hill: I feel like I stay on repeat for this question each season: How will the Sooners maintain their culture with so many player graduations last season? The player dynamic shifts with different names in positions, but can those players gel and keep the “program first” mentality and find the leader to guide them there? They will always be talented but being player-led is the magic sauce.