Women's College World Series softball preview: Breaking down all eight finalists - ESPN

It's almost like a glitch of some sort. Texas, the school that produced NCAA great Cat Osterman and has made 24 NCAA softball tournament appearances and seven Women's College World Series appearances — and has won national titles in nine other women's sports — has yet to win a national title in softball.

This sport has always been a particularly tough mountain to climb. Schools from either California, Arizona or Washington won 26 of the first 30 national titles from 1982 to 2011, and the past 11 titles have gone to either Alabama, Florida, Florida State, UCLA or the dynasty of the day, Oklahoma. Texas is always good — the Longhorns have won over 70% of their softball games all time and haven't missed the NCAAs since 2004. But now they head to Oklahoma City as the top contender.

The WCWS begins Thursday with Mike White's Horns as the top seed. They got past rival Texas A&M by the skin of their teeth in the super regionals, and the field in Oklahoma City is absolutely loaded, not only with Oklahoma looming as the No. 2 seed but also with three other recent title winners and an Oklahoma State team that handed Texas a pair of losses in March.

One of the wildest weeks of the collegiate calendar is about to begin. Can Texas come through and win its first ring? Is this all simply a prelude before Oklahoma rolls to a fourth straight title? Has the moment arrived for someone else? Let's look at the stats and storylines behind each of the eight remaining title candidates.

Record: 52-8 (6-5 vs. other WCWS teams)
Head coach: Mike White (sixth season)
Best WCWS result: 2022 runner-up
First WCWS opponent: No. 8 Stanford (Thursday, 7 p.m. ET)

The WCWS welcomes six elite offenses and eight elite pitching staffs/defenses. But even among an