This Texas Housing Complex Keeps Getting Hit by a Growing Softball Problem
When the University of Texas at Austin built the East Campus Graduate Apartments just beyond the 200-foot left field fence of Red and Charline McCombs Field, the architect might have blanked on a key detail when approving the blueprint.
The housing complex finished construction in the Fall of 2024, while the Longhorns' softball facility opened in 1998, well before the residential development.
The same year the East Campus Graduate Apartments became livable, Texas Softball tallied 93 home runs. With names like Alyssa Washington, Katie Stewart, Mia Scott, Kayden Henry, and the new career home run leader Reese Atwood on the roster, it's inevitable the building took a beating immediately upon completion.
And that beating has only continued from season to season.
In 2025, in addition to becoming National Champions, Texas hit 94 bombs, the program's most in a single season, with help from the usual suspects, as well as Joley Mitchell and Leighann Goode.
Over the weekend, then-ranked No. 4 Texas hosted then-ranked No. 2 Oklahoma in an intense SEC top five series matchup. Nine individuals across both teams, five Sooners and four Longhorns, combined for 11 deep flies. Of those 11 balls that left the yard on the Forty Acres, eight of them were redirected to left field or left center, many bouncing off the brick facade of the graduate housing.
The Big Hits
Oklahoma
Ella Parker (1)
Isabela Emerling (1)
Gabbie Garcia (2)
Kendall Wells (1)
Abby Dayton (1)
Texas
Leighann Goode (1)
Kayden Henry (1)
Katie Stewart (2)
Hannah Wells (1)
Wall of Fame Potential
Vice President and Lois and Richard Folger Athletics Director at Texas, Chris Del Conte, posted a thinking face emoji to X in response to a fan's request to start marking the East Campus apartment building after each home run.
The fan mentioned Del Conte in the original post, which reads, "start marking the apartment building facing McCombs field with the spot of softball home run balls and the player + date. Would be fun to see grow over time! #KatieStewart."
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) April 12, 2026
Although the Sooners clinched the series after the first two games with scores of 3-0 and 4-3, the Longhorns avoided a sweep, walking it off in the bottom of the eighth in game three of the series, 8-6.
Texas' junior first baseman Katie Stewart had the honors, launching her second bomb of the contest, accompanied by arguably the bat flip of the year. Additionally, she collected three RBsI, two runs scored, a hit-by-pitch, and a walk.
no doubter 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/kUtZJcahaD
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) April 12, 2026
All four of Texas' home runs came in the series finale. Five of twelve (40 percent) of the team's hits on Sunday came by way of the long ball.
With three conference series left in this year's campaign, the Longhorns are 10-5 in the SEC and 33-6 overall. Assuming the burnt orange make another run in the NCAA tournament, the team is well on its way to another 90-plus home run season (68).
Until then, a few questions remain as it relates to the big swings.
Will the East Campus exterior turn into a wall of fame? More importantly, who is held responsible for any damage committed? It's only a matter of time until more windows are smashed due to a 70-plus mph softball off the bat of the Longhorns' heavy hitters.
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Maddy Lewis was a four-year starting infielder for UC San Diego Softball (2015–19), helping lead the Tritons to two conference championships, a West Region title, and a trip to the Division II National Championship in her senior season. She graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in Communication, where she also wrote for the student newspaper, The Guardian. After college, Maddy spent two years as a Sports Information Director, working closely with the softball, basketball and running programs, deepening her appreciation for the stories behind the stats. She has continued her playing career on the international stage as a member and captain of the Israeli Women’s National Softball Team for the past four years, facing top talent at European Championships, Canada Cups, and the Maccabi Games. Beyond competing, Maddy remains deeply committed to growing the game. She co-hosts the Jewish Softball: More Than A Game podcast, offers private instruction in the Bay Area and has coached teams at the Triple Crown Sports International Challenge and the JCC Maccabi Games. With a passion for storytelling and softball, she is dedicated to giving back to the sport that has shaped her both on and off the field and making an impact on the next generation in any way she can.
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