Ranch Raised.
Record Breaker.
The Basics
Reese Atwood is a senior catcher and first baseman for the University of Texas Longhorns. At 6-foot, she has become the most decorated position player in program history and one of the most accomplished catchers in college softball.
She holds the Texas career records for home runs, RBIs, and total bases. In 2025, she helped bring home Texas' first-ever Women's College World Series national championship and won the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's top catcher.
As a Nike Blue Ribbon Elite athlete and AUSL Golden Ticket recipient, Reese will transition to professional softball after the 2026 season. She is currently studying Communication and Leadership at the University of Texas.
Sandia, Texas
Reese grew up on a working ranch in Sandia, an unincorporated community in Jim Wells County, Texas, with a population of about 326. The ranch was home to whitetail deer, chickens, goats, geese, and exotic animals — and it's still where she feels most at home.
Her mom Tammy played college basketball at Blinn College. Her dad Geoff worked his way from paramedic and EMT to Fire Chief before joining the family business — a work ethic Reese says shaped everything about who she is today.
When the local Corpus Christi teams couldn't provide the competition Reese needed, her dad drove her three and a half hours each way to Houston — every weekend — so she could play travel ball at a higher level. She started as a third-string catcher on the team. Not even a starter. But the sacrifice paid off: the exposure and development were exactly what she needed to prove she could compete with the best in the country.
Tuloso-Midway to #1 Recruit
At Tuloso-Midway High School in Corpus Christi, Reese worked her way to being ranked the #1 catcher and #5 overall prospect in the entire 2022 recruiting class by Extra Inning Softball.
On November 10, 2021, she signed her National Letter of Intent to play at the University of Texas.
Three Walk-Offs in a Row
Reese made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2023, starting 56 of 58 games. She hit .291 with 11 home runs and 43 RBI, earning All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors.
The highlight? In April 2023, she became the first player in Texas history to deliver a walk-off hit in three consecutive games.
National Player of the Year
Reese's sophomore season was historic. She hit .423 with 23 home runs, 90 RBI, and 160 total bases, setting Texas single-season records in all three categories.
She was named Softball America National Player of the Year, D1Softball National Player of the Year, and Big 12 Conference Player of the Year — and earned her first unanimous NFCA First-Team All-American selection.
National Champion
2025 was the year everything came together. Reese hit .393 with 21 home runs and 89 RBI, helping bring home Texas' first-ever Women's College World Series national championship. She went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI in the title-clinching game.
Along the way, she became the first Longhorn to eclipse 200 career RBI, swung at an intentional walk pitch in the WCWS Finals for a two-RBI hit that went viral, and hit a walk-off grand slam against LSU on Coach White's 300th win night.
She won the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's best catcher and was named NFCA Catcher of the Year. Back-to-back unanimous First-Team All-American.
Rewriting the Record Books
Reese came back for her senior year with one mission: defend the title. On February 12, she broke Taylor Hoagland's career home run record of 58, becoming Texas' all-time leader with her 59th blast against Abilene Christian.
She was named to the 2026 USA Softball Women's National Team Athlete Pool, received her AUSL Golden Ticket guaranteeing a pro roster spot, and joined Nike's Blue Ribbon Elite as one of just two Texas softball players selected. The Longhorns opened with a program-record 29-game win streak.
