The road back to Oklahoma City is beginning to take shape.The Southeastern Conference released its 2027 softball schedule Wednesday, laying out eight three-game series for each of its 15 programs and another loaded spring for a league that sent five teams to the Women's College World Series last season.For two-time defending national champions Texas, the road through conference play will look noticeably different. Some familiar opponents return, postseason rematches are scattered across the calendar and its rivals, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, are missing entirely.— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) September 9, 2026Across the SEC, the schedule release provides an early look at where some of the conference's biggest races and storylines could develop before the season begins.Alabama Draws The Gauntlet, Florida TooThere might not be a tougher road through the SEC than Alabama's.All eight teams on the Crimson Tide's schedule reached the NCAA Tournament last season. Alabama hosts Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Florida and LSU while traveling to Texas, Mississippi State, Georgia and Oklahoma. Texas and Oklahoma have combined to win the past six national championships and Alabama will have to face both away from Rhoads Stadium. The Crimson Tide travels to Austin from March 26-28 before eventually closing the season at Love's Field against Oklahoma on May 6-8.Florida didn't exactly get a friendly draw, either.The Gators' four road series come against Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Missouri. Florida opens SEC play against the two-time defending national champion Longhorns, who still have senior ace Teagan Kavan and senior power hitter Katie Stewart. Less than a month later, they face the Sooners away from their fan base.In a conference this deep, there aren't many easy weekends.What Isn't On The ScheduleThe SEC's format guarantees that some of its biggest programs won't even see each other in the regular season.None is more noticeable than Texas and Oklahoma.mark your calendars 🤘🗓️#HookEm pic.twitter.com/T0IgQswR0I— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) September 9, 2026The Red River rivals, while fierce competitors, won't meet during SEC play in 2027. Oklahoma instead draws Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi State, LSU, South Carolina and Alabama.The past two years, the Sooners have bested the Longhorns in the regular season, sweeping them in 2025 and winning 2-1 in 2026 after Stewart hit a walk-off bomb in Austin to win the last game of the series in extra innings.— ESPN (@espn) April 12, 2026With each program missing six possible SEC opponents, the race for the regular-season championship will be shaped partly by who isn't across the diamond. A contender that avoids Texas, Oklahoma or Alabama could have a significantly different path through the 24 conference games than one that draws several of them.Home Field Could Make A DifferenceFor some teams, the biggest wins from Wednesday's announcement might have been where their toughest series landed.Tennessee gets both Texas and Oklahoma in Knoxville. The Longhorns visit March 19-21 before the Sooners arrive April 2-4. The Lady Vols also host Georgia and Missouri.Compare that with Alabama, which has to travel to both Austin and Norman.LSU gets Texas, Arkansas and Georgia at Tiger Park but faces a difficult road slate of Florida, Oklahoma and Alabama after opening conference play at Kentucky.With the margin between the SEC's top teams already thin, where those matchups could happen becomes just as important as who plays them.SEC Games to Watch Each Week:DateVisitorHomeMarch 12-14OklahomaGeorgiaMarch 19-21TexasTennesseeMarch 26-28AlabamaTexasApril 2-4LSUFloridaApril 9-11Florida OklahomaApril 16-18Texas A&MArkansasApril 23-25FloridaAlabamaApril 30-May 2Mississippi StateTexasMay 6-8AlabamaOklahomaAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow