OKLAHOMA CITY — Katie Stewart played a lot of whiffle ball growing up in a Chicago suburb. Even then, none of the neighborhood kids, the boys included, had power like Stewart.
“She would hit moon shots compared to the rest of us,” said her sister, Danielle.
On Sunday, Stewart hit the biggest moon shot of her career. Her three-run homer in the sixth inning off national player of the year Jordy Frahm lifted Texas to a 3-1 victory over Nebraska and kept the Longhorns’ season alive.
“She’s strong as an ox,” Texas coach Mike White said. White noted Stewart hit the game-clinching blast off the handle. “Her home runs can be prodigious.”
Stewart’s 28th homer this season — a Texas record — moved the defending national champions closer to a return trip to the Women’s College World Series championship series. The Longhorns will need to beat Tennessee twice Monday to make that happen.
“She’s always been strong,” said her father, Lance Stewart. “She doesn’t need to hit all of it. She just needs to get enough of it — and it’s going to go.”
Lance realized his daughter possessed uncommon strength when she was 13.
Stewart had just finished a workout and was lying on the floor watching television. Lance, who weighed about 260 pounds at the time, lay on top of her and dared her to do a pushup — no knees.
“You ain’t going to get up,” he told her.
She did.
“She literally pushed me up with no effort,” Lance said.
Stewart has been one of Texas’ most prolific sluggers since arriving in Austin. She earned freshman All-America honors in 2024 and became a key middle-of-the-order bat during the Longhorns’ championship run last season.
Now, the SEC Player of the Year, who also leads Texas in batting average (.424) and RBIs (75), has emerged as one of the most feared hitters in the country.
White joked that Stewart has even damaged the building behind left field at Texas’ Red & Charline McCombs Field with her homers.
“Her exit velocity is really high,” he said. “She’s just grown as a leader and a hitter. She’s really taking it onto herself to shoulder the load.”
On Feb. 15, Danielle saw firsthand just how dangerous a hitter her sister had become. Danielle started on the mound for Northern Illinois against Texas. Stewart drove the second pitch of the at-bat to right-center for a two-run homer.
“I threw a curveball off the plate,” Danielle said, “and boom, it was gone.”
Sunday, Frahm hadn’t allowed a hit through five innings. But in the sixth, Jaycie Nichols and Kayden Henry got on base with back-to-back singles, bringing Stewart to the plate.
Stewart has always had the power. Against Frahm, she showed she has the approach, too.
“I can get in my head sometimes,” Stewart said.
In that moment, she focused on keeping her heart rate down.
“Be present one pitch at a time, knowing I was going to get something I could hit, knowing I had to get on it,” Stewart said. “I got there.”
Danielle was back in Illinois watching Sunday’s game with friends at a Buffalo Wild Wings.
“I didn’t say it out loud because I didn’t want to jinx anything,” Danielle said. “But I had a feeling. She absolutely destroyed that ball.”
