CLEVELAND, Ohio – Below is a team-by-team preview for the 2026 MAC Softball season. The MAC softball season begins today, Feb. 5, with the conference season set to begin Friday, March 13.

The softball regular season will conclude on Saturday, May 2 with the top six teams in the conference moving on to the 2026 MAC Softball Championship on May 6-9 at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. 

Opening Weekend Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 6
Toledo at Arizona State, 2:45PM ET
Toledo vs. Texas State, 5:30PM ET

Friday, Feb. 6
Ohio vs. Saint Francis, 10AM ET
Kent State vs. IU Indy, 10AM ET
Bowling Green vs. Queens, 10AM ET
Central Michigan vs. Marist, 10AM ET
Buffalo vs. Maryland, 11:30AM ET
Miami vs. Kentucky, 12PM ET
Toledo vs. Northwestern, 12PM ET
Western Michigan vs. Dayton, 12:15PM ET
Ohio vs. Towson, 12:30PM ET
Central Michigan vs. George Mason, 12:30PM ET
Akron vs. No. 8 Arkansas, 12:30PM ET
Ball State vs. Charlotte, 12:30PM ET
Bowling Green at Hampton, 1PM ET
Miami vs. Minnesota, 2:30PM ET
Kent State at Wofford, 3PM ET
Buffalo vs. CSU Bakersfield, 4:30PM ET
Western Michigan at Presbyterian College, 4:45PM ET
UMass at North Florida, 5PM ET
Toledo vs. Memphis, 5:30PM ET
Akron at Coastal Carolina, 6PM ET
UMass at North Florida, 7PM ET

Saturday, Feb. 7
Buffalo vs. Boston, 9AM ET
Kent State vs. IU Indy, 10AM ET
Central Michigan vs. Siena, 10AM ET
Bowling Green at Hampton, 10AM ET
Ohio vs. Towson, 10AM ET
Western Michigan vs. Morehead State, 11:15AM ET
Buffalo vs. No. 19 Duke, 11:30AM ET
Toledo vs. Memphis, 12PM ET
Central Michigan vs. St. John’s, 12:30PM ET
Bowling Green vs. Queens, 1PM ET
Akron vs. Virginia, 1:30PM ET
Miami vs. Minnesota, 2:30PM ET
Ohio at USC Upstate, 3PM ET
Ball State vs. Long Island, 3PM ET
Kent State vs. Monmouth, 3PM ET
UMass at Jacksonville, 3:30PM ET
Western Michigan at Presbyterian College, 3:45PM ET
Miami at San Diego State, 5PM ET
Ball State vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 5:30PM ET
UMass at Jacksonville, 6PM ET

Sunday, Feb. 8
UMass vs. Colegate, 10AM ET
Western Michigan vs. Le Moyne, 10AM ET
Ball State vs. Southern Illinois, 10AM ET
Akron vs. No. 8 Arkansas, 11AM ET
Buffalo at Central Florida, 11AM ET
Central Michigan at College of Charleston, 12PM ET
Miami vs. Loyola Chicago, 12PM ET
Ohio at USC Upstate, 12:30PM ET
Kent State vs. Wofford, 12:30PM ET
Ball State vs. Long Island, 12:30PM ET

Team-By-Team Previews (In Preseason Coaches’ Poll Predicted Order)
1. Miami RedHawks




2. Ohio Bobcats
Two-time MAC Coach of the Year Jenna Hall will return as head coach of the Bobcats for her fourth season. After a productive offseason, Hall feels that her team is more ready than it's ever been since she got to Ohio. Among the team's most experienced groups will be its pitching staff. 2025 MAC Pitcher of the Year graduate student Skipp Miller (Bradford, Ohio) will return to the circle for Ohio. Miller will be joined by three other returning pitchers with junior Mikie Lieving (New Haven, W. Va.), senior Keegan Moore (South Point, Ohio) and sophomore Ally Meyers (Waterville, Ohio) all looking to make an impact. On the field, Ohio brings back sophomore infielder Abby Kennelly (Waterville, Ohio), a 2025 All-MAC Freshman team recipient who will look to follow up an impressive first season with the Bobcats. Ohio will also return its leader in hits and walks from the 2025 season with junior infielder Brenna Farmer (Mt. Blanchard, Ohio), an All-MAC First Team recipient from 2025. Westler will join Kennelly and Farmer on the infield, looking to follow up a 2025 where she hit for a .264 average and tallied four home runs. In the outfield, Ohio will look to the leadership of two upperclassmen with junior Izzie Wilson (Delaware, Ohio) and senior Belle Hummel (Cincinnati, Ohio) each returning. Among new Bobcats for the upcoming season will be three transfers and six freshmen.  

3. Ball State Cardinals
Ball State is coming off one of the most prolific scoring seasons in program history, ranking first in the Mid-American Conference and 22nd nationally with a 6.59 runs-per-game average in 2025. While only 53% of the offense returns from a runs scored standpoint, three of the team's top five batters will be back in the lineup starting with junior infielder Maia Pietrzak. Pietrzak was second on the squad and ninth in the MAC with a .376 batting average, while ranking first in the league and 35th nationally with 60 runs scored. Also returning is two-way player senior Ella Whitney, who ranked second in the MAC with 50 RBIs while boasting a .299 batting average. Whitney also led the Ball State pitching staff and became just the seventh player in program history to reached 20 wins in a season with a 20-4 overall record. Whitney also led all MAC pitchers with a .231 opponents' batting average and ranked second in the conference with a 2.84 ERA. Along with Whitney, starters sophomore Breanna Severino (8-6; 4.67 ERA) and junior Brinkley Kita (5-4; 4.36 ERA) return to the circle, as does senior Bridie Murphy who missed the 2025 season due to injury. Murphy owns an 18-14 career record, along with a 3.81 ERA and 128 strikeouts.

4. Akron Zips
Under fourth-year head coach Craig Nicholson, Akron enters the 30th season of intercollegiate competition in 2026. The Zips return 17 players from the 2025 squad and added six newcomers to the 2026 roster. Akron posted a 30-25 overall record and 15-9 mark in MAC play a season ago, including an 10-8 record in neutral site games, 11-12 on the road and 9-5 at home. The Zips finished fifth in league play and earned a MAC Tournament birth. Akron returns four All-MAC honorees. Earning First Team All-MAC accolades were outfielder Meagan Lee and infielder Sophia Wygast, while redshirt pitcher Madie Jamrog and outfielder Andrea Day were named to the All-MAC Freshman Team.

5. Central Michigan Chippewas
Central Michigan enters the 2026 season well-armed in the circle, beginning with senior Mackenzie Langan, a First Team All-Mid-American Conference honoree in 2025 when she posted a 2.94 earned run average and finished 13-8. The right-hander surrendered a MAC-low 19 earned runs in conference games a year ago and ranked in the top 10 in the league in nine statistical categories. The Chippewa pitching staff is bolstered by veterans Brooklyn Compau and Cierra Laska, both of whom made 20-or-more appearances a year ago. Freshman left-hander Aubrey Strelow joins the mix. The experience isn't limited to the arms. The Chippewas return six other starters, including their entire outfield, second baseman Rachel Cairo, and third baseman Grace Koenig, and first baseman London Williams. Both Koenig and Williams earned Second Team All-MAC honors a year ago and Williams earned a spot on the MAC All-Freshman squad, becoming just the third player in program history to land all-conference and all-freshman honors in the same season as she hit .319 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI.

6. Toledo Rockets
Head Coach Jessica Bracamonte enters her fourth season at the helm of Toledo Softball. The Rockets return 18 players from last year's team, including the 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year Samantha Bolding, and welcome seven newcomers to the squad. After narrowly missing out on last season's MAC Tournament, Bracamonte and the Rockets look to return to Akron for the conference championship. Toledo opens up the 2026 season at the Kajikawa Classic from Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 5-7 in Tempe, Ariz. Opening day will feature a matchup with the host Arizona State at 2:45 p.m. ET and conclude with a contest against Texas State at 5:30 p.m. The Rockets return 18 letterwinners from last year's squad while welcoming in seven newcomers, including six freshmen and one transfer. UT will also take on Northwestern and Memphis throughout the weekend.

7. Northern Illinois Huskies
Preview coming soon…

8. Western Michigan Broncos
The 2026 Broncos (16-36 overall, 10-17 MAC last season) are a young group with just five seniors. WMU opens the season Friday with a three-day tournament at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. They also play tournaments at the University of South Alabama, Western Kentucky and Austin Peay before having games against Ohio State and Dayton before opening MAC play at defending champion Miami on March 13-14. Do-everything Tristen Head was first-team All-MAC who played in numerous positions on the field. As a catcher-first baseman-outfielder-designated player, she hit .395, driving in 15 runs. She added eight doubles, four home runs and 32 hits. The Broncos have three returning pitchers and three freshmen. The returners are sophomore Kaylee Salyer (30 appearances,16 starts last year), junior Casey Fazzini (31 appearances) and senior Jadeyn Merrill (nine appearances). The freshmen are Bella Duncan, Ava Geyer and Hannah Potts.

9. Buffalo Bulls
It's a new era for Buffalo softball as Head Coach Chelsea Plimpton will begin her first stint at the helm. Last season, the Bulls finished with an overall record of 17-33 and 10-17 in MAC play. Their 10 conference wins were their most since winning 13 in the 2022 season. In 2025, Plimpton helped the Bulls take home postseason hardware. Reagan Terwilliger earned First-Team All-MAC honors as Abbey Nagel took home Second-Team All-MAC honors. Emily Gorman was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team list. Off the field, four Bulls earned Academic All-MAC distinction. In her first recruiting cycle, Plimpton brought in seven new faces to the program. Five of the newcomers are transfers including MAAC Freshman of the Year Tabitha von Kolen (Pheonix, Ariz.) who spent last season at Canisius. Another Canisius transfer is Vivi Vargas (Chula Vista, Calif.). Also joining the program is Bri Delaney (Lockport, N.Y. / Niagara), Kate Dailor (Honeoye Falls, N.Y. / Bucknell), Nicole Allen (Penfield, N.Y. / Stonybrook) and Delaney Ellis (Massillon, Ohio / Cleveland State). Sophia Avin (Chesapeake, Va.) checks in as the only freshman on the team.

10. Bowling Green Falcons
Head coach Michelle Gardner and her assistants, Greg McQuillin and Indya Smith, welcome back 15 of 19 letterwinners from last year's team, including all nine positional starters and three of the six pitchers who saw action in 2025. That 2025 club surpassed the overall and Mid-American Conference win totals for the previous two years combined. BGSU went 16-36 last spring, after posting a combined record of 15-79 in the 2023 (9-41) and '24 (6-38) campaigns. At the plate, the players returning in 2026 combined for 1,339 of the team's 1,362 at-bats (98.3%), 212 of the 219 runs scored (96.8%), 195 of the Falcons' 198 RBI (98.5%); and 360 of the team's 361 total hits (99.7%). In the circle, returning players combined to pitch 215 of the 328 1/3 total innings (65.5%), including 134 1/3 of the 167 2/3 innings (80.1%) in MACtion.

11. UMass Minutewomen
Preview coming soon…

12. Kent State Golden Flashes
Head coach Jessica O'Donnell enters her third season leading the Golden Flashes with a 19-member roster that includes 9 retuning players and 10 newcomers. All three of Kent State's trio of All-MAC Second Team honorees from the 2025 season return including senior utility player Brynn Libler. Libler recorded a .365 average, 61 hits, 14 RBIs, 21 walks, and a HR last season. Junior infielder Megan Claerhout returns after averaging .358, racking up 38 hits, 24 RBIs, and a pair of home runs. Redshirt junior pitcher Kendal Leitner tallied 27 strikeouts over 42.0 innings pitched. Offensively, she batted .400, with 46 hits, 37 RBIs, eight doubles, and six home runs. The top six teams in the final conference standings will qualify for the 2026 MAC Tournament, which will be played Firestone Stadium in Akron from May 6-9.