LOGAN, Utah -

2016 USU Softball Schedule

Utah State softball head coach Steve Johnson has announced the 2016 schedule, highlighted by four preseason tournaments and four Mountain West home series.

The Aggies will open the season at the Kajikawa Classic, hosted by Arizona State. Utah State will be one of 32 teams playing in the tournament, held Feb. 11-14. In Tempe, the Aggies will play games against Virginia, Arizona State, Cal State Northridge, Indiana, Bradley and Maryland. The Mountain West will have six teams playing in the Kajikawa Classic, with Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico and San José State joining USU.

The next weekend, the team will make its first of three trips to Las Vegas to play in the DeMarini Desert Classic, hosted by UNLV, Feb. 19-21. There, the Aggies will play Weber State, Robert Morris, Portland State and UTEP, as well as a second match-up against CSUN.

The month of March will open with USU in Riverside, Calif., playing in the Highlander Classic at UC Riverside. The Aggies will play two games apiece against the host Highlanders and Santa Clara on March 5 and 6.

The final weekend of preseason tournament action will find the Aggies back in Las Vegas, playing in the second UNLV tournament. Over the weekend of March 11-13, Utah State will play DePaul, Valparaiso, Santa Clara and Wisconsin.

The Aggies open the head-to-head portion of the 2016 campaign at Utah Valley before hosting Northern Colorado for a three-game series. Other non-conference games include home games against Montana and Weber State, as well as a home-and-home with BYU.

In Mountain West action, every team will play each other in three-game series. The Aggies will have four home series, hosting Colorado State, San José State, Boise State and Nevada. In return, USU will travel to New Mexico, UNLV, Fresno State and San Diego State.

The Mountain West does not sponsor a conference softball tournament. Qualifying teams will begin postseason play at NCAA Regionals from May 20-22, with Super Regionals following, May 26-29. The 2016 Women's College World Series will be played June 2-8 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Overall, the Aggies will play games against 15 teams from last season's schedule. Six of the 2016 opponents played in last season's Women's College World Series (Arizona State, BYU, CSUN, Fresno State, San Diego State and Weber State) while one ended the year ranked in the Top 25 (Arizona State). Utah State will play against three in-state rivals (BYU, Utah Valley and Weber State) and will have five games against first-time opponents (Bradley, DePaul, Maryland, Robert Morris and Virginia).

The complete schedule, with dates and times, is now available on the Utah State Athletics website at utahstateaggies.com.

Fans can follow the Aggie softball program on Twitter, @USUSoftball, on Facebook at facebook.com/USUSoftball or on Instagram, @ususoftball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at facebook.com/USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.