LOGAN, Utah – The Mountain West conference announced its preseason honors and projected order of finish for the 2026 season on Thursday, with the Utah State senior duo of catcher Grace Matej and outfielder Kya Pratt each earning spots on the 15-player Preseason All-Mountain West Team.

Matej and Pratt, each recipients of first team all-Mountain West accolades in 2025, are two of 12 returning letterwinners for the Aggies this season. Utah State earned its first-ever Mountain West Tournament appearance last season and had its most prolific offensive season in program history, setting team records for batting average, hits, runs, doubles, home runs, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, walks, hits by pitch and on-base percentage. 

Matej, a native of Orangevale, California, is a two-time all-MW honoree and also earned NFCA Pacific Region Second Team honors in 2024. As a junior last season, she played in and started 50 of the team's 52 games, posting a .327 batting average while going 53-for-162 at the plate. She totaled 11 doubles on the year, with a triple and 10 home runs, while her 36 runs scored rank tied for seventh most in a season in program history. 

During her career, Matej has played 125 games with 116 starts. She holds a .352 (137-of-389) batting average with 24 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 78 RBIs and 75 runs scored. She holds a .563 career slugging percentage and a .416 career on-base percentage. In the field, Matej has accounted for 226 putouts and 34 assists with just two errors for a .992 career fielding percentage. 

Pratt, a native of Temecula, California, had a breakout season as a junior in 2025 to earn all-Mountain West first team accolades. She started 46 games while making 49 appearances, ranking fifth on the squad with a .363 batting average as she went 49-for-135 at the plate. Pratt recorded 11 doubles and nine home runs last season, totaling 34 RBIs and 21 runs scored while drawing 11 walks and recording a .423 on-base percentage with a .644 slugging percentage, 10th-best in the Mountain West. 

During her career, Pratt has played 141 games with 133 starts. She holds a .299 (118-of-394) batting average with 22 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs, 72 RBIs and 60 runs scored. She holds a .490 career slugging percentage and a .370 career on-base percentage. In the field, Pratt has accounted for 162 putouts and 10 assists with just three errors for a .983 career fielding percentage. 

Additionally, Utah State was picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West by the league's coaches in the preseason poll. First-year league mate Grand Canyon was picked to win the conference, followed by Nevada, San Diego State and Boise State. Following the Aggies in the poll are Fresno State, Colorado State, New Mexico, UNLV and San José State. 

Utah State officially begins its season next week in College Station, Texas, competing at the Aggie Classic from Feb. 5-8. There, USU will face four different opponents including Abilene Christian, No. 11 Texas A&M, Bryant and Providence. 

For more information on the Utah State softball program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUSoftball, on Facebook at USUSoftball and on Instagram at ususoftball.

- USU -