PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (4-1, 0-0 Mountain West) continues the non-conference portion of its 2026 campaign this week at the California Baptist-hosted CBU Classic, held at John C. Funk Stadium in Riverside, California. USU will play five games across three days from Feb. 13-15, facing Hawaii twice, along with single games against Saint Francis, Loyola Marymount and CSU Bakersfield.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for all of this weekend's games will be available via StatBroadcast. Links and live updates will be available on the USU softball social media pages and through UtahStateAggies.com.
AGGIES VS THE FIELD
• Utah State has faced Saint Francis twice in program history, both meetings coming at the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, California, back in 2020. The Aggies took both games, winning 8-0 and 3-2.
• USU and Loyola Marymount have met 12 times previously. The Lions hold a 9-3 series advantage, though the past six meetings have been split evenly at 3-3. LMU won the most recent showdown, a 4-3 eight-inning victory in Los Angeles in 2023.
• Utah State has faced former league-mate Hawaii 57 times, with the Rainbow Wahine leading the series 40-17. The sides haven't met since 2020, however, an 11-10 win for the Aggies in Lake Elsinore, California.
• USU and CSU Bakersfield have met 13 times previously. The Aggies hold a 7-6 edge in the series, including wins in four of the past five. The sides faced off twice at the 2024 CBU Classic, a 3-2 win for the Roadrunners then a 9-0 five-inning win for the Aggies.
ICYMI
Utah State opened its 2026 campaign with a strong start last weekend at the Texas A&M-hosted Aggie Classic, going 4-1 with two wins over Abilene Christian, a win over Bryant and a win over Providence. The team's lone loss came to No. 11 Texas A&M.
On the week, USU held four of its five opponents to two runs or fewer and out-scored them by a combined 21-13.
STARTING STRONG
With a 4-1 start to the year, Utah State is off to its best start since 2017, when it also opened the season 4-1. Since 1991, this is just the fourth time the Aggies have started a season 4-1 or better.
AGGIE ARMS
The Utah State pitching staff showed out during opening week.
• Senior Emmalyn Brinka pitched two complete games, earning a shutout vs Abilene Christian and a near-shutout vs Providence while throwing a career-high nine strikeouts. She also earned a save in the second contest against ACU. On the week, she pitched 14.0 innings, allowing just a single run for a 0.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts and just five hits allowed.
• Senior Rylie Pindel threw 6.2 scoreless innings against Bryant before allowing a single run in a complete game performance.
• Freshman Kendall Cochran was strong in her collegiate debut, throwing 5.2 innings with six strikeouts and just three hits allowed against Abilene Christian.
WELCOME BACK
Utah State returns four starters in the field and 12 letterwinners overall from last year's squad, including four pitchers. All four returning starters in the field are seniors this season — outfielder Kya Pratt, infielder Alex Bunton and catchers Grace Matej and Kaylee Erickson.
NEW YEAR, NEW FACES
Utah State welcomes in 10 newcomers this season, including two transfers and eight true freshmen. Transfer additions include junior infielder Keely Goushá (Boise State) and freshman infielder Kate Vance (Arizona).
Incoming freshmen include utility player Ryan Pead (Saratoga Springs, Utah / Westlake HS), left-handed pitcher Jordyn Lish (Modesto, Calif. / Fred C. Beyer HS), catcher/infielder Sofia Trejo (Tucson, Arizona / Tucson Magnet HS), right-handed pitcher Kendall Cochran (Mesa, Arizona / Red Mountain HS), infielder/outfielder Jakobi Nebeker (Pocatello, Idaho / Pocatello HS), outfielder/infielder Haylee Lopez (San Tan Valley, Ariz. / Poston Butte HS), catcher/utility player Hailey Holliday (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Saguaro HS) and infielder/right-handed pitcher Jazmin Ramirez (Chandler, Ariz. / Hamilton HS).
Additionally, USU added two new assistant coaches to the dugout. Jared McDonald, a former Arizona State and professional infielder, joins the Aggies as an assistant coach, as does former UCLA pitcher Jada Cecil.
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
A pair of Aggies were named to the preseason all-Mountain West team, as voted on by the league's coaches. Senior catcher Grace Matej and senior outfielder Kya Pratt were each honored.
Matej 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.
Pratt 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.
