PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (9-6, 0-0 Mountain West) continues the non-conference portion of its 2026 campaign this week at the Beehive Classic, held at Karl Brooks Field in St. George, Utah. USU will play five games across three days from Feb. 27-March 1, facing Southern Utah, Utah Valley twice, Utah and Utah Tech.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for all of this weekend's games will be available via StatBroadcast. All games will be streamed for free on WAC International. Links and live updates will be available on the USU softball social media pages and through UtahStateAggies.com.
AGGIES VS THE FIELD
• Thursday's game will be the 91st all-time meeting between Utah State and Southern Utah. USU leads the series 63-27, but at neutral sites the series is nearly even at 11-10. The Aggies have won four of the past six meetings, though SUU won the most recent contest 10-8 in 2024.
• USU and Utah Valley have met 43 times previously, the Aggies holding a 29-14 advantage including wins in three-straight and five of the past six. The most recent meeting between the sides was last season in Logan, a 9-8 Aggie win.
• Utah State has faced Utah 151 times, the Utes leading the series 94-56-1. Despite this being the most-played series in USU history, the sides have only met once since 2014, a 9-1 five-inning win for Utah in 2024.
• The Aggies have taken on Utah Tech 11 times in a nearly even series. The Trailblazers lead 6-5, though Utah State has won the past two including a 21-15 victory in St. George last season.
AGGIES VS THE BEEHIVE STATE
All-time against opponents from the state of Utah, Utah State holds a 231-211-1 combined record.
ICYMI
Utah State is coming off of a 2-3 showing last weekend in Athens, Georgia, at the Georgia Classic. There, the Aggies defeated Seton Hall twice, 8-3 and 3-1, fell to No. 20 Virginia Tech 10-3 and lost to No. 12 Georgia twice, 4-1 and 11-2 in five innings.
Senior catcher Grace Matej led the Aggie bats with a .438 (7-for-16) week at the plate with two home runs, three RBIs and four runs scored across the five games. Senior right-handed pitcher Rylie Pindel impressed in the circle, allowing just two earned runs in 12.0 innings over two appearances.
HAVE SOME FAITH!
Utah State sophomore outfielder Faith Kroening is having a major breakout season. After playing primarily as a pinch runner in 2025, totaling just four hits in 30 at-bats for a .133 batting average, Kroening has started all 15 games this season and ranks second on the squad with a .404 batting average (19-for-47).
FLAWLESS FIELDING
Entering the week, Utah State ranks 14th nationally and leads the Mountain West in fielding percentage at 0.984. On the year, USU has 290 putouts and 133 assists with just seven errors. Ten different Aggie players have a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
EXTRA CREDIT
Entering the weekend, Utah State ranks 28th in the country in doubles with 28. Seven different players have hit three or more, with senior infielder Alex Bunton, senior outfielder Kya Pratt and freshman infielder Jazmin Ramirez leading the team with five.
OPENING WEEK WARRIORS
Utah State opened its 2026 campaign with a strong start Feb. 5-7 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.
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.
A SEASON FOR THE AGES
Utah State had a historic offensive season in 2025, shattering several long-standing program records.
The Aggies set program records for batting average (.340), hits (493), runs (340), doubles (90), home runs (66), runs batted in (319), total bases (807), slugging percentage (.557), walks drawn (181), hits by pitch (50) and on-base percentage (.428).
A SEASON FOR THE AGES - PT. II
Last year's Utah State squad set not just program records, but etched its name into the Mountain West record books in a few different categories.
USU's .609 slugging percentage in league games in 2025 ranked fourth in league history. The team's .341 overall batting average ranks fifth, while its .442 on-base percentage ranks tied for fifth.
UP NEXT
Utah State will travel to Lawrence, Kansas, next week, for a three-game series against Kansas. The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, March 6, at noon and 2:30 p.m. (MT), then face off again on Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m. (MT).
