PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (10-10, 0-0 Mountain West) continues the non-conference portion of its 2026 campaign this week with a three-game series at Kansas and its home opener at Johnson Field against the Idaho State Bengals. USU will play a doubleheader against the Jayhawks on Friday, March 6, with a single game to follow on Saturday, March 7, before returning home to host ISU on Tuesday, March 10.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for all of this weekend's games will be available via StatBroadcast. The Kansas series will be streamed on ESPN+ and the Idaho State matchup will be streaming on the Mountain West Network. Links and live updates will be available on the USU softball social media pages and through UtahStateAggies.com.
AGGIES VS THE FIELD
• USU and Kansas have met seven times previously, with the Aggies holding a 5-2 advantage. The most recent meeting between the sides was in 2002, an 8-0 Kansas win.
• Utah State has faced Idaho State 53 times, with the Aggies leading the series 31-22. The Bengals won two of the teams' three meetings in 2025.
AGGIES IN HOME OPENERS
All-time in home openers, Utah State is 29-20. The Aggies have won four-straight home openers, including a 9-8 win over Utah Valley last season.
This will be the earliest in the year USU has played a home opener since 1994.
ICYMI
Utah State is coming off of a 1-4 showing last weekend in St. George, Utah, at the Beehive Classic. There, the Aggies defeated Southern Utah, 2-1, before falling to Utah Tech 4-0, Utah 11-0 in five innings and twice to Utah Valley, 13-7 and 10-1 in five innings.
Freshman infielder Kate Vance led the Aggie bats with a .308 (4-for-13) week at the plate with two doubles and three RBIs across the five games.
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 .381 batting average (24-for-63).
FLAWLESS FIELDING
Entering the week, Utah State ranks 31st nationally and leads the Mountain West in fielding percentage at 0.977. On the year, USU has 374 putouts and 179 assists with just 13 errors. Nine different Aggie players have a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
A HIT TO REMEMBER
Senior infielder Kenzee Olsen rewrote her personal record book with one swing in the Aggies' Feb. 21 matchup against Seton Hall. With two outs and the bases loaded, Olsen hit a grand slam to left field to break open an eventual 8-3 victory. She tallied not only hit her first career grand slam, but her first career home run and RBIs.
EXTRA CREDIT
Entering the weekend, Utah State ranks 54th in the country and second in the conference in doubles with 33. Seven different players have hit three or more, with senior outfielder Kya Pratt leading the team with six.
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).
ONE LAST CLIMB
The 2026 campaign will be the final season for Utah State as a member of the Mountain West Conference, as the Aggies will join the Pac-12 beginning July 1, 2026. USU will join existing members Oregon State and Washington State, along with new additions Gonzaga, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Texas State. Utah State has been a member of the Mountain West since 2013.
UP NEXT
Utah State will open up Mountain West play with a three-game series at Fresno State. The teams will open their conference slates on Friday, March 13, at 7 p.m. (MT), then face off again on Saturday, March 14, at 5:30 p.m. (MT) before wrapping up their series on Sunday, March 15, at noon (MT).
