Cullowhee, N.C. – Featuring a program-record 28 home games, Western Carolina softball today announced its 2026 schedule, which opens in early February. WCU's home slate includes hosting the third-annual Catamount Classic, an early-season tournament, in early March. WCU will be challenged in 2026, playing 16 squads that eclipsed 30 wins in 2025, including three teams with 40 or more victories, with a combined 16 teams that posted winning records.
The Catamounts are slated to face five teams that competed in the 2025 NCAA tournament, including No. 11 Clemson, which advanced to the Super Regionals before falling to the eventual champion, Texas. Big 10 Conference foe Purdue joins the Tigers as a second team on WCU's docket from a Power Four conference.
Western Carolina's 2026 schedule begins with a trip to Greensboro to battle N.C. A&T on Wednesday, Feb. 11, for an opening day doubleheader. The first weekend of action sees the Catamounts travel to Charleston, S.C., for the Low Country Classic, co-hosted by Charleston Southern and the College of Charleston. The three-day tournament starts on Feb. 13. WCU faces Penn, Akron, UConn, and the host CofC for a total of five games.
For the first time since 2022, the Catamounts open their home slate in mid-February with a doubleheader on Feb. 17, against Winthrop, before traveling to Gardner-Webb a week later. The final road tournament of the 2026 campaign sees the Catamounts travel to the Purple & Gold Classic, hosted by Lipscomb University in Nashville. The field features Southern Illinois, Purdue, and the host Bisons.
WCU opens a busy March home slate by hosting the Catamount Classic, which commences on March 6 on campus in Cullowhee. The Catamounts welcome Penn, Robert Morris, and Ohio to the Catamount Softball Complex. Over the three-day event, WCU is slated to face the Quakers and Colonials twice and battle the Bobcats once.
The Catamounts continue the home portion of the month with a visit from Presbyterian on March 10 before heading to Charlotte the next day for a doubleheader against Queens. An 11-game homestand opens on March 17, beginning with a single game against ACC opposition, Clemson.
Southern Conference play opens on March 21-22, with a three-game league slate in Cullowhee against chromatic rival Furman. The homestand continues with back-to-back doubleheaders against USC Upstate (March 24) and Gardner-Webb (March 25), and concludes with a visit from UNCG on March 28 and 29.
March finishes with a single-game against Charlotte on March 31 before flipping the calendar to April with a trip to the Volunteer State to battle mountain-rival ETSU (April 3-4) in league play. The first home games in the month are on April 7, when Georgia State makes a trip to Cullowhee for a doubleheader. The final road series in April sees the Purple & Gold travel to Birmingham to battle Samford on April 11-12.
WCU's final home stretch of 2026 sees the Catamounts welcome in Chattanooga on April 18-19, before hosting defending SoCon tournament champion Mercer on April 25-26, where the Catamounts will honor their 2026 senior class. Sandwiched in between the home series with the Mocs and Bears, WCU is slated to travel to Durham for a nonconference doubleheader against N.C. Central (April 21).
WCU closes out SoCon play with a trip to Spartanburg to battle Wofford on May 1-2 for the regular season finale for both schools.
Hosted by Chattanooga, the 2026 Southern Conference Softball Championship is scheduled for May 6-9. The winner will earn the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Admission to all Catamount softball games is free of charge all season, courtesy of First Bank.
Clift and the Catamounts return 13 players from last season, including 10 position players and a pair of pitchers returning to the circle. Among the returners are five position players 50-or-more starts last season, including first-team All-SoCon selection in junior Lily Bell along with the two team leaders in home runs in rising juniors Maya McPherson and Sydney Dirks. The Catamount outfield will see senior Rylee Butler and sophomore Courtney Marks to round out the five key returners. Sophomore AG Batson and Amanda Fulton return to the circle looking to lead the WCU pitching staff.
The Catamounts also welcome nine newcomers, with seven freshman position players to go along with a pair of rookie pitchers in the circle for the 2026 roster.
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