SAN ANTONIO\u2014The UTSA softball team is set to open the 2026 campaign by hosting the UTSA Invitational, which will see No. 1 Texas, No. 9 Nebraska and No. 25 Washington head to Roadrunner Field with the event spanning Friday through Sunday.<\/p>\n
The \u2018Runners will first take on the Huskies at 3:35 p.m. on Friday, before facing the Huskers on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. UTSA rounds out the event against the defending national champions, as they battle the Longhorns on Sunday at 3:05 p.m.<\/p>\n
Fans can keep up with all the action at www.goUTSA.com\/26utsainvitational<\/a>. All games of the tournament will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Alex Loeb (play-by-play) and Cat Osterman (analyst) on the call, and live stats can be found at utsa.statbroadcast.com<\/a>. Additionally, limited tickets are still available for purchase at www.goutsa.com\/sbtickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n There will be a fan zone throughout the event on the Brenan Lawn next to the Convocation Center with food trucks, fan activations, UTSA merchandise and more. Fans can also receive free UTSA trading cards throughout the season, beginning with the coaching staff, and those in attendance will receive a free UTSA schedule poster with a limited-edition UTSA Invitational poster.<\/p>\n Gates will open one hour prior to the first game of each day, and a separate ticket will be required for each individual game. All fans must leave the venue at the conclusion of each game and re-enter if they have tickets for the next game.<\/p>\n The Roadrunners will look to build on a 21-34 2025 campaign that featured significant gains for the squad. Six more wins than the 2024 season allowed UTSA to record its most victories since the 2019 campaign, with the \u2018Runners going 5-0 to start the season for the best in program history and besting Michigan State for their first win over a Big 10 foe since 2011. The Roadrunners also saw increases in batting average (24.5%), on-base percentage (13.2%), hits (25%), runs scored (21%), total bases (14%) and stolen bases (44%).<\/p>\n UTSA is one of three NCAA Division I teams to return 100% of last year\u2019s innings, including sophomore Ava Eldridge<\/a>, who posted a team-high eight wins and 47 strikeouts. Edlridge and classmate Kaylie Olivarez<\/a> both made headlines, each winning American Pitcher of the Week honors across the campaign.<\/p>\n At the plate, UTSA brings back sophomore Sabrina Wick<\/a>, who posted a .301 batting average and swiped 14 steals. The \u2018Runners added key pieces in the portal in the form of junior Samantha Mundine<\/a> and classmate Jaeden Burnham<\/a>. Mundine was a 2025 first-team All-Southland selection at McNeese after working a .380 batting average to go with 65 hits, 30 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Recently, she was named one of the top 100 mid-major softball players by D1 Softball. Burnham, meanwhile, heads to UTSA from Trinity Valley CC, where she was a second-team all-region catcher, thanks to a .406 batting average and 58 RBIs over 62 games.<\/p>\n The Huskies went 35-19 last season, including a 12-9 mark in Big Ten play, before falling in the NCAA Lubbock Regional. Alexis DeBoer, Jadyn Glab and Morgan Reimer were all named Big Ten Players to Watch, with DeBoer earning recognition as a Preseason Second-Team All-America by Softball America, among other preseason accolades. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Huskers bring back 18 letterwinners from a squad that went 43-15 last year and made an NCAA Super Regional appearance. Nebraska returns 97% of its innings pitched, including NFCA Player of the Year and Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Year Jordy Frahm.<\/p>\n The Longhorns begin their title defense at Roadrunner Field, following an incredible season that culminated in a 56-12 record as well as the national championship. Texas put four on the Preseason All-SEC team in Reese Atwood, Kayden Henry, Teagan Kavan and Katie Stewart. Atwood was a unanimous National Catcher of the Year award winner and a first-team All-American. Kavan, meanwhile, was a second-team All-America pick after compiling a 28-5 record in the circle with a 2.16 ERA over 43 games.<\/p>\n Keep up with UTSA Softball all season long on goutsa.com<\/a>, and by following the program on Facebook at \/UTSASB<\/a>, X (Twitter) @UTSASoftball<\/a>, and on Instagram @utsasoftball<\/a>.<\/p>\n -UTSA-<\/p>\n