OPENING PITCH: The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team takes the field in its fourth non-conference series of 2026. The Midwest College Classic will feature the Bulldogs facing Washburn University first on tomorrow at 10 a.m., with Newman University to follow at 12:15 p.m. Saturday will see UMD face the No. 17 University of Central Oklahoma (2:20 p.m.) and Fort Hays State University (4:45 p.m.).
 
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up with the invitational field, with last season's records and this season.
 

TEAM	2025 RECORD (CONF.)	2026 RECORD	POLL
UMD	39-17 (18-8)	9-4	4th (NSIC)
WU	31-21 (13-11)	17-3	6th (MIAA)
NU	7-43 (2-22)	3-5	13th (MIAA)
UCO	52-11 (20-4)	13-4	2nd (MIAA)
FHU	24-21 (9-15)	4-5	10th (MIAA)

 

SCOUTING WASHBURN: Washburn last competed on February 22nd against the University of Minnesota Crookston, where they downed the Golden Eagles 5-1 at home. One of their top threats is Makenzie Sais; in 62 at-bats, she has a .452 batting average and a .484 slugging percentage. On the mound, Sadie Walker has an 8-1 record in 62.1 innings pitched with a 1.80 ERA.
 
SCOUTING NEWMAN: The Jets last match was played on February 24th against Rockhurst University. In a double header, Newman dropped both without scoring a run, losing 0-9 and 0-7. Their top batter in 27 plate appearances is Malie Noda with a .407 batting average and .667 slugging percentage with 11 hits and seven RBIs. On the mound, Taylor Palmer has a 1-3 record in 15.2 innings pitched with an 8.49 ERA.
 
SCOUTING NO. 17 UCO: Central Oklahoma has won its last two matchups, including a 4-2 win over Minnesota State University Mankato and a 12-0 win over Rockhurst University.  In 51 at-bats, Kennedy Clark is leading the team in batting average with a .451. She has 23 hits and 19 RBIs to start the season. On the mound, Shelby Beard owns a 7-2 record in 51.2 innings pitched. She has 47 strikeouts with a 3.12 ERA.
 
SCOUTING FORT HAYS: The Tigers last competed on Sunday against Minnesota State University Mankato, earning a 7-4 win on the road. Hannah Green leads the batting effort with a .485 batting average with 10 runs, two RBIs, and 16 hits. On the mound, Solana Carpenter leads the team with a 2-1 record in 26.2 innings pitched. She has 19 strikeouts with a 1.84 ERA.
 
OPENING SERIES DOMINANCE: The Bulldogs took an impressive 4-1 record home from their trip to the Lone Star D2 College Classic down in Mansfield, Texas, last week. In all, UMD combined for a total of 31 runs.
 
EVANS EARNS TWO NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS: Daphne Evans of the UMD softball team has claimed two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Player of the Week selections in her first season as a Bulldog.
 
The freshman outfielder from Chanhassen, Minn., claims the honor after helping the team to a 4-1 start in their first week of competition and leads the NSIC as the top batter. In that span, she hit .556 (10 for 18), owned a .600 on-base percentage, and a 1.000 slugging percentage for an OPS of 1.600.
 
Throughout the week, she tallied a hit in all five outings, with three hits in the season opener against Eastern New Mexico University and three against Rockhurst University. At the plate, she drove in six RBIs with two doubles and two home runs. Out in the field, she tallied her first career putouts with eight total, keeping a clean 1.000 fielding percentage.
 
Evans, a freshman outfielder from Chanhassen, Minn., claims her second NSIC Player of the Week honor as one of the top batters for UMD this week. Throughout the week, she hit .643 (9-for-14), owned a .750 on-base percentage, and a 1.000 slugging percentage. She drove in six RBIs off three doubles and one triple while recording seven putouts in the field. In the Bulldogs' 5-1 week, she tallied a hit or more in all six outings, including a season high of four hits against Truman State University.
 
SYLVIA-COCHRAN EARNS NSIC PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Emmie Sylvia-Cochran claimed the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Pitcher of the Week selection this week after helping the Bulldogs to a 5-1 record in the Lewis Dome Invitational.
 
Sylvia-Cochran, a freshman pitcher from Ham Lake, Minn., earns her first career NSIC Pitcher of the Week honor after going 3-0 this week on the mound. One of those wins marked UMD's first shutout of the season (Roosevelt University, 7-0). Throughout 16 innings pitched, she allowed only nine hits with no errors, struck out 28 batters, and allowed a .161 batting average.
 
SURVEY SAYS: The UMD softball team has been picked to finish fourth in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) competition by the annual preseason coaches' poll. This comes after completing the 2025 season with an overall record of 39-17 and an 18-8 record in NSIC action.
 
 

2026 NSIC Softball Preseason Poll	Points
1. Augustana (12)	221
2. Winona State (4)	202
3. Minnesota State	197
4. Minnesota Duluth	183
5. St. Cloud State	175
6. Concordia-St. Paul	148
7. Wayne State	138
8. Minot State	133
9. Southwest Minnesota State	111
10. Sioux Falls	96
11. MSU Moorhead	80
12. Bemidji State	68
13. Northern State	56
14. Minnesota Crookston	43
15. Jamestown	42
16. University of Mary	27

    first-place votes in ( )
 

ALL EYES ON ME: Senior Kendal Jenkins was named as UMD's NSIC Player to Watch, along with senior pitcher Allyssa Williams being named as the UMD NSIC Pitcher to Watch.
 
A native of Hastings, Minn., Jenkins posted a .335 batting average and .561 slugging percentage last season. By the end of the season, she earned a NSIC First Team All-Conference selection after tallying 58 hits, 19 doubles, a triple, and six home runs.
 
Williams, a product of Yuba City, Calif., went 17-8 in 29 appearances, earning a 2.91 ERA in 137 innings. In a career high season who earned a selection to the NSIC All-Defensive Team while tossing 112 strikeouts and earning a .249 bats against average.
 
LAST PLATE APPEARANCE: UMD earned its final victory of the Lewis Dome Invitational Saturday evening, charging past Hillsdale College 5-2.
 
The Bulldogs started strong with Daphne Evans singling and stealing a base at the top of the first inning. Morgan McMillan followed up with a  single to put Evans in scoring position for Khendal Johnson to bring her home on a single. A throwing error brought McMillan in to give UMD a 2-0 lead off three hits and one error.
 
Maddie Walsh shut down the Hillsdale bats in order with two groundouts and a strikeout to start the game. The second inning saw both teams fail to earn a hit, with UMD stranding Paige Johnson, who walked.
 
Sierra Thomas was the lone Bulldog to bring in a run in the third inning as the UMD bats left two on after three hits for a 3-0 lead. The Chargers would be able to force in two runs off two hits and two errors with Walsh on the mound.
 
With the game at 3-2, the Bulldogs did not allow the Chargers more than one hit for the duration, with Ashley Mandell and Emmie Sylvia Cochran closing out the game. The UMD bats quieted until the seventh inning, where a three-hit effort set up two more runs between Emma Ambroz (double), Kendal Jenkins (single, one RBI), and Thomas (single). The run that sealed the 5-2 win came off a wild pitch that allowed Noelle Krumrie to get home.
 
2025 ACCOLADES: Senior infielder Nicole Schmitt and junior catcher Kendal Jenkins earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference First Team All-Conference recognition and junior pitcher Allyssa Williams attained NSIC All-Defensive Team honors. 
 
Named to both the NFCA and the D2CCA All-Central Region clubs, Schmitt became the eighth player in program history to earn the title of All-American, the ninth overall, with Patty Becker earning NAIA All-American status in 1990 and 1991, including the other First Team accolade. She is now the program's fifth NFCA All-American and the program's lone NFCA First Team honoree.

GETTING THE CALL UP: The Bulldogs feature six new freshmen on the 2026 roster. That list comprises outfielder Marissa Tomashek (Shawano, Wis.), utility player Maya Miller (Eden Prairie, Minn.), utility player Paige Johnson (Superior, Wis.), outfielder Daphne Evans (Chanhassen, Minn.), catcher Kaylin Yenter (Stevens Point, Wis.), and pitcher Emmie Sylvia-Cochran (Ham Lake, Minn.). 
 
THE WAGNER FILES: A new era of Bulldog softball continues this season under head coach Nat Wagner. Under Wagner's first season of leadership, the Bulldogs posted 39 wins with a sweep of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate regular season competition. In his first year, he coached two NSIC First Team selections and a NSIC All-Defensive Team standout with four single-season records broken. The newest manager of the maroon and gold is the fifth head coach in the program's 44-year history after serving as an assistant coach for the University of Saint Thomas for two seasons. Prior, Wagner was at the helm of the Minot State University program for three years, leading the Beavers to a 60-48 record and one NSIC Postseason appearance.
 
ON DECK: The Bulldogs compete in the Branson Spring Games starting March 8th. Their first opponent is scheduled to be Truman State University at 2 p.m.