OPENING PITCH: The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team takes the field in its first 2026 meeting with Minnesota State University Mankato. The Bulldogs are set to compete in the Mankato Dome Invite in a doubleheader starting tomorrow at 12 p.m., with the second game scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
SCOUTING REPORT ON MANKATO: The Mavericks have yet to face an opponent this season, but completed last season with a 39-20 record, advancing to the NCAA Regionals. The match against UMD will be both their home opener and season opener. The Mavericks have a new coach this season with their fifth historic head coach, Kristle Wolcott. She has spent the last 12 seasons as associate head coach.
 
Minnesota State Mankato returns with 12 players from last season, including senior Gianna Lara, who enters her final season of competition with the Mavericks. Lara appeared in and started all 57 games last season, primarily at first base. She posted a .322 batting average, tallying 56 hits while leading the team in doubles (14) and RBIs (40). On the mound, they return with junior pitcher Maddie Oetzmann, who appeared in 22 games, including 15 starts, recording two complete games and one shutout. She finished the season with a 3.08 ERA and struck out 63 batters across 77.1 innings pitched.
 
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up with MSU with last year's performances.
 

TEAM	RECORD	CONFERENCE	POLL
UMD	39-17	18-8	4th (NSIC)
MSU	39-20	21-7	3rd (NSIC)

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 FIRST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Daphne Evans of the UMD softball team has claimed the first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Player of the Week selection of the 2026 season 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.
 
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: The Bulldogs advanced to a 4-1 start to the season after downing Rockhurst University (5-4) and Harding University (9-1) on the final day of the Lone Star D2 College Classic.
 
The first inning of the day saw Rockhurst's Avery Huffman force three strikeouts over the top of the Bulldog lineup. Emmie Sylvia-Cochran, in her second collegiate outing, replied with three strikeouts and a walk to keep the inning scoreless. In the second inning, the Bulldog bats heated up as Khendal Johnson got on base with a two-out triple for Taryn Christopher to bring her home on her first home run of the season. UMD continued to halt RU, only allowing two runners on off walks.
 
 The Hawks were the only ones to record a run in the third inning as two hits off of Sylvia-Cochran put them on the board 2-1. UMD went down in order to start the fourth inning with another two hits, creating a run for RU to tie up at 2-2.
 
The Bulldog bats picked up again in the fifth inning with a double by Christopher and a single from Lauren Jenkins, setting up Daphne Evans to bring them home on a single. With a 4-2 lead, Sylvia-Cochran and the field continued to lock the Hawks down, only allowing one runner on off a single.
 
Both teams would hold each other scoreless in the sixth inning. The bases would be loaded with Marissa Tomashek, Evans, and Morgan McMillan, with only one out on the board. A full count walk to Jenkins brought in the last run in for UMD. The Hawks responded in the bottom of the inning by filling up the base paths with two outs. A single off of Sylvia-Cochran brought in the final two runs of the game to seal the Bulldogs' win at 5-4.
 
Game two had Harding get their lone score of the day via a solo home run off Allyssa Williams. UMD only mustered a hit from McMillan to close out the first inning. Williams, from then on, allowed only three more hits from the Bisons.
 
The Bulldog bats took the game away in the second and third innings as the team put up seven hits for eight runs. The first two came through Paige Johnson's sacrifice fly to bring home Sierra Thomas, with Jenkins following up with a single to bring home Johnson. The six-run third inning came off the swings of Khendal Johnson, Paige Johnson (2 RBIs), Evans, and Jenkins (2 RBIs) to mark an 8-1 lead.
 
The final run came in the sixth inning as Christopher singled to bring in Taylor Gallahue to walk off with the Bulldogs' fourth win of 2026.
 
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 Lewis Dome Invitational starting February 19th. Their first opponent is scheduled to be Roosevelt University at 9 p.m., with Ferris State University following at 11 a.m.