2026 UConn Huskies softball team

2026 UConn Huskies softball
2026 UConn Huskies softball
Big East regular season co-champions; Big East tournament champions
NCAA College Station Regional, 1–2
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	32–28 (18–6 Big East)
Head coach	Laura Valentino (7th season);
Home stadium	Connecticut Softball Stadium

2026 Big East Conference softball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Providence ‍†‍‍	18	–	6	.750	29	–	20	.592
UConn ‍†‍‡‍^y	18	–	6	.750	32	–	27	.542
Creighton ‍‍‍	17	–	7	.708	32	–	27	.542
Butler ‍‍‍	15	–	9	.625	25	–	21	.543
St. John's ‍‍‍	9	–	15	.375	32	–	23	.582
Georgetown ‍‍‍	9	–	15	.375	16	–	26	.381
DePaul ‍‍‍	8	–	16	.333	20	–	30	.400
Villanova ‍‍‍	8	–	16	.333	14	–	39	.264
Seton Hall ‍‍‍	6	–	18	.250	19	–	30	.388

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of May 17, 2026^[1]^[2] Rankings from NFCA/USA Today

The 2026 UConn Huskies softball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2026 NCAA Division I softball season. The Huskies were led by Laura Valentino in her 7th year as head coach, and competed as part of the Big East Conference. They played their home games at Connecticut Softball Stadium.

Due to expected weather conditions in North Carolina, the Elon Softball Classic was canceled and the Huskies instead entered the JoAnne Graf Classic at Florida State for the opening weekend.^[3]

The Huskies claimed a share of the regular season Big East title with an 18–6 record. They entered the Big East Tournament as the second seed, as Providence held the tiebreaker by winning the season series. UConn won their second Big East Tournament in a row with a 8–3 victory over Creighton in the winner-take-all final.^[4] They were selected to the NCAA College Station Regional, facing 15th national seeded Texas A&M in the first round.^[5] They won their first game in NCAA tournament play since 2001 by defeating McNeese, but were eliminated by a pair of losses to Texas A&M.^[6]

Previous season

The Huskies finished the regular season with an 18–6 record and entered the 2025 Big East Conference softball tournament as the second seed. They won the Big East tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001.^[7] They lost to Nebraska^[8] and host LSU to end their season.^[9]

Personnel

Roster

2026 Connecticut Huskies roster^[10]

Pitchers

4 - Stella Kiemele - Sophomore
9 - Caprice Bohmer - Freshman
13 - Alexandra Bacher - Sophomore
23 - Amber Bretton - Sophomore
24 - Sydnee Koosh - Junior
55 - Jessica Walter - Graduate student

Catchers

5 - Alexis Juhl - Freshman
20 - Heidi Barber - Sophomore

Utility

22 - Haley Coupal - Senior
31 - Emma Willers - Freshman

Outfielders

1 - Bella Cruz - Sophomore
10 - Isabella Lundquist - Freshman
11 - Kaitlyn Breslin - Junior
12 - Kaitlyn Kibling - Senior
21 - Bella Cefola - Freshman

Infielders

3 - Kaiea Higa - Senior
6 - Ava Calciano - Freshman
7 - Grace Carrington - Sophomore
8 - Cat Petteys - Sophomore
15 - Savannah Ring - Senior
19 - Caylee De Meo - Junior

Coaches

2026 Connecticut Huskies softball coaching staff^[10]
Laura Valentino – Head coach – 7th season Mackenzie Keyes – Assistant coach – 3rd season Giselle Juarez-Presley – Assistant coach – 2nd season Sydney Fleming – Assistant coach – 1st season

Schedule

Legend
	UConn win
	UConn loss
	Cancellation
Bold	UConn team member
*	Non-Conference game

2026 UConn Huskies softball game log^[11]

Regular season

February
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall record	BE Record
Feb 5	vs Samford*	JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex • Tallahassee, FL (JoAnne Graf Classic)	L 2–6	Turner (1–0)	Walter (0–1)	None		0–1
Feb 6	vs Marshall*	JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex • Tallahassee, FL (JoAnne Graf Classic)	L 1–10	Maynard (1–0)	Bohmer (0–1)	Veal (1)		0–2
Feb 7	vs Iowa*	JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex • Tallahassee, FL (JoAnne Graf Classic)	L 9–10	Neiss (2–0)	Watler (0–2)	None		0–3
Feb 8	at No. 7 Florida State*	JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex • Tallahassee, FL (JoAnne Graf Classic)	L 0–6	Gaskell (1–0)	Bacher (0–1)	None	476	0–4
Feb 13	vs Akron*	CSU Softball Complex • North Charleston, SC (Lowcountry Classic)	W 7–2	Bohmer (1–1)	Ma. Lee (0–1)	None		1–4
Feb 13	at Charleston Southern*	CSU Softball Complex • North Charleston, SC (Lowcountry Classic)	W 13–0	Walter (1–2)	Clopton (0–4)	None	155	2–4
Feb 14	vs Akron*	CSU Softball Complex • North Charleston, SC (Lowcountry Classic)	L 0–2	Jamrong (1–0)	Koosh (0–1)	None		2–5
Feb 14	at College of Charleston*	CofC Softball Stadium at Patriots Point • Mount Pleasant, SC (Lowcountry Classic)	L 1–12	Mathis	Bohmer (1–2)	None	257	2–6
Feb 15	vs Western Carolina*	CSU Softball Complex • North Charleston, SC (Lowcountry Classic)	L 1–2 ⁽⁸⁾	Fulton	Bohmer (1–3)	None	162	2–7
Feb 20	vs Wisconsin*	FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (Gulf Coast Classic)	L 0–3	Jacobson	Walter (1–3)	None		2–8
Feb 20	vs Buffalo*	FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (Gulf Coast Classic)	L 3–6	Russ (2–3)	Koosh (0–2)	None		2–9
Feb 21	vs Louisville*	FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (Gulf Coast Classic)	L 2–10 ⁽⁵⁾	Reeves (2–0)	Bohmer (1–5)	None	505	2–10
Feb 21	at Florida Gulf Coast*	FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (Gulf Coast Classic)	W 4–3	Walter (2–2)	Bacoulis (2–4)	Bohmer (1)	503	3–10
Feb 22	vs Wisconsin*	FGCU Softball Complex • Fort Myers, FL (Gulf Coast Classic)	L 0–8 ⁽⁶⁾	Herr (5–3)	Walter (2–3)	None	246	3–11
Feb 27	vs Marshall*	Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium • Lynchburg, VA (Liberty Invitational)	L 4–5	Veal (2–2)	Bacher (0–2)	None	67	3–12
Feb 27	vs Marshall*	Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium • Lynchburg, VA (Liberty Invitational)	L 1–3	Maynard (4–2)	Bohmer (1–6)	None	59	3–13
Feb 28	at Liberty*	Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium • Lynchburg, VA (Liberty Invitational)	W 7–1	Walter (3–3)	Yoder (0–3)	None	447	4–13
Feb 28	vs Radford*	Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium • Lynchburg, VA (Liberty Invitational)	L 2–5	Redmon (3–4)	Koosh (0–3)	None	67	4–14

March
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall record	BE Record
Mar 1	vs Radford*	Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium • Lynchburg, VA (Liberty Invitational)	L 1–5	Cooper (2–4)	Walter (3–4)	None	87	4–15
Mar 8	at St. John's	Columbia Softball Stadium • New York, NY^[a]	W 5–3	Bohmer (2–5)	Serafinko (7–4)	Walter (1)	75	5–15	1–0
Mar 8	at St. John's	Columbia Softball Stadium • New York, NY	L 10–11	Serafinko (8–4)	Walter (3–5)	None	75	5–16	1–1
Mar 9	at St. John's	Columbia Softball Stadium • New York, NY	W 4–1	Bretton (3–6)	Serafinko (8–5)	Walter (1)	25	6–16	2–1
Mar 10	Stonehill*	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 7–3	Koosh (1–3)	Sciaretto (0–2)	None	215	7–16
Mar 13	at Seton Hall	Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field • South Orange, NJ	L 4–5	Dupuis (2–0)	Walter (3–6)	None	42	7–17	2–2
Mar 14	at Seton Hall	Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field • South Orange, NJ	W 8–6	Bretton (4–6)	Kreuscher	Walter (2)	51	8–17	3–2
Mar 15	at Seton Hall	Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field • South Orange, NJ	L 5–8	Dupuis (3–0)	Bacher (0–3)	None	112	8–18	3–3
Mar 20	at No. 10 Arkansas*	Bogle Park • Fayetteville, AR	L 4–12 ⁽⁶⁾	McWhorter (2–0)	Walter (3–7)	None	2,530	8–19
Mar 21	at No. 10 Arkansas*	Bogle Park • Fayetteville, AR	L 2–10 ⁽⁶⁾	Burnham (7–2)	Koosh (1–4)	None	3,088	8–20
Mar 22	at No. 10 Arkansas*	Bogle Park • Fayetteville, AR	L 4–9	Timmerman (5–0)	Walter (3–8)	None	2,468	8–21
Mar 24	New Haven*	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 17–0 ⁽⁵⁾	Bohmer (3–6)	Sullivan (2–2)	None	50	9–21
Mar 24	New Haven*	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 15–8	Bacher (1–3)	Rhodes (1–2)	None	133	10–21
Mar 25	Boston University*	BU Softball Field • Boston, MA	L 1–9 ⁽⁶⁾	Ricard (16–5)	Koosh (1–4)	None	57	10–22
Mar 27	DePaul	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 11–3 ⁽⁶⁾	Bohmer (4–6)	Messer (6–10)	None	50	11–22	4–3
Mar 28	DePaul	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 7–5	Walter (4–8)	Nigey (3–5)	Bohmer (2)	308	12–22	5–3
Mar 29	DePaul	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 10–1	Bohmer (5–6)	Nigey (3–6)	None	332	13–22	6–3

April/May
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall record	BE Record
Apr 3	Villanova	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 5–3	Bohmer (6–6)	Kobryn (2–10)	Walter (4)	275	14–22	7–3
Apr 3	Villanova	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 9–1	Koosh (2–5)	King (1–4)	None	275 (DH)	15–22	8–3
Apr 4	Villanova	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 2–0	Bohmer (7–6)	Zych (2–3)	Walter (5)	492	16–22	9–3
Apr 7	at Boston College*	Harrington Athletics Village • Brighton, MA	W 6–5	Koosh (3–4)	Colleran (3–8)	Walter (6)		17–22
Apr 10	at Butler	Butler Softball Field • Indianapolis, IN	W 16–3 ⁽⁶⁾	Bohmer (8–6)	Petran (7–5)	None	323	18–22	10–3
Apr 11	at Butler	Butler Softball Field • Indianapolis, IN	W 5–0	Koosh (4–5)	Dyer (3–3)	Walter (7)	407	19–22	11–3
Apr 12	at Butler	Butler Softball Field • Indianapolis, IN	W 2–1	Bohmer (9–6)	Berger (1–5)	Walter (8)	347	20–22	12–3
Apr 14	Bryant*	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 6–0	Bohmer (10–6)	Tracy (2–8)	None	265	21–22
Apr 17	Providence	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	L 6–7	Twomey (9–1)	Bohmer (10–7)	Brooks (1)	343	21–23	12–4
Apr 18	Providence	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	L 3–4 ⁽⁸⁾	Frye (4–3)	Bohmer (10–8)	None	678	21–24	12–5
Apr 18	Providence	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 12–4 ⁽⁶⁾	Koosh (5–5)	Hopkins (1–4)	None	626	22–24	13–5
Apr 22	Hofstra*	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 11–3 ⁽⁵⁾	Bohmer (11–8)	Steppe (11–4)	None	51	23–24
Apr 24	Creighton	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 12–11	Bretton (3–0)	Harris (4–4)	Walter (9)	164	24–24	14–5
Apr 25	Creighton	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	L 5–7	Gilman (14–8)	Koosh (5–6)	None	430	24–25	14–6
Apr 26	Creighton	Connecticut Softball Stadium • Storrs, CT	W 4–2	Walter (5–8)	Harris (4–5)	None	521	25–25	15–6
May 1	at Georgetown	Washington Nationals Youth Academy • Washington, D.C.	W 14–6	Bohmer (11–8)	Larson (5–8)	None	111	26–25	16–6
May 2	at Georgetown	Washington Nationals Youth Academy • Washington, D.C.	W 4–0	Koosh (6–6)	Egbert (5–7)	Bretton (1)	219	27–25	17–6
May 3	at Georgetown	Washington Nationals Youth Academy • Washington, D.C.	W 15–1 ⁽¹⁵⁾	Walter (6–8)	Larson (7–10)	None	159	28–25	18–6

Post-Season

Big East Tournament
Date	Opponent	Seed	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall record	BET Record
May 7	(3) Creighton	(2)	Parkway Bank Sports Complex • Rosemont, IL	W 9–3	Walter (7–8)	Gilman (15–9)	None	563	29–25	1–0
May 8	(4) Butler	(2)	Parkway Bank Sports Complex • Rosemont, IL	W 12–1 ⁽⁶⁾	Bohmer (13–8)	Dyer (4–5)	None		30–25	2–0
May 9	(3) Creighton	(2)	Parkway Bank Sports Complex • Rosemont, IL	L 2–5	Harris (7–6)	Bohmer (13–9)	None	257	30–26	2–1
May 9	(3) Creighton	(2)	Parkway Bank Sports Complex • Rosemont, IL	W 8–3	Walter (8–8)	Gilman (16–10)	None	257	31–26	3–1

NCAA College Station Regional
Date	Opponent	Seed	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall record	Reg Record
May 15	(1) Texas A&M	(4)	Davis Diamond • College Station, TX	L 3–17 ⁽⁵⁾	Peters (15–5)	Bohmer (13–10)	None	1,752	31–27	0–1
May 16	(2) McNeese	(4)	Davis Diamond • College Station, TX	W 5–1	Walter (9–8)	Taylor (17–6)	None	1,644	32–27	1–1
May 16	(1) Texas A&M	(4)	Davis Diamond • College Station, TX	L 3–10	Lessentine (15–4)	Koosh (6–7)	None	1,656	32–28	1–2

Rankings from NFCA Poll, Tournament seeds in parentheses.

Notes

↑ Due to field conditions, the series against St. John's was moved to Columbia's facilities in New York, with a doubleheader on Sunday and the finale on Monday.^[12]

References

↑ "2026 Softball Standings". bigeast.com. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
↑ "Big East". D1Softball. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
↑ JD McCarthy (February 4, 2026). "FSU softball announces scheduling changes for JoAnne Graf Classic". USA Today FSUWire. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
↑ Dom Amore (May 9, 2026). "UConn softball team rallies to beat Creighton, 8-3, taking Big East title and NCAA Tournament berth". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
↑ "College softball 2026: NCAA tournament scores, schedule, watch". ESPN. May 10, 2026. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
↑ Dom Amore (May 16, 2026). "UConn softball gets first NCAA win since 2001, before elimination; Yale baseball advances in Ivy". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
↑ Dom Amore (May 15, 2025). "Two sisters helped put UConn softball 'on the map.' Now Huskies face Nebraska in NCAA Tournament". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
↑ Dom Amore (May 16, 2025). "UConn softball falls to Nebraska, 10-2, in NCAA opener; plays elimination game Saturday". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
↑ "UConn softball falls to LSU in Baton Rouge Regional, ending historic season". The Bristol Press. Bristol, Connecticut. May 18, 2025. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
1 2 2026 Softball Roster. UConn Huskies. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
↑ 2026 Softball Schedule. UConn Huskies. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
↑ "Softball Home Series against UConn to be Played at Columbia". St. John's Red Storm. March 5, 2026. Retrieved March 9, 2026.

[13] Due to field conditions, the series against St. John's was moved to Columbia's facilities in New York, with a doubleheader on Sunday and the finale on Monday.^[12]

[1] "2026 Softball Standings". bigeast.com. Retrieved May 17, 2026.

[2] "Big East". D1Softball. Retrieved May 17, 2026.

[3] JD McCarthy (February 4, 2026). "FSU softball announces scheduling changes for JoAnne Graf Classic". USA Today FSUWire. Retrieved February 4, 2026.

[hc-4] Dom Amore (May 9, 2026). "UConn softball team rallies to beat Creighton, 8-3, taking Big East title and NCAA Tournament berth". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 10, 2026.

[5] "College softball 2026: NCAA tournament scores, schedule, watch". ESPN. May 10, 2026. Retrieved May 11, 2026.

[6] Dom Amore (May 16, 2026). "UConn softball gets first NCAA win since 2001, before elimination; Yale baseball advances in Ivy". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 17, 2026.

[7] Dom Amore (May 15, 2025). "Two sisters helped put UConn softball 'on the map.' Now Huskies face Nebraska in NCAA Tournament". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Retrieved May 19, 2025.

[8] Dom Amore (May 16, 2025). "UConn softball falls to Nebraska, 10-2, in NCAA opener; plays elimination game Saturday". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Retrieved May 19, 2025.

[9] "UConn softball falls to LSU in Baton Rouge Regional, ending historic season". The Bristol Press. Bristol, Connecticut. May 18, 2025. Retrieved May 19, 2025.

[roster-10] 1 2 2026 Softball Roster. UConn Huskies. Retrieved December 11, 2025.

[11] 2026 Softball Schedule. UConn Huskies. Retrieved December 13, 2025.

[12] "Softball Home Series against UConn to be Played at Columbia". St. John's Red Storm. March 5, 2026. Retrieved March 9, 2026.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[a]

[12]

UConn Huskies softball
Venue	Connecticut Softball Stadium (1975–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
College World Series appearances in italics