PHOENIX — After opening up their home campaign last weekend by hosting the USD/UCSD Co-Host Tournament, San Diego softball will head back on the road this weekend to take play in the 2026 Purple Classic at GCU Softball Stadium by taking on Grand Canyon (10-0, 0-0 MW), UC Santa Barbara (2-10, 0-0 Big West), North Florida (11-1, 0-0 ASUN), and Montana (4-6, 0-0 Big Sky).
The Toreros will begin the weekend on Thursday afternoon with a game against the host Antelopes at the GCU Softball Complex, which will be broadcasted live on Mountain West Network. On Friday they will take on UC Santa Barbara at 8 a.m., before returning to the diamond later that day to play North Florida. They will wrap up the tournament on Saturday with two more games, against Montana at 9:30 a.m., followed by the final game of the weekend against North Florida again at 3:00 p.m.
Only the first game against Grand Canyon will be streamed live on Mountain West Network, while the rest of the games will have live statistics available on USDToreros.com.
ALL TIME SERIES AGAINST GRAND CANYON
• The Toreros are 0-8 against the Antelopes all-time, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming last season on March 8, 2025, when San Diego participated in the 2025 GCU Tournament. The Antelopes defeated USD 7-5 at GCU Softball Stadium.
• San Diego last hosted GCU in San Diego three seasons ago in 2023, when the Antelopes beat the Toreros 9-5 at the USD Softball Complex.
• San Diego and Grand Canyon's first-ever meeting came in 2014, when the GCU beat the Toreros by a 3-1 margin in San Diego, Calif.
ALL TIME SERIES AGAINST UC SANTA BARBARA
• The Toreros are 14-21 against the Gauchos all-time, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming on February 27, 2021, when San Diego dropped a tough 7-3 extra innings decision to UCSB in San Diego at the USD Softball Complex.
• Before that game, USD was on a seven game winning streak over UCSB that dated back to 2018 when it beat the Gauchos 4-1 in Santa Barbara.
• San Diego and UCSB's first-ever meeting came in 1999, when the Toreros shutout the Gauchos 1-0 in San Diego.
ALL TIME SERIES AGAINST NORTH FLORIDA
• The Toreros and the Ospreys will face off for the first time in the two programs' histories.
ALL TIME SERIES AGAINST MONTANA
• The Toreros are 6-1 against the Grizzlies all-time, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming last season for three games on March 15, and 16, 2024, when San Diego swept Montana by 5-0, 4-0, and 5-4 margins at Del Norte high school.
• San Diego has never traveled to Montana to take on the Grizzlies, despite playing them seven times.
• San Diego and Montana's first-ever meeting came in 2015, when the Toreros beat the Grizzlies 5-3 in San Diego.
LAST TIME OUT- USD/UCSD CO-HOST TOURNAMENT
The Toreros kicked off their 2026 home campaign last weekend by hosting the USD/UCSD Co-Host Tournament. The Toreros played in four total games over the weekend, with two games against Weber State, and one game against Southern Utah, and Colorado State.
GAME ONE vs. WEBER STATE: In its 2026 home opener the Toreros claimed a gritty 4-3 victory over Weber State in the first game of a double header against the Wildcats to kick off the tournament on Thursday evening.
GAME TWO vs. WEBER STATE: The Wildcats recovered to take game two of the double header, beating the Toreros 9-5 to split the season series between the two teams.
GAME THREE vs. SOUTHERN UTAH: The Toreros could not complete a valiant comeback effort on Friday night against the Thunderbirds who finished their tournament with a record of 3-1, with two wins over Boise State.
GAME FOUR vs. COLORADO STATE: The Toreros finished their games in the tournament on Friday evening by beating the Rams for the second time of 2026 — this time in San Diego — to finish 2-2 on the weekend. The 4-3 victory over CSU was fueled by a complete game in the circle from
Charlie Johnson.
USD PICKED SIXTH IN 2025 WCC PRESEASON POLL
• San Diego was picked sixth in the WCC Coaches Preseason Poll the West Coast Conference announced on Wednesday afternoon as part of its 2026 Softball Preseason Honors.
• USD took home the sixth spot in the league's 2026 poll with 11 points, putting it four points ahead of Portland, which was picked seventh. San Diego placed fifth in the poll in 2025 and was tied for second in 2024.
2026 WCC SOFTBALL COACHES PRESEASON POLL
1. Santa Clara - 36 points (6)
2. Saint Mary's - 31 points (1)
3. Oregon State – 22 points
4. LMU – 21 points
5. Seattle U – 19 points
6. San Diego – 11 points
7. Pacific – 7 points
2026 WCC SOFTBALL PRESEASON TEAM (POSITION PLAYERS)
• Amanda Bricker, Pacific
• Sam Buckley, Saint Mary's
• Taryn Clements, Santa Clara
• Cairah Curran, Santa Clara
• Taylor Fitch, Seattle U
• Hazyl Gray, Santa Clara
• Izzy Jamgotchian, LMU
• Justine Lambert, LMU
• Jada Lewis, Oregon State
• Mikee Morris, Seattle U
• Olivia Silvestre, Pacific
• Karen Spadafora, Seattle U
2026 WCC SOFTBALL PRESEASON TEAM (PITCHERS)
• Cari Ferguson, Santa Clara
• Mia Nishikawa, Saint Mary's
• Berkley Vance, Seattle U
• Odhi Vasquez, Saint Mary's
PROVEN RETURNERS
#1 Kaitlyn Wynia | OF | JR | Torrance, CA | Torrance High School
• Appeared and started in 38 of her team's games in 2025 as a sophomore
• Hit for a slash line of .328/.391/.379 with 9 RBI; led USD in batting average
• Totaled 11 multi-hit games last season, notching three in one game on three occasions
• With more walks (11) than strikeouts on the season, her on-base percentage of .391 was third on the team and 23rd across the WCC
#14 Taylor Johnson | UT | SR | Seal Beach, CA | Los Alamitos High School
• Appeared in 47 games and started in 45 as the team's primary first baseman in 2025
• Posted a slash line of .321/.400/.575, and led the team in slugging with a percentage of .575, aided by her seven doubles and team-leading nine home runs and 37 RBI
• Was the 2024 WCC Batting Champion and a 2024 WCC First Team selection as a sophomore in 2024
#5 Michelle Delgado | INF | JR | Santa Ana, CA | Segerstrom High School
• Appeared and started in 45 games as the team's primary third baseman in 2025
• Posted a slash line of .318/.396/.409, and her .805 OPS was second best on the team, along with her SLG at third best and OBP at second best
• Led the team in assists with 84 and had a fielding percentage of .976 at the hot corner
#10 Shawnese Hogue-Lacy | C/UT | SR | Fairfield, CA | Vanden High School
• Appeared in 36 games and started in 33 as the team's primary catcher in 2025
• Broke out by posting a slash line of .313/.340/.434, boosted by six total extra base hits on the season, hitting two doubles, two triples, and two home runs, along with six RBI
• Had a fielding percentage of .975, making only four errors in 160 chances and threw out six runners attempting to steal a base
#6 Kelsey Tadlock | LHP | SR | San Marcos, CA | San Marcos High School
• Pitched in 33 games and started in 13 in 2025
• Threw a team leading four complete games amassing 105 innings pitched
• Struck out a team-high 87 batters while accumulating a 3.47 ERA
WORKING THE PORTAL
• San Diego picked up a pair of transfers in the portal this season from Miami (OH), and Sonoma State.
Those players are:
#9 Kaylee Oh | OF | JR | Miami (OH) | Oregon State
• Oh, a Murrieta, California native, heads to USD after spending her Sophomore year at Miami (OH), and her freshman season at Oregon State.
• Oh excelled during the 2025 season competing for Miami (OH) as she started in all 61 of her team's games and was selected to the MAC All-Tournament team.
• Providing a great spark at the top of the lineup, she posted a .307 batting average to go along with six home runs and 32 RBIs while also showcasing her speed with 17 stolen bases.
• Her time with the RedHawks featured numerous highlights including her first collegiate home run against Georgia State, 15 multi-hit games, a three-hit performance against Ball State in the MAC Tournament and a pair of hits in a victory over North Carolina in the 2025 NCAA Regionals.
#21 Charlie Johnson | RHP | SR | Sonoma State
• Johnson, a San Diego native who attended nearby Del Norte High School, comes to the Toreros after spending the last three seasons competing for Division II Sonoma State in the Bay Area, where she made 94 career appearances, posting a 37-23 overall record to go along with a microscopic 1.86 ERA in 388.2 innings.
• During her time at Sonoma State she earned five CCAA Pitcher of the Week awards and was a First Team All-Region and All-Conference honoree during the 2025 season.
• Not afraid to pitch deep into games, Johnson threw 23 complete games in 29 starts during her junior season at Sonoma State. Pitching in relief in her final appearance this last season, Johnson kept her team in the game by throwing 5.1 innings and allowing just one unearned run against Concordia.
RISING TOREROS
• Head coach MJ Knighten brought in six first-year players as part of USD's 2025 freshman class.
Those players are:
#7 Liliana Esparza | UT | Las Vegas, NV | Green Valley High School
• Played for head coach AJ Coleman and Green Valley High School and for Ken Briggs on the BSC Bengals 18U club team
• Two-time Nevada 5A state champion (2021 and 2022)
• Also played basketball, soccer, volleyball and flag football
#12 Seleny Chavez | UT | Nipomo, CA | St. Joseph High School
• Played for head coach Anthony Razo at St. Joseph High School and for Rob Weil on the Wildcats Fastpitch club team
• 2024 All CSO First Team selection, 2024 CIF Central Section champions
• Grew up in a small farming community and was raised and shaped by the legacy of her parents and grandparents as strawberry farmers
#22 Adiah Fountain | C/UT | Northridge, CA | Notre Dame High School
• Played for head coach Justin Siegel at Notre Dame High School and for Ray Gurule at the BSC Bengals Gurule club team
• Clubbed 34 home runs during her high school career and posted a 1.75 catcher pop time
#23 Analesse "Peanut" Garcia | RHP | Chula Vista, CA | Mater Dei High School
• Played for head coach Liz Centrullo at Mater Dei High School and for Bobby Labs on the Breakers Lab 18U Gold Bobby club team
• Her last two years of high school she posted a 14-3 record a 1.58 ERA and 99 strikeouts
• Is related to San Diego Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla
#25 Ava Rojas | OF | Benicia, CA | Benicia High School
• Played for head coach Kristen Grubbs at Benicia HS and for the Lady Magic club team under head coach Steve Walling
• Four year varsity player at Benicia HS and has played for her travel ball team since she was seven years old
• Has two older cousins, Madison and Aysle Rojas who played softball at UC Davis
#26 Abrielle Diaz | INF | Riverside, CA | Grand Terrace High School
• Competed at Grand Terrace High School and for the California Lite 18U club team
• Four year varsity softball player and served as team captain her senior year
• Posted a .431 batting average her junior season
HOMETOWN HEROES
• Eight players on the 2026 USD roster hail from the San Diego area and attended local high schools.
Those players are:
• INF Hailey Mulligan | San Diego, CA | El Capitan High School
• LHP Kelsey Tadlock | San Marcos, CA | San Marcos High School
• LHP Alex Riggs | San Diego, CA | Academy of Our Lady of Peace
• OF Dalia Powell | San Diego, CA | University City High School
• UT Mallory Axline | San Diego, CA | Cathedral Catholic High School
• RHP Charlie Johnson | San Diego, CA | Del Norte High School
• RHP Analesse "Peanut" Garcia | Chula Vista, CA | Mater Dei High School
• P/UT Emma Giaime | San Diego, CA | Del Norte High School
2026 SCHEDULE NOTES:
• 51 games
• 28 home games
• 22 away games
• 18 WCC games
• 33 non-conference games
• 9 home WCC games
• 9 away WCC games
• 19 home non-conference games
• 6 away non-conference games
• 8 neutral-site games
• 43 games in California
• 28 games in San Diego
• 5 games in Arizona
• 3 games in Oregon
