Utah Valley Softball opens the 2025 season this weekend at the NorCal Kickoff, hosted by UC Davis and Sacramento State. The team will play five games during the three-day tournament in Davis and Sacramento, California. 

The Wolverines will play five different opponents, including the two host schools. Utah Valley will also face Idaho State, Boise State, and San José State. Live stats for each game can be found at UVUStats.com.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday, Feb. 7: vs Idaho State, 10:30 a.m. MT/at UC Davis, 3 p.m. MT

Saturday, Feb. 8: vs Boise State, 10:30 a.m. MT/at Sac State, 1 p.m. MT

Sunday, Feb. 9: vs San José State, 10:30 a.m. MT

Utah Valley's first two games will be played at La Rue Field in Davis, and the final three will be played at Shea Stadium in Sacramento.

The Wolverines are looking to build off a strong 2024 campaign that was one of the best in program history and saw numerous records fall. Utah Valley went 25-28 a year ago, the fourth-most wins in a single season and finished third in the WAC after being projected to finish seventh. The 25 wins were also the most in a season since joining the WAC in 2014. 

After back-to-back seasons of double-digit newcomers and returning just five starters, Utah Valley brings back an experienced group that features eight position players who appeared in more than 75% of games in 2024.  Among those returners is two-time All-WAC selection Megan Gibbs, who set the program's single-season home run record in 2024 with 15, and is now seven away from setting the career record. Among all WAC players, Gibbs is the leading returner in home runs, slugging percentage, and RBIs. 

Gibbs was ranked the No. 35 returning position player in the country by College Sports Evaluation. Entering 2025, Gibbs has a 24.82 weighted runs above average (wRAA), a stat that measures a player's overall offensive contribution. Gibbs was the only player from the WAC listed and the 11th-highest from a mid-major school.

The pitching staff returns two of three starting pitchers, including sophomore Avery Sapp. After a rocky first few months of the season, Sapp was dominant down the home stretch in 2024, with a 1.64 ERA in 51.1 IP over her final nine appearances. 

Dual threat junior LHP/1B Payge Armendariz will look to build off of a breakout 2024 campaign where she led the pitching staff in ERA during conference play and hit the most doubles in a season since 2016. Armendariz had a 3.29 ERA in WAC play and hit 14 doubles.

Senior catcher Rachael Brown had a strong 2024 campaign in her first season at the Division I level. The JUCO product blasted six HRs with 25 RBIs as a junior. Sophomore OF Amber Rodriguez aims to solidify her spot at the top of the lineup after providing a spark out of the leadoff spot in 2024. Rodriguez finished second on the team in runs scored with 35 in 2024 and finished third on the team in hits with 46. 

HISTORY VS THE OPPOSITION

• Idaho State: Series tied 26-26 (last meeting: 2/23/24, ISU won 9-2)

• UC Davis: UCD leads 4-0 (last meeting: 2/12/23, UCD won 5-4/8 inn.)

• Boise State: BSU leads 11-5 (last meeting: 3/19/24, BSU won 10-4)

• Sac State: SAC leads 3-0 (last meeting: 2/11/23, SAC won 7-6)

• San José State: SJSU leads 5-1 (last meeting: 3/13/15, SJSU won 15-0)

GIBBS CHASING HISTORY

After setting the UVU single-season home run record in 2024, Megan Gibbs has her eyes set on a number of career records in 2025. Entering the season, Gibbs needs 7 home runs to set the program's career record and 45 RBIs to set the career RBIs record. Gibbs currently holds the program's full-status D-I slugging percentage record at .623, and enters the year .015 behind the overall record held by Heidi Stocks (2006-08) at .638. 

WOLVERINES RUN THE STATE

Utah Valley put up its best win percentage in program history against in-state competition, posting a combined 8-4 record against the likes of Weber State, BYU, Utah State, Southern Utah, and Utah Tech. The Wolverines split with BYU, took two of three from WSU and SUU, and swept Utah Tech. The only in-state team UVU played but didn't defeat was USU, who took the lone meeting, 10-5.

PITCHING STAFF LOOKS TO BUILD ON LATE-SEASON SUCCESS

After an up and down first few months of the season, the Utah Valley pitching staff finished the back half of the season as one of the best staffs in the league. From April 12 on, UVU pitchers allowed 5 or fewer runs in 17 of the final 19 games, and allowed 3 or fewer runs in 14 of the final 19. Overall, the pitching staff posted a 2.24 ERA in that stretch, which would've been top 20 in the nation over the full season.

THOMSON ADDS JUCO ALL-AMERICAN TO 2025 ROSTER

Coach Thomson added SLCC standout and 2024 NJCAA All-American Bailey Marvin to his 2025 roster. Marvin helped lead SLCC to a NJCAA National Tournament berth in 2024, and a SWAC title in 2023. Over her two seasons at SLCC, Marvin hit .463 with 47 HRs and 170 RBIs. Marvin is the second JUCO All-American to sign for Thomson, joining Rylee Thorpe (2022-23).

UP NEXT

Utah Valley will head to Arizona for the Littlewood Classic, hosted by Grand Canyon and Arizona State in Phoenix and Tempe. The Wolverines will face Belmont, Washington, No. 23 Oregon, North Dakota, and ASU.