Utah Valley opens the 2026 season on the banks of the Rio Grande River in El Paso, Texas, with a five-game, three-day tournament hosted by UTEP and New Mexico State. 

The Wolverines will play three games in El Paso, including two against the host Miners and former UVU head coach TJ Hubbard. Utah Valley will also make the short trip to Las Cruces, New Mexico, for a pair of games, including one against their longtime conference rival.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

• Feb. 6: vs St. Thomas (MN) (at UTEP) | 10 a.m. MT | No Broadcast 

• Feb. 6: at UTEP | 1 p.m. MT | ESPN+

• Feb. 7: vs UMass Lowell | 12 p.m. MT | No Broadcast 

• Feb. 7: at NM State | 6 p.m. MT | Radio Broadcast Only

• Feb. 8: at UTEP | 9 a.m. MT | ESPN+

*Live stats for all games will be available at the links above.

SEASON PREVIEW
Utah Valley returns arguably the most experienced team in the league in 2026, led by preseason All-Conference selection Britney Moreno. A first team All-Conference honoree in 2025, Moreno ranks second among returning players around the league in hits from last season with 57, and ranked among the team leaders in stolen bases, batting average, and slugging. 

As a team, Utah Valley's roster features eight seniors in addition to four juniors with at least one year of D-I experience. A newcomer among that group is grad transfer southpaw Hannah Ortega, who comes to Orem by way of Fresno State. The Linden, Calif., native spent three years with the Bulldogs, prior to which she spent the 2022 season at Bethune-Cookman in Florida. At BCU, Ortega was the SWAC Freshman and Pitcher of the Year.

Thanks to the JUCO eligibility ruling, Utah Valley will enjoy the steady presence of Angelique Mann for her fourth and final season in Wolverine Green. Entering the season, Mann ranks behind only UTA's Marley Neises in games played and games started among players around the league. Mann played every inning in center field in 2025.

Senior infielder Emma Haygood will look to build off a breakout junior campaign that saw her lead all starters in batting average and slugging. Haygood ripped four dingers to go with eight doubles and 26 RBIs. 

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
St. Thomas (MN): The Tommies are the defending Summit League regular season champions, beating out perennial power Omaha for their first D-I title. UST is led by 2025 first team All-Summit League recipients Ava Kleinfeldt, Laken Lienhard, and Avery Wukawitz. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

UTEP: Led by former UVU head coach TJ Hubbard, the Miners are coming off a 22-28 season in 2025. CUSA All-Freshman honoree Marissa Burchard headlines the returners for UTEP. The Miners topped the Wolverines in the lone previous meeting, a 10-9 thriller in El Paso back in 2021.

UMass Lowell: The River Hawks are coming off a 17-29 season, with a 7-13 mark in America East play. UML is led by a pair of preseason All-America East honorees LHP Olivia DeCitise and OF Thyanais Santiago. This will be the first time the two teams play each other.

NM State: Last season marked the first time since 2013 the two teams were not on each other's schedules. The Aggies went an even 27-27 last year, and were picked to finish eighth out of 12 teams in the preseason coaches' poll. NMSU is led by preseason All-CUSA honoree Devin Elam. All-time, the Aggies lead the series 29-12, with a dominant 18-2 record at home. Under Thomson, the series is much more even, with the Wolverines leading 6-5.

THRICE AS NICE
In 2025, Utah Valley had 14 triples, the team's second-most in a single season since becoming full-status D-I members in 2010 (most: 16, 2021). The Wolverines also had eight different players with at least one triple, the most since 2005 when the team had nine different players with a triple.

SISTER ACT
Infielders Peyton Hall and Tatum Hall are just the second set of sisters to be teammates on the Utah Valley softball team, joining Josi Summers and Morgan Summers-Smith, who played together in 2013-14. They are also one of approximately 25 sets of sisters currently playing D-I softball as teammates, and are also one of two sets of siblings currently competing together at UVU (other: Kael and Kaden Bennie, Wrestling).

THOMSON ADDS TOP-LEVEL EXPERIENCE TO STAFF
Head coach Cody Thomson added two former college stars to his staff for this season. Former Utah star Haley Denning Brown joins the coaching ranks after finishing her stellar collegiate career in 2023. Brown was a 4-time All-PAC-12 and 3-time All-Region honoree, and helped lead the Utes to the WCWS her final year. Brown is the Utes' all-time leader in hits, runs scored, at-bats, and career batting average.

Thomson also tabbed former BYU standout Marissa Chavez to join his staff. Chavez was a 3-time All-WCC selection for the Cougars. Chavez graduated from BYU in 2022, and was an assistant at WAC rival Utah Tech the last two seasons.

UP NEXT
The Wolverines will face likely their toughest test of the non-conference slate at the Bear Down Fiesta, hosted by Arizona. Utah Valley will play two games against the No. 18 Wildcats, as well  a game apiece against reigning Sun Belt Tournament champion Coastal Carolina, Drake, and Creighton. All five games will be streamed — the two games against Arizona will be shown on ESPN+, with the remainder on FloCollege. Live stats will be available at GoUVU.com/stats.