| Date | Opponent | Site | Broadcast | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 7 | Auburn | Clearwater, FL | Gamechanger | 5:00 PM ET |
| Feb. 7 | BYU | Clearwater, FL | Gamechanger | 8:00 PM ET |
| Feb. 8 | NCCU | Clearwater, FL | Gamechanger | 3:00 PM ET |
| Feb. 8 | Longwood | Clearwater, FL | Gamechanger | 6:00 PM ET |
| Feb. 9 | #23 Liberty | Clearwater, FL | Gamechanger | 9:30 AM ET |
| Feb. 9 | Rutgers | Clearwater, FL | Gamechanger | 12:15 PM ET |
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team returns to the diamond this Friday at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida as Kris Ganeff begins her second season as head coach and 25th overall coaching for the Irish.
In her 24 years on staff, Ganeff has been a part of 905 wins and 21 NCAA Regional Appearances. The former Notre Dame catcher will look to lead Notre Dame back to the postseason after a 23-31-1 record a season ago. At last year’s NFCA Leadoff Classic, Ganeff got her first career win against #15 Missouri in walk-off fashion, becoming the first Irish softball coach to get their first win against a ranked opponent.
The Irish return assistant coaches Boo De Oliveira and Mike Perniciaro back to the staff for year two with Notre Dame. Last year, De Oliveira helped the Irish pitching staff strikeout 323 batters in her first year leading the pitching staff. Those 323 punchouts were tied for the second-most in the ACC. Gessica Garber, who played for Ganeff at Notre Dame from 2004-07, joins the staff this season after being in the broadcast booth last season.
Season Preview
Pitching
Notre Dame returns its top three arms from a season ago in Micaela Kastor, Kami Kamzik and Brianne Weiss. 146 of Notre Dame’s 323 strikeouts last year came in conference play, which was the second-most in the ACC. The Irish were the only school in the conference to have three pitchers strikeout 70 or more batters in the regular season.
Kastor will return to the circle for her senior season as the ace of the staff. Kastor posted a career-high 123 strikeouts last year and has posted back-to-back seasons with 10 wins. She tossed five complete games for Notre Dame. In her career, Kastor has made 46 starts and appeared in 92 games, striking out 273 strikeouts in over 310 innings.
Kamzik and Weiss return to the staff looking to continue to build off the 2025 season. Kamzik tossed two complete game efforts, wins over Penn State and Louisville, striking out 82 batters in 90.1 innings. Weiss had an impressive freshman campaign, leading the pitching staff with a 4.33 ERA in 64.2 innings. She tossed a complete game shutout at NC State and had dominant relief appearances against Louisville, Pittsburgh and No. 6 LSU.
A pair of incoming freshmen pitchers, Molly Conner and Lily Hagan, will also contribute to the Irish bullpen. The duo was named to the 2026 Softball America Freshman Watch List this preseason.
Infield
The Irish return last year’s starting first and third baseman in Kaia Cortes and Caroline O’Brien back for their sophomore campaigns. Cortes started in 45 games at first base last year and clubbed four home runs. She also got plunked by a pitch 13 times last season, which was tied for the third-most in the conference. Senior Paige Cowley, who will see most of her time at the designated player position, will also provide depth at first base after hitting three home runs last year.
O’Brien, who was named to the Freshman All-ACC team, will shift into a bigger role in the Irish lineup. The Palos Heights, Illinois native hit .340 in conference play last year and only struck out seven times in 112 at bats while providing a flashy glove over at the hot corner. Freshman Keira Murphy will provide depth at the corner spot as well with her defensive capabilities.
Up the middle, junior Olivia Levitt, sophomores Caitlyn Early and Avery Houlihan and freshman Ava Zachary all are vying for playing time at second and shortstop. Levitt saw time at multiple infield positions last year and had 18 hits, while Houlihan came on late last season and started 13 games down the stretch. Early saw action in 29 games, logging five hits and seeing time as a pinch runner. Zachary, who was named 2025 Indiana Miss Softball last year at nearby Penn High School, will look to showcase her bat and glove early for Notre Dame. She was named to the D1 Softball D100 Freshman Watch List and Softball America Freshman Watch List.
Behind the dish, Rebecca Eckart is back for her sophomore season. She had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 94 chances last year and will look to provide power to the lineup. Freshman Hayden Kyne, a Softball America Freshman Watch List honoree, also should see some time handling the pitching staff behind the plate.
Outfield
Notre Dame will get a big lift back with senior Mickey Winchell and junior Sydny Poeck returning after both sustained season-ending injuries last year. Winchell was having a breakout season in center field, hitting .408 with a .463 on base percentage in 17 games before having her season cut short. Poeck was hitting .330 and had a .444 on base percentage prior to her injury after 35 games. She enters the season with a 17 game on-base streak.
Junior Christina Willemssen, freshman Jillian Torres, Saint Louis grad transfer Ashley Marietta, and Conner all will compete for time in the outfield as well. Willemssen saw time in left and right last year, drawing 15 walks in just 18 starts. Torres comes in as a highly touted recruit out of California after being named a 2025 PGF High School All-American. Marietta will look to add depth to the position group while Conner will look to utilize her skills all around the diamond, not just in the circle.
NFCA Leadoff Classic Preview
2026 marks the third consecutive year that Notre Dame is competing at the NFCA Leadoff Classic and the 10th overall time in program history. All-time, the Irish are 23-24 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Last year, Notre Dame went 3-3 to open up the year in Clearwater, posting wins over #15 Missouri, Penn State and Bethune Cookman. The Irish walked off #15 Missouri last year for the first win of the season.
AUBURN – Friday, February 6th at 5:00 p.m.
Auburn, who is receiving votes in both the NFCA and ESPN/USA Softball Preseason Poll, comes into 2026 following an NCAA Regional Appearance last May. The Tigers return 2025 All-SEC First Team member Annalea Adams, who hit .390 with 10 home runs during her freshman season in 2025.
Notre Dame is 5-4 all-time against Auburn, but 3-4 on a neutral site. The two programs last faced off at the NFCA Leadoff Classic back on February 7, 2020. The Tigers won 4-1.
BYU – Friday February 6th, at 8:00 p.m.
BYU is coming off a 32-17 record a season ago, just missing out on the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars return Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Third Team All-American Ilove’a Brittingham, who set BYU freshman records with 21 home runs and 69 RBI.
The Irish are 4-0 all-time against BYU, all four coming in a neutral setting. Notre Dame won 11-1 in five innings last time out on February 20, 2020 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California.
NCCU – Saturday, February 7th at 3:00 p.m.
North Carolina Central went 13-33 last year and 10-10 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Junior outfielder Tyler Suttles returns for the Eagles after hitting .342 a season ago.
Notre Dame is 1-0 all-time against NCCU, the lone win coming on March 11, 2015 in Durham, North Carolina. This will be the first neutral site contest between the two programs.
LONGWOOD – Saturday, February 7th at 6:00 p.m.
After a 21-32 overall record and an 11-7 record in the Big South last year, Longwood enters 2026 with All-Big South first team catcher Brooke Bennett, who led the team with a .328 batting average last year. The Lancers return both Morgan Strickland and Maggie Chapin to the circle after a 4.23 team ERA in 2025
This will be the second matchup all-time between Notre Dame and Longwood. Longwood won the only matchup 2-0 on March 4, 2011 at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic in Kissimmee, Florida.
#21/#23 LIBERTY – Sunday, February 8th at 9:30 a.m.
Nationally ranked Liberty comes into 2026 with high expectations following a 50-15 record last year and an appearance in the Eugene Super Regional last May. Kaylan Yoder returns in the circle for Liberty after posting a 2.63 ERA in 85.1 innings.
The Irish lead the all-time series 5-2 and a perfect 4-0 in neutral venues. Notre Dame won 3-0 back on February 11th, 2024 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Micaela Kastor tossed three shutout innings in relief in the game.
RUTGERS – Sunday, February 8th at 12:15 p.m.
Rutgers is coming off a 20-36 overall record last season, but struggled down the stretch in Big 10 play. Junior outfielder Makenna Coleman, junior infielder Sam Rohwer and junior right-handed pitcher Brooke Shifflett all were named Big Ten Softball Players To Watch by the conference office in the preseason.
Former Big East foes, Notre Dame and Rutgers will meet for the 43rd time on Sunday. Notre Dame leads the all-time 34-8 and is 2-1 in neutral site games against the Scarlet Knights. The Irish won 4-3 in nine innings back on March 6th, 2022 at the Liberty Softball Invitational in Lynchburg, Virginia.