No. 20 Softball to Host Top 25 Series against No. 24 KansasNo. 20 Softball to Host Top 25 Series against No. 24 Kansas

No. 20 Softball to Host Top 25 Series against No. 24 Kansas

by Ryan Ladika

ORLANDO – Following its latest winning effort at home over the Stetson Hatters Wednesday evening, the No. 20 UCF softball team is set for its final home Big 12 Conference series of the 2026 season against the No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks.

The Knights authored their 33rd win of the spring behind timely two-out hitting and a strong performance in the circle by senior Lena Elkins, taking their midweek matchup against Stetson by a 5-3 final score to improve to 5-0 against in-state opponents this year.

Elkins tossed a season high six innings of three run ball in the winning effort, marking her second-longest appearance in a Knights uniform, and the Black and Gold bolstered their starter offensively with run-scoring hits by Aubrey Evans, Kendall Yarnell and Samantha Rey, all coming with two outs.

UCF’s Wednesday triumph represented the team’s third straight dating back to its series win in Tempe over then-No. 23 Arizona State, and lifted the team to 9-1-1 in its last 11 games since its 3-2 walk-off win over FGCU March 25 and 33-11-1 overall this season.

The Knights were rewarded for their efforts in the NCAA’s latest RPI update Thursday morning, as the squad improved to a season best No. 21 ranking, fourth in the Big 12 Conference behind only Texas Tech (No. 10), Arizona (No. 18) and Oklahoma State (No. 20).

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Entering their final home conference set, the Black and Gold’s NCAA Tournament resume boasts three RPI top 25 wins over Oklahoma State twice (No. 20) and LSU (No. 14), eight RPI top 50 wins and 20 RPI top 100 wins. UCF also owns a sterling 13-0 record against RPI 100+ squads.

Sophomore catcher Beth Damon leads UCF’s offensive charge throughout the program’s first 18 games against RPI top 50 programs, slashing a team-best .404/.421/.788 (21-for-52) with six runs scored, two doubles, six home runs, 13 RBI and 41 total bases in said contests.

Junior second baseman Sierra Humphreys owns the Knights’ second highest slugging percentage against RPI top 50 squads with a .528 mark on the strength of three home runs and five doubles, good for a share for the team lead in said matchups with Izzy Mertes’ five.

Humphreys and fellow junior Samantha Rey both lead their squad with a .500 average in the team’s last 10 games, with Humphreys, Evans, Mertes, Yarnell, Damon, Ashleigh Griffin and Coco Jaimes combining for the program’s 27 home runs in that span.

Redshirt sophomore right-hander Isabella Vega made her 30th appearance of the season in the Knights’ win over Stetson as well, recording the final three outs to clinch her fifth save of the spring to match the program’s individual single-season record.

The Bradenton native enters UCF’s series against the Jayhawks with 113.2 innings pitched thus far, and ranks among Big 12 Conference leaders in saves (5, 1st), ERA (2.22, 4th), fewest hits allowed per seven innings (4.74, 4th), innings pitched (4th), winning decisions (15, 5th), complete games (9, 6th), strikeouts (77, 7th), and WHIP (1.14, 7th).

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UCF this weekend will meet a Kansas squad off to a strong start in Big 12 Conference play this spring, having won 10 of its first 15 Big 12 contests to earn its current spot at third place overall in the league standings.

While they do not own any series sweeps to this point, the Jayhawks have won each of their first four conference series against Houston, Utah, BYU and Arizona State, with their efforts against Houston and BYU coming on the road.

The squad most recently took two of three from the Baylor Bears in Lawrence April 10-11, outscoring Baylor 13-12 in the series including a 1-0 shutout win in game two.

The Knights, meanwhile, look to build upon a strong recent history against Kansas, having taken five of the teams’ six meetings over the last two seasons since UCF joined the Big 12 Conference prior to the 2024 campaign.

The Black and Gold earned the first Big 12 Conference series win in program history against Kansas in Orlando March 8-10, 2024, and last spring earned a three-game series sweep over the Jayhawks in Lawrence to conclude the regular season May 2-4.

Vega, then a redshirt freshman, earned three weekly honors, including two national awards, for her efforts against Kansas last season, garnering National Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week, D1Softball National Freshman of the Week, and Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week after going 2-0 with her first career no-hitter in the series in Lawrence.

First pitch for the series-opener is set for 6 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex Friday evening and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.