No. 21 Softball to Conclude 2026 Regular Season at Iowa State

ORLANDO – With the squad’s regular-season home slate now complete, the No. 21 UCF softball team is set to conclude its 2026 regular season with its final Big 12 Conference series of the spring on the road against the Iowa State Cyclones.

The Knights hit the road to Ames, Iowa, the owners of a 36-14-1 overall record through 51 games, including a 12-8-1 mark in Big 12 Conference play in 2026. A series win over the Cyclones this weekend would represent UCF’s sixth of the spring and fifth in a row, joining the Black and Gold’s efforts against then-No. 12 Oklahoma State, Houston, Utah, then-No. 23 Arizona State and then-No. 24 Kansas.

A sixth Big 12 Conference series win would mark a new single-season best since UCF joined the league prior to the 2024 campaign, as the 2024 Knights also clinched five conference series wins over Kansas, Texas Tech, BYU, Houston and Iowa State. With just one win over the Cyclones this weekend, the Black and Gold would also eclipse the 13-win mark in Big 12 Conference play for the first time in program history.

With the NCAA’s latest RPI update Wednesday morning, UCF held firm to its position for its program record-extending sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament selection as well, as the program remained within the nation’s top 25 at No. 20 overall. The Black and Gold’s resume entering the regular season’s final weekend features five RPI top 25 wins, 10 RPI top 50 wins, 25 RPI top 100 wins and a perfect 11-0 record against RPI 101+ teams.

At 36 wins entering play this weekend, UCF has already set a new single season best in its Big 12 Conference era as well, and is in position to produce its first 40-win campaign since the squad went 40-21 in its final season in the American Athletic Conference in 2023. The Knights have steadily increased their overall season win total each year since joining the Big 12 Conference, jumping from 31 in 2024 to 35 last season to 36 and counting this spring.

The team has done it on the strength of a dominant pitching staff and a record-breaking performance from its offensive corps throughout the season. With an aggregate .318/.420/.534 line, the squad is poised to break its single-season program records in all three categories (average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage) after having already broken its previous single-season home run record of 57 set during the 2021 slate.

UCF is led offensively by four Knights with double-digit home runs, in Kendall Yarnell (14), Beth Damon (12), Sierra Humphreys (11) and Izzy Mertes (10), and with one more, Aubrey Evans would reach 10 for the second straight season and represent UCF’s fifth this spring with at least 10 homers.

Yarnell paces the team in overall slugging this season with an .806 mark, just behind Stephanie Best’s program record .840 slugging percentage in 2004, and is on pace to become just the fifth Knight in program history with a slugging percentage north of .700 in a full season.

Two of UCF’s rostered slap hitters, Samantha Rey and Zoe Calvez, have represented key offensive contributors of late as well, as Rey represents UCF’s leading hitter by average through 51 games with a .385 mark, and Calvez has served as UCF’s leading hitter through the team’s last 10 games with a .350 average and .435 on-base percentage.

Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Isabella Vega has also produced a strong follow-up to her breakout 2025 debut campaign thus far, having recorded a 2.51 ERA through 128.1 innings spanning 33 appearances and 19 starts. She has limited opposition to just a .219 batting average-against through her first 54.1 innings against ranked foes this spring, and is on pace to finish the year with single-season career bests in total innings pitched, complete games, saves, and winning decisions.

Senior right-hander Lena Elkins has enjoyed a strong recent stretch in the circle as well, as the Nitro, West Virginia native has recorded a team-best 1.67 ERA in her last 17.1 innings spanning six appearances over the team’s last 10 games. She enters play Friday having yielded just one run in her last four appearances, and one or fewer runs in nine of her last 10 outings dating back to UCF’s series finale against then-No. 3 Texas Tech March 22.

They’ll lead their squad into Ames looking to build upon an all-time 6-5 lead in the series between the two programs and earn a road series win over Iowa State for the second time in the last three seasons.

The Knights won two of three in their last trip to Ames, a series that concluded the 2024 regular season, before Iowa State earned a road sweep over UCF in Orlando last spring.

The Cyclones bring a 30-21 record into the Wednesday evening midweek matchup against Drake, having most recently swept a rescheduled Tuesday twin bill against St. Thomas by an aggregate 17-13.

Iowa State this season has won a pair of conference series over Houston and BYU, but has also clinched ranked Big 12 wins over then-No. 14 Arizona, 12-10 April 6 and then-No. 19 Oklahoma State, 12-0 April 10.

First pitch for Friday evening’s series-opener is set for 5 p.m. ET 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.