No. 23 Softball Readying for Tallahassee Regional Action Against FSU, Jacksonville State, Stetson

ORLANDO – On the heels of another strong run throughout the regular season, the No. 23 UCF softball team is set to continue its spring campaign in a familiar postseason setting.

Having produced an aggregate 38-16-1 overall record, including a 14-9-1 mark in Big 12 Conference play, and a final RPI slot of 23rd in the nation, the Knights were selected for their program record-extending sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid Sunday evening.

The Black and Gold were placed in the 2026 NCAA Tallahassee Regional hosted by the No. 9 overall seed Florida State Seminoles, along with the ASUN Conference Tournament Champion Stetson Hatters and Conference USA Tournament Champion Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

The Knights also joined an exclusive club of 20 total programs to have appeared in each of the last six NCAA Tournaments, a list that includes Texas A&M, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, Florida State, Washington, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Florida, Duke, Georgia, Clemson, Texas, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma.

UCF’s 38 wins this season and 14 wins in Big 12 Conference play both represent single-season bests since the team joined the league prior to the 2024 season, and with a pair of wins in Tallahassee this weekend the squad would clinch its first 40-win season since 2023. Bringing just 16 losses to Tallahassee, the squad would also finish the season with fewer than 20 losses for the first time since the 2022 slate (49-14).

UCF’s placement in Tallahassee represents the third time in the last four seasons that the Black and Gold will begin postseason play at Joanne Graf Field, fourth time in the last six, and fifth time in program history. Between their Big 12 and AAC eras, the Knights have gone 6-8 in Tallahassee in NCAA Tournament action since and including the 2015 season, having earned wins over Auburn, South Carolina and Kennesaw State in that span.

The last time UCF made the trip to Tallahassee, the squad earned the largest NCAA Tournament comeback win in program history, entering the fifth inning against Auburn trailing 6-2 before scoring nine unanswered runs across the game’s final three innings to earn an 11-6 victory May 17, 2024.

“I’m super grateful. Four years going into the postseason, it’s a big deal,” said senior shortstop Aubrey Evans. “Being a part of UCF and this program, and seeing what we’ve done over the last four years has been super fun, it’s been really competitive, and I’m excited for what this team can do the rest of this season.”

Evans helps lead a UCF offensive corps that has enjoyed record-breaking success throughout the campaign, as the 2026 Knights have already broken single-season program records for home runs (67), runs scored (361) and RBI (332), and are on pace to shatter the program’s single-season marks in team average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage as well.

Evans represents one of five Knights to hit at least 10 home runs this spring, the most for the program in a single season. Her 10 home runs are joined by Beth Damon’s 15, Kendall Yarnell’s 14, Sierra Humphreys’ 13 and Izzy Mertes’ 11.

Sophomore third baseman Coco Jaimes will look to replicate her postseason success at the plate from a season ago, as the Riverside, California, native led her team in average (.667), on-base percentage (.692), slugging percentage (.917), total hits (8) and total bases (11), and co-led the team in home runs (1), during the 2025 NCAA Austin Regional.

Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Isabella Vega has once again taken the mantle as UCF’s leader in the circle this spring as well, having tossed a career high 140.2 innings entering play this weekend accompanied by a 2.89 ERA and a .203 batting average-against.

The squad this weekend will look to continue its success against in-state opponents this year, having gone 6-2 in its first eight games against Florida-based schools with wins over Florida Atlantic, Florida A&M, FIU, FGCU, Stetson and North Florida. Through its first eight games against in-state opponents this spring, UCF is hitting for a combined .286/.376/.411 (55-for-192) line, accompanied by 12 doubles, three triples, two home runs, 41 RBI, 79 total bases and 27 walks against just 14 strikeouts offensively.

Vega (11.0), Tori Payne (10.2), Lena Elkins (10.2) and Ava Stuewe (9.0) represent the team’s innings leaders against in-state foes, meanwhile, with Payne (0.66), Stuewe (1.50) and Elkins (1.97) all boasting ERAs below 2.00. The staff as a whole has produced a 2.85 ERA in 54.0 innings with 27 strikeouts and a .239 batting average-against in such games.

The weekend regional will kick off with the host Seminoles facing off against Stetson at 12 p.m. ET Friday afternoon, followed immediately by UCF’s weekend-opener against the Gamecocks at 2:30 p.m. Florida State’s Friday tilt with the Hatters will be streamed live on ESPNU, while the Knights’ contest against Jacksonville State 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.