BOONE, N.C. – The App State softball team announced its 2026 schedule on Wednesday. Head coach
Whitney Jones and her squad will look to build upon a strong first season under her direction, which saw App State win 13 Sun Belt games, tying the program record for the most wins in the Sun Belt era, and earn a No. 6 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament – the second-highest seed in program history.
The Mountaineers' 52-game schedule will feature 18 home games – the most in a season since 2016 – highlighted by the Mountaineer Classic, the first nonconference tournament hosted by the Mountaineers in program history. App State will face three NCAA Tournament qualifiers from a year ago and six teams that won at least 30 games in 2025. Additionally, the Mountaineers will play at three different North Carolina locations (Wilmington, Feb. 6-8; Greensboro, Feb. 13-15; and Chapel Hill, Feb. 20-22) in nonconference play and won't travel further than 350 miles from Boone until April 10.
"We're excited about our 2026 schedule," Jones said. "Opening the season with three straight weeks at in-state locations will be a great opportunity for our program. We expect great crowds thanks to our strong alumni presence in North Carolina, our in-state players competing close to home and our fans who support us wherever we go.
We look forward to sharpening our swords against a highly competitive slate of nonconference opponents as this group aims to make the strongest Sun Belt run in program history. This team has put together a solid body of work throughout the fall, and they're hungry for spring competition."
App State will open the season with a multi-team tournament hosted by UNCW from Feb. 6-8. The Mountaineers will face off with Kennesaw State twice, George Washington and UNCW twice while in Wilmington.
Two more in-state tournaments await App State after opening weekend in The Spiro Classic (Feb. 13-15), hosted by UNCG, and the Tar Heel Invitational (Feb. 20-22), hosted by North Carolina. App State will play two teams during this stretch that won at least 30 games in 2025 (UNCG and UNC) and will play the first of four games against high-major opponents on Feb. 20, when it meets North Carolina.
App State will then travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the final road tournament of nonconference play, where they will face Penn State, Tennessee and N.C. Central in the Tennessee Invitational.
Following the Knoxville trip, the Mountaineers will host the Mountaineer Classic in Boone from March 6-8 to close out the nonconference tournament schedule. The Mountaineers will play both Furman and Queens twice at the Mountaineer Classic.
After back-to-back midweek games at College of Charleston (March 10) and Charleston Southern (March 11), App State will open conference play in Conway, S.C., with a three-game series against reigning Sun Belt Tournament champion Coastal Carolina.
App State will return home to kick off a season-long seven-game homestand on March 18 against N.C. Central. The Mountaineers will then welcome Southern Miss (March 20-22) and Georgia State (March 27-29) to open their home Sun Belt schedule. Georgia State's visit will serve as App State's alumni weekend.
The Mountaineers then hit the road for six of their next seven games, traveling to Marshall for a weekend set from April 2-4 and to ULM from April 10-12. They will make a quick stop at home to take on Gardner-Webb on April 7 to close their nonconference slate.
A home series with James Madison (April 17-19) follows the trip to ULM before a conference series with Georgia Southern caps off the regular-season road schedule. App State will close its home and regular-season slate by welcoming Texas State (April 30-May 2) to Boone in what will be the Bobcats' final trip to the High Country as a Sun Belt member.
The 10-team Sun Belt Tournament will be held in Lafayette, La., on the campus of Louisiana from May 6-9.
The 2026 roster returns several key pieces, as eight players who started in at least 39 games are back for another year. The group includes a trio of All-Sun Belt honorees in
Makayla McClain (first team),
Grace Barrett (first team) and
Sophie Moshos (second team). App State also welcomed a group of nine newcomers - five freshmen and four collegiate transfers - to the mountain in the offseason.
2026 Lead-Off Dinner
As part of its home-opening tournament, App State Softball will host its annual Lead-Off Dinner on March 7 at 6 p.m., following the doubleheader against Queens.
Registration is now open.
2026 App State Softball Schedule
| Date |
Opponent |
Location |
| Friday, Feb. 6 |
Kennesaw State |
Wilmington, N.C. |
| Friday, Feb. 6 |
UNCW |
Wilmington, N.C. |
| Saturday, Feb. 7 |
George Washington |
Wilmington, N.C. |
| Saturday, Feb. 7 |
Kennesaw State |
Wilmington, N.C. |
| Sunday, Feb. 8 |
UNCW |
Wilmington, N.C. |
| Friday, Feb. 13 |
Columbia |
Greensboro, N.C. |
| Friday, Feb. 13 |
Fairfield |
Greensboro, N.C. |
| Saturday, Feb. 14 |
Columbia |
Greensboro, N.C. |
| Saturday, Feb. 14 |
UNCG |
Greensboro, N.C. |
| Sunday, Feb. 15 |
UNCG |
Greensboro, N.C. |
| Friday, Feb. 20 |
Princeton |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Friday, Feb. 20 |
North Carolina |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Saturday, Feb. 21 |
Princeton |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Saturday, Feb. 21 |
Rider |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Sunday, Feb. 21 |
N.C. Central |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Friday, Feb. 27 |
N.C. Central |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Friday, Feb. 27 |
Tennessee |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Saturday, Feb. 28 |
N.C. Central |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Saturday, Feb. 28 |
Penn State |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Sunday, March 1 |
Tennessee |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
| Friday, March 6 |
Furman |
Boone, N.C. |
| Saturday, March 7 |
Furman |
Boone, N.C. |
| Saturday, March 7 |
Queens |
Boone, N.C. |
| Sunday, March 8 |
Queens |
Boone, N.C. |
| Tuesday, March 10 |
College of Charleston |
Charleston, S.C. |
| Wednesday, March 11 |
Charleston Southern |
Charleston, S.C. |
| Friday, March 13 |
Coastal Carolina* |
Conway, S.C. |
| Saturday, March 14 |
Coastal Carolina* |
Conway, S.C. |
| Sunday, March 15 |
Coastal Carolina* |
Conway, S.C. |
| Wednesday, March 18 |
N.C. Central |
Boone, N.C. |
| Friday, March 20 |
Southern Miss* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Saturday, March 21 |
Southern Miss* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Sunday, March 22 |
Southern Miss* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Friday, March 27 |
Georgia State* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Saturday, March 28 |
Georgia State* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Sunday, March 29 |
Georgia State* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Thursday, April 2 |
Marshall* |
Huntington, W. Va. |
| Friday, April 3 |
Marshall* |
Huntington, W. Va. |
| Saturday, April 4 |
Marshall* |
Huntington, W. Va. |
| Tuesday, April 11 |
Gardner-Webb |
Boone, N.C. |
| Friday, April 10 |
ULM* |
Monroe, La. |
| Saturday, April 11 |
ULM* |
Monroe, La. |
| Sunday, April 12 |
ULM* |
Monroe, La. |
| Friday, April 17 |
James Madison* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Saturday, April 18 |
James Madison* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Sunday, April 19 |
James Madison* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Friday, April 24 |
Georgia Southern* |
Statesboro, Ga. |
| Saturday, April 25 |
Georgia Southern* |
Statesboro, Ga. |
| Sunday, April 26 |
Georgia Southern* |
Statesboro, Ga. |
| Thursday, April 30 |
Texas State* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Friday, May 1 |
Texas State* |
Boone, N.C. |
| Saturday, May 2 |
Texas State* |
Boone, N.C. |
| May 6-9 |
Sun Belt Tournament |
Lafayette, La. |
|
|
|
| * = Sun Belt Conference Game |
|
