NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State softball head coach Tina Kramos has announced the 2026 schedule, which features several games against Power Four foes and contests with seven teams that made 2025 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Redbirds are set to compete in three tournaments before beginning Missouri Valley Conference play on the road March 6 at Evansville.
"We are extremely excited to get this Redbird Softball team back on the field this spring!" said Kramos. "We believe we have put together another competitive and challenging schedule of non-conference opponents to lead us into our Missouri Valley Conference slate."
University of South Florida Tournament | Tampa, Fla. | Feb. 5-7
ISU softball will return to the University of South Florida Tournament in Tampa, Fla., which is hosted on the campus of the USF Bulls. The Redbirds open the season with a morning contest against Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 5. It will be the third matchup all-time between the two squads, with the series knotted at one win apiece. ISU will then take on host team South Florida, who won the 2025 American Conference Championship and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, to close out the first day of action. On Friday, ISU will meet Kansas for the first time since 2015 and sixth time overall before playing the nightcap against Florida, who advanced to the 2025 Women's College World Series before being eliminated by eventual tournament champion Oklahoma. The Redbirds will close out the tournament Saturday morning against Michigan, who also qualified for last year's NCAA Tournament.
Silicon Valley Invitational | Santa Clara/San Jose, Calif. | Feb. 12-15
The second tournament of the season will take place in California, as the Redbirds travel to compete at the Silicon Valley Invitational hosted by Santa Clara and San Jose State from Feb. 12-15. The Redbirds will open the tournament on Thursday against 2025 NCAA Tournament qualifier Santa Clara. The two squads have never met before. ISU will then play 2025 Big West Champion and NCAA qualifier UC-Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. followed by San Jose State at 7 p.m. on Friday. Saturday's slate includes a contest against Utah and another matchup with host San Jose State, who the Redbirds last played in 2014 and won, 11-3. The tournament will wrap up on Sunday with a 10 a.m. contest against California, who went 35-18 in the regular season last year to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Maderia Beach Classic | Maderia Beach, Fla. | Feb. 27-March 1
The Redbirds will have a couple of weeks off of competition before participating in their last preseason tournament, the Maderia Beach Classic, from Feb. 27-March 1. ISU will open play on Friday morning with games against Colgate and Bowling Green. The Redbirds have never played against the Raiders, but they lead the all-time series against the Falcons, 4-2. On Saturday, the Redbirds will compete against Albany at 9 a.m. followed by Siena at 11:30 a.m., both for the first time in program history. ISU will wrap action on Sunday with a morning game against UMass, who the Redbirds last played in 2013 and have faced four times overall.
Inside the Schedule
Following preseason tournament play, ISU will jump right into its conference slate with a three-game series at Evansville March 6-7. The Redbirds will welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes to newly-named Melinda Fischer Field for a single game on March 10 before hosting their home-opening series against Drake March 13-14. ISU will hit the road for two mid-week conference games at Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday, March 27. ISU will then head back home for a three-game series against in-state rival Southern Illinois March 20-21. The Redbirds will close the month of March on the road with a three-game set against Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, from March 27-28, and a lone game at Big Ten and in-state foe Illinois on March 31.
The month of April begins with a five-game homestand. ISU will host Valparaiso for a doubleheader on April 3 and then welcome Indiana State for a three-game tilt from April 10-11. The Redbirds then travel to Nashville for a three-game set against 2025 MVC Champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier Belmont on April 17-18. ISU will make a stop in Chicago for a single contest against DePaul on April 21 before hosting its home-series finale against Murray State April 24-25.
The Redbirds will wrap up the regular season with a road series at Bradley from May 1-2 and then head to the 2026 MVC Softball Championship hosted by Southern Illinois from May 6-9 in Carbondale, Ill.
For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB), Instagram (@redbirdsoftball) and Facebook (Illinois State Redbird Softball).
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