CORPUS CHRISTI – New Islander head softball coach Mark Montgomery has released the softball schedule for the spring 2026 season.
"We are extremely excited about this year's schedule," said Montgomery. "We believe we have compiled a non-conference schedule that will both test us and prepare us for the rigors of Southland Conference play."
The schedule includes a trio of opponents who made post season appearances last season in the NCAA Tournament, including two Women's College World Series participants.
The Islanders open with a test, as they will be on the road for four weekend tournaments to begin the season, including the season opener at Florida International Feb. 5-7. The opening game will initiate a five-game tournament that will also see the Islanders face Lehigh, Stony Brook, and Louisville over three days. From there, the team will travel to Lafayette, LA on Mardi Gras three-day event that includes host Louisiana, along with Ole Miss and Prairie View A&M.
From there, the challenges continue with the squad playing 12 games over 10 days as they take part in a pair of Lone Star State tournaments at Tarleton State (Feb. 20-22) and Texas Tech (Feb. 27-March 1). At Tarleton State, the Islanders will take on the host team twice, as well as Tulsa, Army, and Pitt.
A pair of midweek matchups in the mix of that stretch will see the Islanders host North Dakota in the official home opener on Feb. 24, before they're back on the road at Texas State on Feb. 26.
The Texas Tech tournament will see A&M-Corpus Christi play a pair of games against the Red Raiders, two games against Detroit Mercy, and a single game with Abilene Christian. The team will have final preparation for the conference schedule at UTSA on March 4, the first of a home-and-home with the Roadrunners.
Southland Conference play begins on the road at Incarnate Word on March 6-7, before the Islanders host East Texas A&M the following weekend. The conference schedule sees the Islanders playing every other series at home with road trips in between.
At Chapman Field, the Islanders will host series against Southeastern (March 27-28), McNeese (April 10-11), and Northwestern State (April 17-18). Additional conference road games will include matchups at Houston Christian, Lamar, Nicholls State – the team's only midweek conference series (April 14-15) – and conclude the regular season at Stephen F. Austin.
The squad will have only two non-conference games over the last month of the season, with home games against Houston on March 31 and Texas State on April 21.
"This year's schedule should provide amazing opportunities for our team to grow both as individuals and as a group. We had an exciting fall season, and we want to carry that momentum into the spring. The goal is to give our best effort each time we take the field, and we are excited about the early season opportunities that we expect will help us to compete at a high level in the Southland Conference," concluded Montgomery.
The Southland Conference Tournament will begin on May 1-3 at sites to be determined based on the final No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. The championship series is scheduled for May 6-8 with an automatic regional bid in the NCAA tournament at stake.
Click here to view the full 2026 schedule.
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