Tulsa Opens 2026 Campaign in Louisiana

LAFAYETTE, La. — It's finally time for the 2026 softball season as Tulsa opens up the year with five games in Louisiana. The Golden Hurricane open the year in Lafayette against Jacksonville State and Louisiana before heading west on I-10 to Lake Charles to play McNeese and ULM, before wrapping up the weekend back in Lafayette with a rematch with Jacksonville State.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday vs. Jacksonville State – 1 p.m.
Friday vs. Louisiana – 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday vs. McNeese – 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday vs. ULM – 3:30 p.m.
Sunday vs. Jacksonville State – 10 a.m.

QUICK HITS

Tulsa has won 2 straight season openers and is 3-3 in such games in the Crissy Strimple era. Each time Tulsa has won the season opener, they have won at least the second game as well.
              2025 - W, 7-2 vs. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi (Started 2-0)
              2024 - W, 9-0 vs. Valparaiso (Started 2-0)
              2023 - L, 8-3 vs. Texas Tech
              2022 - L, 6-3 vs. North Texas
              2021 - L, 9-5 vs. Texas A&M
              2020 - W, 10-2 vs. Tennessee Tech (Started 7-0)
Tulsa has a veteran roster featuring 5 graduate students, 2 seniors, and 6 juniors.
Infielder Maci Cole was ranked No. 76 on the D1 Softball Top 100 Mid-Major Players List. Last season she earned First Team All-Conference honors after leading the team with a .316 BA and 10 HR.
Tulsa has 5 of its top 6 hitters back in the lineup from last season. Including Cole, Annika Dill, Faith Russell, and Amber Turner each had at least 145 ABs last season while Elle Rouse had 91. Claira Skaggs is also back who hit .365 but was limited to just 19 games due to injuries.

BACK IN BUSINESS

The Golden Hurricane return 12 players from last season's roster.
Graduate student shortstop Maci Cole headlines the returners after earning First Team All-Conference honors.
Cole led the Golden Hurricane offense with a .316 batting average, 49 hits, 10 home runs, .594 slugging percentage, .454 on-base percentage, and 35 walks. She was also second on the team with 27 RBI.
Claira Skaggs was red-hot last year despite being limited to just 19 games in 2025 due to injury.
Skaggs was raking with a .365 batting average and 19 hits while slugging .615 and getting on base at a .469 clip. Despite missing so much time, Skaggs finished third on the team with 3 home runs while driving in 16 runs.
Annika Dill, Faith Russell, Elle Rouse, and Amber Turner are back after starting the majority of the 2025 season.
Dill had a strong freshman campaign, recording a slash line of .270/.335/.368 and starting all 54 games. She also was fourth on the Golden Hurricane with 17 RBI.
In the circle, Maura Moore's 4.47 ERA was the team low, while leading the team with 13 wins. She recorded 11 complete games and two shutouts. In 152.0 innings of work, Moore struck out 91 batters. Alexa Hopkins and Brinly Maples picked up the majority of the rest of the innings. Maples finished second on the team with 95.0 innings and struck 51. She won 6 games with 27 appearances in the circle. Hopkins struck out 54 in 80.0 innings, saving 2 games and picking up a pair of wins.

SOFTBALL TO SPACE

Graduate student Maci Cole has accomplished a lot since she has stepped foot on the TU campus. Last season, Cole worked on a mechanical engineering project, which is part of a NASA initiative.
During an 18-game hitting streak last season, Cole slashed .472/.569/.962 with six doubles, a triple, six home runs and 17 driven in.
Prior to the 2026 season, Cole was named to the D1 Softball Top 100 Mid-Major Players List.
She drew a team-leading 35 walks last, which was the fifth most in The American. Her 0.65 walks per game was 80th in the NCAA.

PRESEASON POLL

Tulsa was picked to finished 7th in the American Conference preseason poll.
Florida Atlantic was picked to win the league and received 8 first place votes.
South Florida received 2 first place votes and was picked second. Following them was Wichita State, Charlotte, North Texas, East Carolina, Tulsa, UAB, UTSA, and Memphis in that order.

MAGNIFICENT MAURA

Maura Moore was busy last, throwing 152.0 innings, almost half of Tulsa's for the season and the only Tulsa pitcher to throw over 100.0. She finished fourth in The American for innings pitched and 83rd nationally. She led the conference in games started (32), second for complete games (11), ranking 14th and 106th in the NCAA, respectively.
Moore enters the season with 89 career starts in the circle for the Golden Hurricane. Her next start will make her the sixth Tulsa pitcher to reach that mark.
Moore trails only Aimee Creger (110), Emily Watson (109), Jenny Magill (101), Jackie Lawrence (94), and Maren Genow (91)on the all-time starts list.
Moore also looks to join the 500.0 innings club, needing just 25.0 to do so. She would become the 10th pitcher in program history to reach that milestone.
The senior enters the 2026 campaign with 40 wins, needing just 2 more to crack the top 10 in program history.

DON'T RUN ON AMBER

Amber Turner showed off her talent behind the plate as a freshman. Turner caught 15 runners attempting to steal, which ranked second in the conference and 18th nationally. The catcher is also showing off her skills with the bat, sixth on the team with a .241 batting average. She also recorded 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and drove in 21 runs, which ranked third on the team.

NOTABLE NEWCOMERS

The Golden Hurricane welcome 7 newcomers to the roster ahead of the 2026 season.
The roster features 5 freshman; Isabella Arroyo, Mackenzy Glenn, Preslee Ray, Malia Cabuyaban, and Makenzie Freeman.
Arroyo and Freeman add depth to the circle. Glenn is expected to impact the outfield, Cabuyaban is an infielder, while Ray can play all over the field including catcher.
Freeman comes in as one of the most decorated pitchers in Arkansas high school history. She was named the 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year and holds the Arkansas Activites Association records for wins (102) and strike outs (1,012). She is the only pitcher in state history to reach 100 wins and fan 1,000 batters. Freeman also holds state records for innings (665.1), shutouts (57), no-hitters (16), and perfect games (8).
Arroyo pitched to a 1.70 ERA and struck out 179 batters as a high school senior.
Glenn starred at Lutheran High School, helping them to 4 state championships. She posted huge numbers, batting .546 with a .614 on-base percentage while also earning 4 Academic All-State honors.
Cabuyaban comes to Tulsa after a strong high school career where she hit .322 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI.
Ray was a .309 hitter in high school and was named the 2022 Norman High Freshman of the Year. She earned All-Region, All-District, and was a VYPE Player to Watch as a senior.
A pair of JUCO transfers also look to make an immediate impact on the Golden Hurricane in outfielder Madison Garcia and infielder Daeya Moses.
Garcia spent 2 seasons at McLennan Community College where they went 114-12 and reached the 2024 NJCAA D1 National Championship.
She recorded 128 hits for a .408 batting average and drove in 79 runs in 116 appearances.
Moses played 2 seasons at Grayson College.
As a sophomore they won 54 games and reached the NJCAA D1 World Series. She hit .337 with 12 home runs and 66 RBI. As a freshman she hit .335 with 17 home runs and 78 RBI as Grayson won 38 games.

UP NEXT

Tulsa heads to Arlington, Texas for the Dream City Invitational. They'll open the event on Friday, February 13 against Iowa State before playing 2 games each against host UT Arlington and Wisconsin.

Visit www.TulsaHurricane.com for the latest news and information on the softball program. Fans can also follow the team on X, Facebook and Instagram.

Tulsa Opens 2026 Campaign in Louisiana

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Isabella Arroyo

Malia Cabuyaban

Maci Cole

Annika Dill

Makenzie Freeman

Madison Garcia

Mackenzy Glenn

Alexa Hopkins

Brinly Maples

Maura Moore

Daeya Moses

Preslee Ray

Elle Rouse

Faith Russell

Claira Skaggs

Amber Turner

Tulsa Opens 2026 Campaign in Louisiana

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Isabella Arroyo

Malia Cabuyaban

Maci Cole

Annika Dill

Makenzie Freeman

Madison Garcia

Mackenzy Glenn

Alexa Hopkins

Brinly Maples

Maura Moore

Daeya Moses

Preslee Ray

Elle Rouse

Faith Russell

Claira Skaggs

Amber Turner

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