2026 Clemson Tigers softball team

2026 Clemson Tigers softball
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 25
Record20–9 (4–2 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Kyle Jamieson (7th season)
  • Katie Repole (2nd season)
  • Ryan Wieligman (2nd season)
Home stadiumMcWhorter Stadium
2026 Atlantic Coast Conference softball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Duke  ‍‍‍ 3 – 0   1.000 15 – 9   .625
No. 25 Clemson  ‍‍‍ 2 – 0   1.000 16 – 8   .667
No. 19 Stanford  ‍‍‍ 4 – 2   .667 14 – 6   .700
No. 14 Virginia  ‍‍‍ 2 – 1   .667 22 – 2   .917
Louisville  ‍‍‍ 2 – 1   .667 18 – 5   .783
Georgia Tech  ‍‍‍ 3 – 2   .600 16 – 10   .615
North Carolina  ‍‍‍ 3 – 3   .500 19 – 3   .864
Boston College  ‍‍‍ 1 – 2   .333 9 – 15   .375
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 0 – 3   .000 13 – 9   .591
Notre Dame  ‍‍‍ 0 – 3   .000 9 – 15   .375
California  ‍‍‍ 0 – 3   .000 8 – 17   .320
No. 12 Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍ 0 – 0   – 21 – 2   .913
No. 8 Florida State  ‍‍‍ 0 – 0   – 21 – 4   .840
NC State  ‍‍‍ 0 – 0   – 18 – 7   .720
Syracuse  ‍‍‍ 0 – 0   – 11 – 7   .611
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of March 10, 2026[1]
Rankings from NFCA/USA Today

The 2026 Clemson Tigers softball team is the varsity college softball team that represents Clemson University during the 2026 NCAA Division I softball season. This is the seventh season of Clemson's softball program. The Tigers compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and are led by head coach John Rittman, in his seventh season. Clemson plays its home games at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

Previous season

Main article: 2025 Clemson Tigers softball team

The Tigers finished the regular season 41–12 and 19–6 in ACC play to finish in second place, just a half game behind Florida State for first place. As the second seed in the ACC Tournament they earned a bye into the Quarterfinals where they defeated twenty-fifth ranked and seventh seed Virginia 7–4. In the semifinals they defeated third seed and thirteenth ranked Virginia Tech 10–9. They met first seed and sixth ranked Florida State in the Final, which Clemson won 2–1. This was the first ACC tournament title in Clemson program history.[2] As tournament champions, the Tigers earned an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I softball tournament. They were the eleventh overall seed and paired with sixth overall seed Texas in the Austin Super Regional. Clemson went 3–0 in their regional, defeating USC Upstate by mercy rule, Northwestern in extra innings, and Kentucky 5–1 in the final game. They advanced to face Texas in Austin. The Tigers won the opening game 7–4 but lost the next game 7–5 in ten innings to set up a deciding game three. The Tigers lost a close deciding game 6–5 to end their season. Texas would go on to win the National Championship. The Tigers finished 48–13 overall, which was just one win shy of their program record set in 2023.

Offseason moves

Departures

Departures
Name B/T Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure
Brooke McCubbin R/R 2 RHP 5'10" Senior Locust Grove, GA Graduated
Aby Vieira L/R 4 C/UTL 5'9" Senior Mission Viejo, CA Graduated
Reese Basinger L/R 7 RHP 5'11" Senior Evans, GA Graduated
Haylee Whitesides R/R 11 INF 5'5" Junior Duncan, SC Transferred to North Greenville
Abi Stuart R/R 13 C/UTL 5'9" Senior Snow Camp, NC Graduated
Brook Melnychuk R/R 19 RHP 5'5" Graduate Student Hudson Bay, Canada Graduated
Jadeyn Ruszkowski L/L 21 OF 5'8" Junior Lithia, FL Graduated
Alex Brown L/R 25 INF 5'7" Senior Savannah, GA Graduated
Maddie Moore R/R 28 INF 5'7" Senior Loomis, CA Graduated

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers[3]
Name B/T Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous school
Kiley Channell R/R 2 INF 5'4" Junior Keystone Heights, FL Florida Atlantic
Abby Dunning R/R 4 RHP 5'4" Graduate Student Chicago, IL Boston College
Sierra Maness R/R 7 RHP 5'7" Junior Woodruff, SC USC Upstate
Corri Hicks R/R 99 C/1B 5'9" Sophomore San Jose, CA Oklahoma

Incoming recruits

Incoming Recruits[4]
Name B/T Number Pos. Height Hometown High School
Mac Pavese L/L 11 1B/OF 5'8" Canton, GA Cherokee
Maddie Johnson R/R 15 RHP 5'10" Aynor, SC Aynor
Sophia Burmeister R/R 23 C/3B 5'9" Poway, CA Poway
Lexie Hames R/R 33 RHP 5'10" Harmony, PA Seneca Valley
Sarah Rocheleau R/R 37 OF 5'10" Fort Mill, SC Catawba Ridge
Keira Crosby R/R 43 RHP 5'7" New Caney, TX Woodlands Christian
Sarah Breaux R/R 66 INF 5'9" Miami Springs, FL Doral Academy

Roster

2026 Clemson Tigers softball team
Players Coaches
# Pos. Name Bats/throws Height Year Home town
1 OF Kennedy Ariail R/R 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Jr Cumming, GA
2 INF Kiley Channell R/R 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Jr Keystone Heights, FL
3 OF Kylee Johnson R/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Wesley Chapel, FL
4 RHP Aby Dunning R/R 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) GS Chicago, IL
5 INF Marian Collins L/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Marietta, GA
7 RHP Sierra Maness R/R 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Jr Woodruff, SC
8 INF Madi Lardizabal R/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Murrieta, CA
9 OF Jamison Brockenbrough L/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Locust Grove, GA
10 C Riley Burton R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Jr Lancaster, SC
11 OF Mac Pavese L/L 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Canton, GA
12 INF Julia Knowler L/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Fort Myers, FL
15 RHP Maddie Johnson R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Aynor, SC
16 RHP Macey Cintron R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Cumming, GA
17 OF Ava Wilson L/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Acworth, GA
20 OF Sam Minish L/L 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) So Hull, GA
22 INF Taylor Pipkins R/R 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) RS So Cumming, GA
23 C Sophia Burmeister R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Fr Poway, CA
27 OF Riley Fennell R/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Ovideo, FL
33 RHP Lexie Hames R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Harmony, PA
37 OF Sarah Rocheleau R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Fort Mill, SC
43 RHP Keira Crosby R/R 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Fr New Caney, TX
44 LHP Olivia Duncan R/L 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Buford, GA
66 INF Sarah Breaux R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Fr Miami Springs, FL
99 C Corri Hicks R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So San Jose, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: February 16, 2026

Schedule

Legend
  Clemson win
  Clemson loss
  Cancellation
Bold Clemson team member
* Non-Conference game
† Make-Up Game
2026 Clemson Tigers softball game log[5]
Regular Season (20–9)
March (6–3)
Date Time (ET) Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall
Record 		ACC
Record
Mar 1 12:30 p.m. No. 12 Mississippi State* No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC
(Tiger Invitational)		 L 1–9 (6) Goold (7–1) Hames (2–2) None 1,984 13–7 —
Mar 4 6:00 p.m. College of Charleston* No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 7–0 Maness (7–3) Raymond (3–2) None 1,557 14–7 —
Mar 6 6:00 p.m. Georgia Tech No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 9–4 Maness (8–3) Coffield (1–1) None 1,903 15–7 1–0
Mar 7 1:00 p.m. Georgia Tech No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 1–0 Dunning (5–2) Coffield (1–2) None 1,816 16–7 2–0
Mar 8 6:00 p.m. Georgia Tech No. 25 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 3–4 Johnson (8–4) Dunning (5–3) Hilleary (1) 1,533 16–8 2–1
Mar 10 6:00 p.m. Winthrop* No. 24 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 7–3 Maness (9–3) Cardenas (2–5) None 1,412 17–8 —
Mar 13 4:00 p.m. Louisville* No. 24 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 8–6 Maness (10–3) Zabala (5–2) None 2,083 18–8 3–1
Mar 14 1:00 p.m. Louisville* No. 24 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC W 4–0 Dunning (6–3) Gohs (3–1) None 2,001 19–8 4–1
Mar 15 12:00 p.m. Louisville* No. 24 McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC L 6–7 Gray (5–1) Dunning (6–4) None 1,704 19–9 4–2
Mar 18 5:00 p.m. at Western Carolina* No. 25 Catamount Softball Complex • Cullowhee, NC W 7–3 Maness (11–3) Batson (7–1) None 411 20–9 —
Mar 20 6:00 p.m. at Notre Dame No. 25 Melissa Cook Stadium • Notre Dame, IN
Mar 21 1:00 p.m. at Notre Dame No. 25 Melissa Cook Stadium • Notre Dame, IN
Mar 22 12:00 p.m. at Notre Dame No. 25 Melissa Cook Stadium • Notre Dame, IN
Mar 25 7:30 p.m. at South Carolina* Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field • Columbia, SC
(Rivalry)
Mar 27 6:00 p.m. Florida State McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC
Mar 28 6:00 p.m. Florida State McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC
Mar 29 6:00 p.m. Florida State McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC
Mar 31 6:00 p.m. Gardner–Webb* McWhorter Stadium • Clemson, SC
Postseason

Note: All rankings shown are from the NFCA/USA Today poll.

Rankings

Main article: 2026 NCAA Division I softball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
NFCA / USA Today13182325252425
Softball America917———RV23
ESPN.com/USA Softball121824RVRVRVRV
D1Softball1522RVRVRV25RV

* Various polls did not release during the NCAA tournament.
* indicates that the ranking is from pre-tournament for comparison purposes.

References

  1. ^ "Atlantic Coast". D1Softball.com. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  2. ^ Kassim, Ehsan (May 10, 2025). "ACC softball championship recap: Highlights from Clemson's comeback win over Florida State". USA Today. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
  3. ^ "Tigers Sign Four Transfers to 2025-26 Roster". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletics. July 3, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  4. ^ "Softball Signs Seven on National Signing Day". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletics. November 13, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  5. ^ "2025-26 Softball Schedule". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletics. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
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