ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The 2026 campaign for Lobo Softball begins in Waco, Texas and the Getterman Classic with five games between Friday and Sunday. UNM opens with host Baylor on Friday afternoon with two games on Saturday against No. 22/24 Mississippi State and Northwestern State and two games on Sunday against Wichita State and Northwestern State.
Games are scheduled to be on ESPN+ with live stats available.
UNM will face two teams that it faced last season in Mississippi State and Northwestern State, and will face Baylor for the first time since 2011 and Wichita State for the first time since 2008.
The Getterman Classic will be the second straight season in which the Lobos open in Texas, with UNM starting the 2025 season at Sam Houston and then traveling to Houston for the Houston Classic. Expect to see plenty of Cherry and Silver in the stands as 12 Lobos call Texas home, spanning from Round Rock to Houston to Little Elm to Pattonville.
UNM has won its last four season openers, with Head Coach Nicole Orgeron the only Lobo coach to win their first three season openers, with two also coming in run-rule fashion.
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY: Baylor @ 2 p.m. MT LIVE STATS | WATCH
SATURDAY: Mississippi State @ 8:30 a.m. MT LIVE STATS | WATCH
SATURDAY: Northwestern State @ 11 a.m. MT LIVE STATS | WATCH
SUNDAY: Wichita State @ 8 a.m. MT LIVE STATS
SUNDAY: Northwestern State @ 10:30 a.m. MT LIVE STATS
LOOK BACK AT LAST SEASON
The Lobos went 21-30-1 last season, including 12-3-1 in neutral games but 4-20 in road games.
UNM posted eight shutouts, the most since 2004, led by five from McKenna Guest. The pitching staff ended the 2025 season with a 3.99 ERA, the lowest ERA since 2005. The 385 hits allowed by the Lobo pitching staff was the fewest allowed since 2011. The 235 runs, the fewest since 2008. The 271 strikeouts by the pitching staff were the fifth most in a single season in program history with the 5.63 strikeouts per seven innings the second best in program history.
At the plate, UNM hit 75 doubles, the most in a season since 2009 and had 204 strikeouts, the fewest since 2017.
UNM had 48 errors, tying the program record for the fewest errors in a season, last done in 2007. The .966 fielding percentage was a program record.
The Lobos finished 63rd in the NCAA in doubles per game (1.4), 84th in doubles and 35th in sacrifice bunts (42). UNM also finished 73rd in shutouts, 57th in team strikeouts per seven innings and 89th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.7).
WELCOME BACK
The Lobos return 13 players who made an appearance last season.
UNM returns 64.3% of its hits, 61.2% of its at bats and 70.2% of its RBI from last season. UNM returns four of its top five hitters when it comes to hits, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, batting average, RBI and total bases.
Allie Williams returns as the top hitter with 59 hits, 74 total bases and a .339 batting average in 2025. Williams also led the team in doubles (13), while DeNae Vasquez-Dickson is the top returner when it comes to runs scored (34), triples (3) and on-base percentage (.416). Jessica DeLeon is the top returner in slugging percentage (.471), walks (21) and RBI (33) with Miracle McKenzie returning as the leader in home runs in 2025 (5).
In the circle, the Lobos return 55.5% of their innings pitched, led by 142.1 innings (42.2% of total innings) from McKenna Guest. Caprice Barela is the second-highest innings returning with 25.0.
Guest returns as the top strikeout leader, leading the Lobos with 139 strikeouts in 2025, accounting for 51.3% of UNM’s strikeouts last season.
FRESHMEN NO MORE
The Lobos have five true sophomores and one redshirt sophomore on the roster with three playing in at least 50 games last season and making over 48 starts.
Allie Williams started all 52 games as a freshman, making 47 starts in right, four as the designated player and one in left. Miracle McKenzie played in 50 games with 49 starts, all at first, and Jessica DeLeon played in 51 games with 48 starts, starting 38 games at catcher, nine as designated player and one at first.
DeLeon led the team with 33 RBI, was second in slugging percentage (.471) and walks (21), was third in batting average (.338) and on-base percentage (.414), tied for third in home runs (three) and fourth in total bases (64). The Texas native was second among MW freshmen in RBI.
Williams was second on the team in batting average (.339), hits (59) and total bases (74), third in RBI (24), fourth in on-base percentage (.397) and fifth in slugging percentage (.425) and runs scored (16). The Houston, Texas native tied for the team high in doubles (13). Her 59 hits and 13 doubles were the most by a freshman in the MW, as were her 25 hits and six doubles in MW games. She also held a 17-game streak of reaching base and an 11-game hitting streak. Nationally, Williams was 42nd in the NCAA in toughest to strike out (24.9), leading the MW in the category.
McKenzie led the team with five home runs.
McKenzie and DeLeon led the team in multiple-RBI games last season with McKenzie (9) and DeLeon (7), with McKenzie having eight two-RBI games and one three-RBI games, and DeLeon four two-RBI games, two three-RBI games and one four-RBI game.
Williams was second on the team in multiple-hit games with 14 behind 11 two-hit games and three three-hit games. DeLeon was third with 10 two-hit games, one three-hit games and one game with five hits.
Caprice Barela returns to the circle after throwing 25.0 innings last season, appearing in 16 games with one start. The New Mexico native registered five games with multiple strikeouts, striking out three in four games and finished with 19 strikeouts to 16 walks.
Ella Dawson defined clutch, hitting three pinch-hit home runs. She hit a pinch-hit three-run home run on Feb. 7 against Houston in the fifth inning, hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the third inning against North Dakota on Feb. 22 and a pinch-hit three-run home run against Saint Joseph’s on March 8 that ended the game in a run-rule. Dawson appeared in 41 games, primarily as a pinch hitter with five starts, making four starts as the designated player with one start in right.
ANGLES IN THE OUTFIELD
The Lobos have the most experience in the outfield, returning all three outfielders from a season ago. DeNae Vasquez-Dickson and Allie Williams started all 52 games in 2025.
Vasquez-Dickson has made 98 starts in the past two seasons: 49 in left, 42 in center, and seven in right. She made 37 starts in left field, 13 in center field and two in right field in 2025 and made 29 starts in center field, 12 in left field and five in right in 2024.
Williams started 52 games as a freshman, with 48 in the outfield: 47 starts in right and one in left.
Hayden Luderer played in 51 games with 43 starts last season, starting 39 games in center. In 2024, Luderer started eight games in center, seven in right field and one in left field.
LIFE ON THE ROAD
The Lobos have 20 of their 51 games at home, hosting a tournament Feb. 27-March 1 for the home opener. UNM will have 14 games on the road before its home opener, with the longest stretch at home for the Lobos a five-game homestand for their home tournament.
The Lobos had 12 home games last season, going 5-7, 14 home games the year prior, with UNM going 7-7, and 16 home games in Coach Orgeron’s first season with the Lobos going 9-7.
UNM will spend the opening weekend in Texas, traveling to Louisiana before returning to Texas. Following a home tournament, the Lobos will travel to Alabama to close the nonconference schedule.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Baylor went 27-27 last season, 11-13 in the Big 12 and was picked eighth in the preseason poll. The Bears return six starters and two pitchers from 2025 with the Bears losing their top hitter in Shaylon Govan, who UNM Head Coach Nicole Orgeron coached three years at SFA. UNM is 6-12 all-time against the Bears with the last meeting on Feb. 19, 2011, a 3-1 loss.
Mississippi State opens the season ranked No. 22 in the NFCA preseason poll and No. 24 in the USA Softball poll after going 39-19, 13-11 in the SEC last season. MSU made the NCAA Tournament last season, losing in Lubbock Regional final to Texas Tech. The Bulldogs were projected to finish 11th in the SEC and return four starters and three pitchers from last season. MSU returns 49.7% of its runs, 46.5% of its hits and 47.5% of its RBI from the 2025 season. UNM faced the Bulldogs twice last season and is 0-4 all-time.
Northwestern State went 7-43 last season, 4-23 in the Southland Conference. UNM played the Lady Demons last season and won 11-3 in five innings with the Lobos scoring the first eight runs of the game, scoring seven runs in the third inning. McKenna Guest threw a complete game, striking out a career-high 10. UNM is 2-0 all-time against NSU.
Wichita State went 29-25-1, 15-11-1 in the American Conference last season and was picked to finish third in the preseason poll. The Shockers return seven players from 2025, including pitcher Ryley Nihart who was selected as the American Conference Co-Freshman of the Year and finished 2025 with a 2.80 ERA with 77 strikeouts and 57 walks. In 137.1 innings pitched. UNM is 6-9 all-time against WSU with the last meeting on Feb. 2, 2008, an 8-6 loss.