CAA Softball Opens 2026 Slate on Thursday
Dylan Smith
CAA SOFTBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK – Feb. 4, 2026
OPENING WEEKEND HAS ARRIVED
The CAA will face seven NCAA Regional teams from last season, including six conference tournament champions during the opening weekend slate: Mercer, UConn, Marist, USC Upstate, Howard, Saint Francis, North Carolina.
Two CAA teams will take on power-five conference opponents this weekend. Stony Brook will take on Louisville and Elon will face off with North Carolina.
BEST OF BIDDLE
UNCW’s Madison Biddle was tabbed CAA Preseason Player of the Year after an incredible 2025 campaign that saw her notch All-CAA First Team and NFCA All-Region Second Team honors. The Seahawks’ shortstop saw increased time as a sophomore and took full advantage with a .397 batting average (5th in CAA), 33 RBIs and 32 runs scored overall. The Egg Harbor Township, N.J., native also swiped 22 bases, good for fifth in the CAA.
DEFENDING CHAMPS - SOUTH FAVS
Defending CAA Champion Elon was chosen as the South Division’s favorite with four first-place votes and 23 points. Campbell followed right behind in second with 20 points and earned one top vote. UNCW rounded out the top three with 17 points, followed by Charleston in fourth with 15 points and a first-place vote. N.C A&T (8) and Hampton (7) rounded out the South Division.
Fresh off its first CAA Softball crown, the Phoenix will turn to three Preseason All-CAA selections in Chloe Hatzopoulos, Greta Hessenthaler and Kayla Wilson. An All-CAA First team selection a season ago, Hessenthaler will look to build on her stellar 2025 campaign that saw her slash .354/.477/.424 with 56 hits and 38 runs scored. Hatzopoulos also secured end-of-the-year recognition with a Second Team nod after logging 11 homers, 34 RBIs and a team-best 41 runs scored for the Phoenix. Wilson made an impact in her first collegiate season to garner an All-Rookie selection, finishing the 2025 slate with a .319 batting average and eight RBIs in reserve.
LONG ISLAND CO’S - NORTH FAVS
Stony Brook and Hofstra split the North Division’s top spot with 14 points apiece, seeing the first-place votes tilting in favor of the Seawolves, 3-2. Towson picked up 10 points in the North’s poll, followed by Monmouth (8) and Drexel (4).
The Seawolves will turn to Preseason All-CAA selection and sophomore pitcher Crimson Rice to front the load in 2026. The right-hander started in 21 of 29 games last season, going 10-7 with a 3.31 ERA, eight complete games and four shutouts. Offensively, Stony Brook also returns a pair of standouts, All-CAA Second Team selection Emma Scheitinger and outfielder Naiah Ackerman. The duo combined for 77 hits, 48 runs scored and 48 RBIs in 2025.
Hofstra, under the direction of first-year head coach Susan Cassidy-Lyke, will also turn to a returning hurler in Preseason All-CAA honoree Emma Falen. The Folsom, Calif., native was instrumental in the Pride’s valiant semifinal run in last year’s CAA Championship, tossing five no-hit innings of work and striking out four batters in a 3-0 win over Charleston to stay alive. Hofstra will return four of their top five hitters from last season, led by preseason honorable mention Alanna Morse. The senior shortstop picked up a Second Team nod in 2025 following a career year, logging a .343/.373/.462 slash line with 21 runs and 29 RBIs.
NEWLY IN CHARGE
Drexel’s Brooke Kalman, Charleston’s Maggie Mrowka and Hofstra’s Susan Cassidy-Lyke will all make their NCAA Division I coaching debut on Friday after being named the head coach of their respective institutions in the offseason.
The Pride’s Cassidy-Lyke brings 20 seasons of Division II experience with her across town after spending two decades at Molloy. Cassidy-Lyke posted a record of 570-448-1 (.560). She led the Lions to three Division II National Championship Tournament appearances, capturing the East Regional crown in 2010, 2013, and 2017. Under her tutelage, Molloy has appeared in 14 East Coast Conference Tournaments (winning four titles) and eight NCAA Regional Tournaments.
Charleston’s Mrowka has the most CAA knowledge of the three newcomers as she steps up to the top spot after being an assistant coach for the Cougars for the last two seasons. She enters the role as the youngest Division I softball head coach in the country after helping the program to the most conference wins (20) in program history in 2025.
Drexel’s Kalman spent three seasons at Gettysburg, winning the 2025 Centennial Conference Regular Season as well as the Regional Championship. As the leader of the Centennial’s Coaching Staff of the Year, she guided the team to its highest national ranking in both school and conference history (No. 13), accrued the most wins (41) in a single season in program history and mentored the program’s only two All-Americans. During her time with the Bullets, Kalman pieced together a 93-35-1 record and the second-highest winning percentage in program history.
CAMPBELL CAMELS (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
• Campbell had a league-high four players earn Preseason All-CAA honors - Hannah Cornetto, Amber DeSena, Charlie Montgomery and Allyiah Swiney.
• Cornetto batted .323 last season and logged 53 hits, nine doubles and a team-best six home runs. DeSena managed 10 doubles and finished with 36 RBIs, both second on the team.
•Montgomery posted career highs in nearly every statistical category in 2025, ranking second with 65 hits, 41 runs and 17 stolen bases. Swiney has played 173 career games for the Camels, earning Second Team honors last season behind .373/.465/.566 slash line in conference play.
CHARLESTON COUGARS (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
• The Cougars will turn to Mackenzie Mathis this season as the program’s lone Preseason All-CAA selection. She finished the 2025 season ranked third in the CAA with 124 strikeouts, fourth with 137.1 innings pitched and sixth with 11 wins. Mathis recorded the second-best conference play ERA in the CAA at 1.66.
• Returning for her junior season, Ryley Kutter earned Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention after boasting a 1.84 ERA in CAA games and allowing only three earned runs over 34.2 innings against conference opponents at home.
• Austy Miller returns as one of two Cougars to start in all 56 games in the 2025 season. She led the team with a .345 batting average, 57 hits and 25 RBIs.
DREXEL DRAGONS (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
• Sophomore Kylah Reading returns for her second season with the Dragons. Reading earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors after finishing the year with a .325/.379/.452 slash line. She recorded 41 hits, including six doubles, two triples and two homers, while logging 22 RBIs and 19 tallies.
• Head Coach Brooke Kalman will make her NCAA Division I head coaching debut on Friday against Bellarmine, part of the West Georgia Opening Weekend Event.
ELON PHOENIX (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
•Elon is coming off a 33-21 season, including a 21-6 mark in CAA play that saw the Phoenix capture its first-ever CAA tournament championship and earn the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010. The Maroon and Gold returns 13 players from that squad.
•Among the returners for the South Division favorite are Preseason All-CAA selections Chloe Hatzopoulos, Greta Hessenthaler and Kayla Wilson.
•Hessenthaler, a 2025 All-CAA First Team pick, produced a .354 batting average with 38 runs scored and 56 hits. Hatzopoulos smacked a team-best 11 homers, while logging 41 runs scored and 34 RBIs en route to a Second Team nod last season.
HAMPTON LADY PIRATES (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
•The Lady Pirates will turn to CAA Preseason Honorable Mention Carmynn Bonner for the upcoming slate. She finished tied for ninth in the nation with seven triples, a mark that tied the school record. Bonner led the team with a .385 batting average, a .654 slugging percentage and 60 hits.
•Head Coach Cat Tarvin led the Atlanta Smoke of the Women’s Pro Fastpitch League to its third straight championship with a 2-1 series win over the Orlando Monarchs. Tarvin was an assistant coach for the then Texas Smoke in 2023 before taking over the head coaching spot in 2024.
HOFSTRA PRIDE (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
• Hofstra returns two key players to their semifinal run from last season in Preseason All-CAA selection Emma Falen and honorable mention Alanna Morse.
• Falen finished second in the CAA with 132 strikeouts across 151.2 innings of work while logging 12 wins and a 3.14 ERA. Falen also struck out 15 batters in the Pride’s first no-hitter since 2017, marking the most punchouts since Olivia Galati against UNCW on May 4, 2012.
• Morse earned All-CAA Second Team honors last season after a career-year, hitting .343 with 49 hits, nine doubles and 27 RBIs.
MONMOUTH HAWKS (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
• Liv Smith returns to the Hawks for her junior campaign after leading the way with a .294/.405/.333 slash line last season. She also stole seven bags while logging 30 hits on the season.
• Jayla Cadena has been a dual threat for Monmouth, looking to build her solid 2025 campaign. After logging six wins and 30 strikeouts in the circle, the senior finished with 30 hits on the season and knocked in 13 runs.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T AGGIES (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
• North Carolina A&T will turn to Trinity Glover and Lauren Hardy in the upcoming campaign as both were named CAA Preseason Honorable Mentions.
• Glover batted .300 with eight doubles, seven dingers and 23 RBIs. She also had a 1.028 OPS and scored 21 times in 43 appearances.
• Hardy had a solid first year in Greensboro, leading the Aggies with a 4.84 ERA. She also posted a 5-6 record, making starts in 12 of her 27 appearances. Hardy also posted five complete games and struck out 46 in 81 innings pitched.
UNCW SEAHAWKS (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
•UNCW will look to lean on Preseason Player of the Year Madison Biddle and fellow All-CAA selection Cassidy Relay to shoulder the load in 2026.
•Biddle, a 2025 All-CAA First Team selection, finished a breakout campaign with a .397 batting average, eight home runs, 33 RBI and 22 swipes. She registered three or more hits in five games last season, including a two-homer game against Queens.
• Relay notched a .343 batting average, 34 stolen bases and 40 runs scored across her 50 games starts. The Seahawks’ leadoff slapper collected 16 multi-hit games and 39 of her 40 hits were singles.
STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
• Stony Brook sits atop the North Division’s preseason coaches poll alongside Hofstra. The Seawolves held a slight edge in first-place votes, 3-2.
•Rice impressed in her debut season last year, making 29 appearances (21 starts) and going 10-7 with a 3.39 ERA. She stood out in conference play with an 8-3 record with a 2.84 ERA. Rice’s eight complete games and four shutouts both led the team.
•Offensively, the Seawolves will look to Naiah Ackerman as a veteran leader. The senior infielder produced a .294 batting average in 2025, logging five homers and 11 doubles in 48 appearances.
TOWSON TIGERS (0-0; 0-0 CAA)
• The Tigers will look to Grace Franczyk and Briyana Wright offensively in 2026 as the duo earned preseason recognition from the league’s coaches.
•Franczyk produced a team-high .375 with 40 RBIs and 23 runs scored. The senior registered 54 hits with 10 doubles, three triples, and three dingers. The All-CAA Second Team selection was one of three CAA players to log at least 50 hits and 40 RBIs in 2025.
•Wright made 46 starts at third base last season and hit .281 with 23 RBIs and 37 runs scored. She wrapped out the campaign with 41 hits, 10 doubles, four triples and five homers.