Charleston Set to Face No. 3 Seed Georgia in Athens Regional
Dylan Smith
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ATHENS, Ga. – CAA Champions Charleston (30-28) will open the 2026 NCAA Softball Championship on Friday, taking on No. 3 seed Georgia (38-18) in the Athens Regional.
First pitch for the Cougars’ opening-round matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. No. 6 seed Clemson and UNC Greensboro join the two programs to round out the four-team regional.
Charleston will make just its second NCAA Regional appearance in program history, joining the 2005 squad. The Cougars became the first fifth-seeded team to capture the CAA Tournament title, taking down top-seeded Hofstra with a 5-0 shutout on May 9. The league’s Most Outstanding Player Mackenzie Mathis racked up 13 strikeouts in her two-hit, complete-game shutout. Her 13 punchouts were the most in a league title game this season across the 31 NCAA Division I conferences, per CofC Athletics. The Cougars allowed a combined three runs in their four wins to secure the CAA crown.
Freshman standout Bronwyn Conroy has been one of the many bright spots in the Cougars’ lineup, utilizing her speed on the base paths. The Cougs’ rookie has swiped 42 bases this season, sitting third in the nation. Her stolen bases total is the most among CAA freshmen and is third all-time in the CAA record book for most in a single year. The Marietta, Ga. native is two stolen bases shy of tying Delaware’s Leanna Gearhart for second place. Her speed on the base paths has also lined her up to be the league’s top scorer, crossing home plate 54 times in 2026. Her 54 tallies are tied for fifth all-time in CAA history for most in a single season. She will also look to become just the fourth player to tally 60 runs in a year.
CofC’s Head Coach Maggie Mrowka, the youngest NCAA Division I head coach at age 26, became just the third coach in league history to secure the CAA softball crown in their first season, joining Georgia State’s Roger Kinkaid (2011) and Hofstra’s Larissa Anderson (2015). The cardiac Cougars have also boasted nine walk-off wins this season, trailing only San Diego State (10) for the most in the nation.
The Cougars will look to secure their second win over the Bulldogs on Friday, earning their lone victory in 2016 with a 2-1 victory at Patriots Point. Charleston also faced Clemson earlier this season and will look to avenge a 7-0 setback should the two teams meet. CofC and UNCG have split their 58 all-time meetings evenly at 29 apiece, with the Cougars earning wins in five of their last six meetings.
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