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ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio softball team is excited for what's to come as it prepares for the 2026 season. After finishing as the conference's runner-up in 2025, this year's team believes it has what it takes to finish the job in 2026.
"I feel like this is the year that we're going to make things happen," senior infielder Shelby Westler (Marion, Ohio) said. "We're going to get through the end, we're going to win a championship, and we're going to have a lot of fun along the way."
Two-time MAC Coach of the Year Jenna Hall will return as head coach of the Bobcats for her fourth season. After a productive offseason, Hall feels that her team is more ready than it's ever been since she got to Ohio.
"I think the girls see a lot of potential in this group," Hall said. "I think they feel like they're in a really good place, but there's a lot more that they can get to. I think they're motivated by where their ceiling is at."
Something that Hall is most excited about with this roster is its experience as well as its depth. With 24 athletes, this is the largest roster Hall has had with Ohio.
Among the team's most experienced groups will be its pitching staff. 2025 MAC Pitcher of the Year graduate student Skipp Miller (Bradford, Ohio) will return to the circle for Ohio. Miller will be joined by three other returning pitchers with junior Mikie Lieving (New Haven, W. Va.), senior Keegan Moore (South Point, Ohio) and sophomore Ally Meyers (Waterville, Ohio) all looking to make an impact.
On the field, Ohio brings back sophomore infielder Abby Kennelly (Waterville, Ohio), a 2025 All-MAC Freshman team recipient who will look to follow up an impressive first season with the Bobcats. Ohio will also return its leader in hits and walks from the 2025 season with junior infielder Brenna Farmer (Mt. Blanchard, Ohio), an All-MAC First Team recipient from 2025. Westler will join Kennelly and Farmer on the infield, looking to follow up a 2025 where she hit for a .264 average and tallied four home runs. In the outfield, Ohio will look to the leadership of two upperclassmen with junior Izzie Wilson (Delaware, Ohio) and senior Belle Hummel (Cincinnati, Ohio) each returning.
Among new Bobcats for the upcoming season will be three transfers and six freshmen.
Ohio will get its season started Friday, February 6, when it travels to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on Saint Francis and Towson as part of the Founders Classic. In Spartanburg, the Bobcats will see competition from two teams in Saint Francis and USC Upstate that won their respective conferences and advanced to NCAA Regionals in 2025. The team will face some power-four talent in Orlando Fla. when it participates in the Space U Classic from February 19 to 21 against teams like UCF, Notre Dame and Penn State.
The Bobcats, who were picked to finish second in the MAC Preseason Poll that was announced on Feb. 4, will start MAC play on the road against Toledo on March 13 as the start of a three-game weekend series. The team's home opener at Ohio Softball Field will come shortly after on March 18 for a matchup with Dayton and host ACC opponent Pitt on March 24 at the Ohio Softball Field. The team will travel to Oxford, Ohio for a matchup with the reigning MAC champs and bitter rival Miami on April 7.
In total, Ohio's 55-game schedule includes 27 Mid-American Conference game, home games against Pitt and Marshall and 11 games against teams that reached NCAA Regionals last season.
"Miami is always a big series," Hall said. "We have to go there this year, which is always tough playing at their place."
The Bobcats will wrap up their season May 2 against UMass on the road before heading to Akron, Ohio May 6-9 at the 2026 MAC Tournament. This year's tournament once again returns to Firestone Stadium.
"The past three years, we've been so close (to a MAC Championship) every year, and that's not going to fly for us this year," Westler said. "We want it really bad. We are out to get it, and we are putting in the work daily. We're keeping that standard, and we're holding each other accountable. And we want it. We need it."
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