Utah State University’s softball team is set to play in the Beehive Classic this week at Karl Brooks Field in St. George, Utah. The Aggies, currently holding a 9-6 record for the season, will compete in five games from February 27 to March 1 against Southern Utah, Utah Valley (twice), Utah, and Utah Tech.
Fans can follow live statistics via StatBroadcast and watch free streams of all games on WAC International. Updates will also be available through USU softball’s social media and the official website.
The Aggies have a long history with each of their upcoming opponents. Against Southern Utah, Thursday marks the 91st meeting between the teams; Utah State leads the series overall but has only a slight edge at neutral sites. The most recent matchup ended in a win for Southern Utah in 2024. The Aggies also hold advantages over Utah Valley and have won three consecutive meetings with them, including a narrow victory last season. When facing Utah, however, USU trails significantly in their head-to-head record and has only played once since 2014—a loss last year. Against Utah Tech, the series is close; though trailing overall, USU won both contests last season.
All-time against other teams from within Utah state borders, USU has recorded more wins than losses.
Last weekend at the Georgia Classic in Athens, Georgia, the Aggies finished with two wins—both over Seton Hall—and three losses against ranked opponents Virginia Tech and Georgia.
Senior catcher Grace Matej led offensively during that tournament with seven hits including two home runs across five games. Senior pitcher Rylie Pindel allowed just two earned runs over 12 innings.
Sophomore outfielder Faith Kroening has emerged as one of this season’s key players after limited action last year; she currently holds one of the team’s top batting averages and has started every game so far.
Defensively, USU ranks among national leaders in fielding percentage with ten players maintaining perfect records so far this year.
In hitting statistics ahead of this weekend’s event, seven different players have tallied three or more doubles each; seniors Alex Bunton and Kya Pratt along with freshman Jazmin Ramirez lead that group.
Utah State began its season strong at the Texas A&M-hosted Aggie Classic earlier this month by winning four out of five games while holding most opponents to low scores. The pitching staff was highlighted by senior Emmalyn Brinka’s shutout performances and high strikeout totals alongside contributions from Pindel and freshman Kendall Cochran.
Returning this year are four senior starters: outfielder Kya Pratt, infielder Alex Bunton, catchers Grace Matej and Kaylee Erickson—part of twelve returning letterwinners overall. Ten newcomers join them this spring including two transfers (Keely Goushá from Boise State; Kate Vance from Arizona) and eight freshmen representing several states.
The coaching staff welcomed Jared McDonald as an assistant coach along with former UCLA pitcher Jada Cecil as another addition to support Head Coach Todd Judge’s squad.
Grace Matej and Kya Pratt were both named to preseason all-Mountain West honors based on coaches’ votes following standout seasons last year when Matej posted double-digit home runs while Pratt achieved career-high offensive numbers ranking her among conference leaders.
Utah State broke multiple program records during its offensive surge in 2025—setting new highs for batting average (.340), hits (493), runs scored (340), extra-base hits including doubles (90) and home runs (66), as well as total bases (807). These achievements placed them among Mountain West historical leaders for several categories as well.
Next week following the Beehive Classic action, USU will travel to Lawrence for a three-game series against Kansas starting March 6.
