Softball Releases 2026 Spring Schedule
12/08/2025 | 11:00:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Head coach Jen Sewell of the Southern Illinois University softball team has announced the schedule for the 2026 spring season.
"This schedule is built with the postseason in mind and plays to the strengths of this year's roster - both a deep pitching staff and an offense built to go up against the best," Sewell said. "It will feature WCWS teams as well as teams from many of the most prominent conferences in our sport. Obviously we want to get to good weather early and get as many games under our belt as possible. But as we work our way closer to home, we are most looking forward to the Valley conference season and some non-conference games like Mizzou and the return of SIUE to our home slate. Fans are going to get the big finale at home as we earned the chance to again host the MVC championship right here at Charlotte West Stadium."
The Salukis will begin the year on the road for the first four weeks of the campaign. Southern Illinois will travel to Florida, Mexico, Alabama, and Tennessee throughout the month of February.
Both the home and Missouri Valley Conference opener will be the weekend of March 6-7 against Valparaiso at Charlotte West Stadium.
In 2026, most conference weekends will consist of a doubleheader on Friday and then one game on Saturday. The games will be played at 2 p.m. and then 5:30 p.m. on Friday, and then at 1 p.m. on Saturday. SIU's road trip to Indiana State on April 3-4 is the lone exception, as the Friday games are scheduled for 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. CT and then 11 a.m. CT on Saturday.
Southern Illinois' first non-conference road trip will be to Fort Myers, Fla., for the FGCU Kickoff Classic from Feb. 6-8. The Salukis will face Charlotte, Florida Gulf Coast, Ball State, and Long Island in the tournament with their first game scheduled for Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. against Charlotte.
The Salukis will then head to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge from Feb. 11-13. Three other teams will be in attendance, with those schools being Eastern Kentucky, Long Beach State, and UTSA.
When it returns to the United States, Southern Illinois will turn its attention to the UAB Blazer Bash which runs from Feb. 20 to Feb. 22. SIU will play against Mercer in the opener at 9 a.m. on Feb. 20 and then face Missouri State, Ole Miss, UAB, and Tennessee.
SIU's final non-conference road trip will be to Nashville, Tenn., for the Lipscomb Purple and Gold Challenge from Feb. 27 to March 1. Other teams competing in the tournament include Western Carolina, Purdue, and Lipscomb.
After a full month on the road, the Salukis will begin conference play with two-straight home weekends, first against Valparaiso on March 6-7 and then Bradley on March 13-14. SIU's first league road games will be on March 20 and 21 at Illinois State.
A 2025 MVC Championship rematch will take place in Carbondale on March 27-28 when Southern Illinois hosts Belmont. This is followed up by a road trip to Terre Haute, Ind., to visit Indiana State on April 3-4.
The Salukis will play three midweek games the following week at home, starting on April 7 with a doubleheader against Evansville. On April 8, Southern Illinois will host Missouri at 6 p.m. This is the first time SIU has hosted a school from the SEC since March 3, 2017, when it was visited by Kentucky.
After Missouri, Southern will travel to Drake on April 10-11, host Northern Iowa on April 17-18, and then head to Murray State for a doubleheader on April 21. SIU's final midweek game of the year will be at home on April 28 vs. SIUE.
The Salukis will conclude the regular season with a trip to Chicago to face UIC on May 1-2.
The 2026 MVC Tournament will take place the following week in Carbondale at Charlotte West Stadium. It will begin on May 7 with the MVC Championship set to be played on May 9 at the home of the Salukis.
Southern Illinois is coming off its second consecutive MVC regular season title and a 33-20 overall record in 2025. The Salukis have won over 30 games in each of their last three campaigns, including a 44-win season in 2024.
Follow the Salukis
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Softball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiSoftball and on Instagram at @SIU_Softball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
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