Week 3 of the 2026 softball season is in the books. The Mountain West Conference certainly had an interesting week last week, with only four teams in the conference finishing with a record over .500, three of which entered the week as the worst three teams in the standings. The MWC also officially has its first ranked team of the season, one that is unanimously ranked at that. Let’s take a look at the 10 teams in the conference, where they rank in different categories, and who has the sunniest outlook
for Week 4 of the season.
1. #22/25 Grand Canyon Lopes (16-0)
Last Week: #1
This Week’s Games:
vs. Minnesota (6-9) – Feb. 26, 7:00 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. CSU Bakersfield (2-13) – Feb. 27, 4:00 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Wisconsin (11-3) – Feb. 27, 6:30 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Eastern Illinois (4-11) – Feb. 28, 4:00 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. UC Riverside (1-8) – Feb. 28, 6:30 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Eastern Illinois (4-11) – Mar. 1, 11:30 a.m. MT, Mountain West Network
Yes, GCU may not have played a single power conference/ranked team this season, but that does nothing to take away from just how difficult it is to win 16 games in a row to start a season, especially when you are missing your best player for each and every one of those games.
GCU currently holds a team batting average of .324, ranking narrowly behind Nevada at the top of the conference. Freshman Addison Shifflett has gone from a spot starter to a full-fledged star over the past two weeks, leading the team with a .441 batting average, hitting two homers and recording 7 RBIs. Sophomore Jada Cooper is the most consistent of the full-time starters, hitting .410. Cooper has mashed four home runs, 17 RBIs, and recorded an OPS of 1.335 (all best in the conference). Last week, senior Emily Gonzalez had her breakout week of the season, earning Mountain West Player of the Week honors by hitting an incredible .625 with three home runs. Meanwhile, Alina Satcher, Mackenzie Nolan and Sarah Campbell, despite all serving as spot starters, are each hitting above .400, Satcher sitting just behind Cooper for the team lead in RBIs with 16 of her own.
In the circle, Taryn Batterton’s scoreless start to the season came to an explosive end this week, giving up six runs in one inning against UC Santa Barbara. However, her 32.2 scoreless innings this season have given Batterton an ERA of 1.29, ranking only behind fellow Lope Oakley Vickers, whose ERA of 1.05 ranks as the best in the conference. Batterton is second, followed closely by Natalie Fritz’ mark of 1.31, yet another ace in the Lopes’ staff. These three aces have led Grand Canyon to a whopping eight shutouts in 16 games, and a total team ERA of 1.10, more than two full runs per game better than the runners-up, Nevada. That mark also ranks third-best in the nation, only behind SEC powers Tennessee and Alabama.
GCU will finally face their first power conference teams of the season this week: the Big Ten’s Minnesota and Wisconsin. Minnesota is not particularly great, but Wisconsin currently holds a record of 11-3, meaning that there is a slim chance that the newly ranked Lopes finally have an actual challenge in a game. Oh, who am I kidding? This team is simply built different.
2. San Diego State Aztecs (10-5)
Last Week: #2
This Week’s Games:
at San Diego (7-7) – Feb. 26, 5:00 p.m. PT, no coverage provided
vs. CSUN (3-9) – Feb. 27, 9:00 a.m. PT, no coverage provided
vs. NR/#24 Washington (10-6) – Feb. 27, 11:30 a.m. PT, no coverage provided
vs. NR/#24 Washington (10-6) – Feb. 28, 11:30 a.m. PT, no coverage provided
vs. Kansas City (6-7) – Feb. 28, 2:00 p.m. PT, no coverage provided
San Diego State was honestly quite disappointing this past week. The Aztecs went 2-3, run-ruling an atrocious UC Riverside team, but also being taken to the brink by Seattle, being beaten in extras by Saint Mary’s, and losing in uncompetitive fashion against an Oklahoma team that went on to lose to Long Beach State, and in a shutout against Texas Tech. They still retain the #2 spot in the rankings for now, but they are currently much closer to #3 than they are to #1.
The Aztecs currently rank third in the conference in batting average, turning in a mark of .304. Most of this is obviously due to Player of the Year frontrunner Jade Ignacio, who currently holds a .453 batting average, third best in the MWC among qualified players, while also tying for the lead in RBIs with 17. Junior Jazmin Williams is second with a .380 average, while the much streakier Olivia Gigante leads her team in homers (3) despite her .250 average.
SDSU ranks fourth in the MWC in ERA, currently holding a team total of 3.67. Faith Jordan, Matti Kwarta, and Key-annah Pu’a each struggled in the MNCC this week, all now sitting with an ERA over 3.00. Part of this is due to the Aztecs’ struggles with striking out batters, currently ranking 7th in the conference with just 56 total Ks.
San Diego State will travel 10 miles away from home this week, competing in the Torrero Classic, hosted by crosstown rivals San Diego. Three of their games should be easy wins, while the other two are against a tough Washington squad not too far removed from being ranked in the Top 25. I would expect a 3-2 record out of the Aztecs, but they will have to play much better than they did last week if they wish to even get there.
3. Nevada Wolf Pack (8-7)
Last Week: #3
This Week’s Games:
vs. Sacred Heart (1-4) – Feb. 27, 12:00 p.m. PT, no coverage provided
at UC Davis (9-5) – Feb. 27, 2:30 p.m. PT, ESPN+
vs. Santa Clara (6-9) – Feb. 28, 9:30 a.m. PT, no coverage provided
at UC Davis (9-5) – Feb. 28, 12:00 p.m. PT, ESPN+
at Sacramento State (12-2) – Mar. 1, 12:00 p.m. PT, ESPN+
Nevada is another team that confuses me. The Wolf Pack went 2-2 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, beating Cal, their fourth power conference win of the season, as well as run-ruling UC Riverside in their final game. Their two losses, meanwhile, were to a not-great Oregon State team, a loss that has aged much better in hindsight, as well as a one-run loss to #9 UCLA. The loss to the Bruins dropped the Wolf Pack to 0-5 against ranked teams this season, the last three of which have been by a combined four runs.
Star freshman Katie Wetteland returned from injury for the Mary Nutter, which provided a much-needed boost to the hitting core. Despite not quite having a high enough at-bat percentage to qualify on the leaderboards, Wetteland is now hitting .536 on the season, by far the best in the Mountain West, while also holding a conference-high OPS of 1.402. Lexi O’Gorman is the Pack’s leader among qualified hitters with an average of .467, also serving as the best mark in the conference. Madison Clark, (.436), Saige Alfaro (.349), Talia Tretton (.344), Hannah Di Genova (.333) and Haylee Engelbrecht (.304) are all hitting over .300, and the Pack as a whole are hitting .328, the best in the conference. Di Genova currently leads Nevada in RBIs with 11, also being tied for the conference’s lead in home runs with four.
Nevada also holds the second-best team ERA in the conference of 3.41. Two-way star Tretton leads the Pack with an ERA of 1.93, ranking 4th in the conference, only behind the trio of Lopes at the top of the tables. She has also become Nevada’s primary starter in big games, where she has done exceedingly well. For instance, Tretton only allowed two earned runs against a UCLA team that won the rest of their MNCC games by a combined score of 64-17. Both runs came from a house call by Megan Grant, the nation’s leading home run hitter. Tess Bumiller, while mostly responsible for the blown lead against UCLA, has proved to be a reliable starter, and Ainsley Berlingeri, while inconsistent at times, looks to be finding her stride in the circle. As for projected Pitcher of the Year Hailey McLean, the less said at this point, the better.
Nevada will finally have a break from absolutely brutal MTEs this week, travelling to the greater Sacramento area for the Capital Classic. The Pack will have two should-be easy games against Santa Clara and Sacred Heart, while their three other games against UC Davis and Sacramento State will likely keep them on their toes. Nevada went 5-0 in this event last year against mostly the same teams, so that should be the standard once again. This MTE may not be a resume-builder, but it can be a resume-breaker.
4. Boise State Broncos (8-8)
Last Week: #5
This Week’s Games:
vs. Kansas (10-6) – Feb. 27, 11:15 a.m. MT, no coverage provided
at #7/8 Arkansas (13-1) – Feb. 27, 3:45 p.m. MT, SEC Network+
vs. RV/NR Omaha (12-1) – Feb. 28, 9:00 a.m. MT, no coverage provided
vs. Kansas (10-6) – Feb. 28, 11:15 a.m. MT, no coverage provided
vs. RV/RV Charlotte (12-4) – Mar. 1, 9:00 a.m. MT, no coverage provided
At this point, I genuinely have zero idea what to make of Boise State. They now have two ranked power-conference wins on their resume, tied with Belmont for the most in the country by a mid-major, as well as being the only team in the conference with even one ranked win. Simultaneously, the Broncos got run-ruled twice this week, finishing with an overall record of 2-3. That, plus the fact that Boise State has now lost six of their last eight games, including an embarrassing sweep at the hands of a 3-6 Southern Utah team, means that I really have no idea whether this team is truly a contender or not.
The Broncos are the opposite of the Wolf Pack at the plate: they score a lot of runs and are usually clutch, but have absolutely no consistency. Boise State ranks 7th in the Mountain West in batting average with a team mark of .273, while ranking all the way up in 3rd in RBIs with 75. Skylar Stroh has emerged as this team’s best hitter in every sense, leading the Broncos in batting average (.370), OPS (.975), and RBIs (17). Only Kate Penberthy and Mya Flindt outpace Stroh in home runs with three apiece. Stroh is the only Bronco hitter with an average above .320 this season.
In the circle, the Broncos have a four-deep rotation of two freshmen and two sophomores that has turned in an ERA of 3.88, ranking 5th in the conference. However, giving up 22 runs in their recent games against Texas and Arizona ballooned that number significantly, and understates how good this lineup truly has been. Freshman Charley Duran has a team-best ERA of 2.30, followed closely by fellow freshman Loula-Rae McNamara’s 2.57. Sophomores Olivia Bauer (3.57) and Julianne Rose (5.39) lag a bit behind their freshman counterparts, though Rose leads the Broncos in strikeouts with 25. Again, most of those last two numbers was down to those two run-rule games against great teams, as Bauer and Rose have largely been much better than their numbers show this season.
Boise State will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, this week to participate in the Wooo Pig Classic. This will arguably be as tough for the Broncos as the DeMartini Invitational, as they will be facing four teams that are above .500, three of which at least received votes in last week’s polls. The Broncos are the underdogs here, which seems to be the situation they always perform at their best in.
5. Utah State Aggies (9-6)
Last Week: #4
This Week’s Games:
vs. Southern Utah (7-9) – Feb. 27, 10:00 a.m. MT, WAC International
vs. Utah Valley (9-6) – Feb. 27, 12:30 p.m. MT, WAC International
vs. Utah (11-5) – Feb. 28, 12:30 p.m. MT, WAC International
vs. Utah Valley (9-6) – Feb. 28, 3:00 p.m. MT, WAC International
at Utah Tech (6-9) – Mar. 1, 12:30 p.m. MT, WAC International
Utah State performed about as well as was expected at the Georgia Classic last week, sweeping Seton Hall, being beaten soundly by Georgia and Virginia Tech, while actually giving the Bulldogs a spirited fight in the teams’ first matchup of the week.
The Aggies currently hold a team batting average of .296, ranking 5th in the MWC. Senior Alex Bunton and sophomore Faith Kroening are each hitting over .400 on the season thus far, Bunton’s .442 average being the fifth-best mark in the conference. Bunton also leads the Aggies with two homers, an OPS of 1.227, and 13 RBIs. Seniors Kya Pratt (11) and Grace Matej (10) join Bunton in the “10 or more RBIs” club.
The Aggies are seemingly slipping back into their old ways of struggling in the circle, ranking near the back of the pack with a team ERA of an eighth-best 4.42. Freshman Kendall Cochran is the teams’ best pitcher at this time, recording an ERA of 2.28. Seniors Rylie Pindel (2.77) and Emmalyn Brinka (3.99) are the primary starters, though both have began to struggle a bit more after red-hot starts to the year, specifically Brinka. After those three, Utah State’s relief staff does not have one pitcher with an ERA below 6.30, so let’s just move on for the sake of not picking on anybody.
Utah State has an in-state MTE this week, traveling to St. George, Utah, to take on an assortment of in-state rivals. All four teams the Aggies will face rank from 11-5 to 6-9 in terms of record, so Utah State fits right in here. I would say the standard should be a 3-2 record for the Aggies, losing to Utah and splitting with Utah Valley.
6. UNLV Lady Rebels (7-8)
Last Week: #9
This Week’s Games:
vs. UC Riverside (1-8) – Feb. 27, 12:15 p.m. PT, no coverage provided
at #24/23 Arizona State (13-3) – Feb. 27, 5:30 p.m. PT, ESPN+
vs. Eastern Illinois (4-11) – Feb. 28, 9:30 a.m. PT, no coverage provided
vs. UC Riverside (1-8) – Feb. 28, 12:15 p.m. PT, no coverage provided
vs. Wisconsin (11-3) – Mar. 1, 8:00 a.m. PT, no coverage provided
UNLV had their first good week of the season last week, going 4-1 against an assortment of easy opponents. While I still don’t believe the Rebels are a good team, it wouldn’t be fair to put a 7-8 team below a bunch of teams with four or five wins, so the Rebels move up here for now.
At the plate, the Rebs are averaging .301 as a team, ranking just behind San Diego State at 4th in the conference. That high number is mostly due to senior Diamond Sefe, who has only started seven games, but holds team-highs in average (.455) and OPS (1.298). Sefe’s batting average only ranks behind Nevada’s Lexi O’Gorman for best in the Mountain West. Freshman Taryn Calderon and senior Keyannah Chavez have been the leaders at the plate for most of the season, hitting .400 and .385, respectively. Calderon is tied for the team lead in home runs along with Charelle Aki and Bri Williams, each of whom have three. Aki and Williams lead the Rebels in RBIs with 17 and 14, respectively. UNLV has scored the second-most RBIs in the conference to this point in the season, as their tally of 82 is only exceeded by the even 100 scored by GCU.
UNLV is currently ranked 6th in ERA with a mark of 4.42, though that is quite a ways behind fifth-place Boise State’s mark of 3.88. Freshman pitcher Lauren Fettic had a week to remember, earning Pitcher of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors by recording an ERA of 0.00 in 7.2 innings. Fettic is now the team leader in ERA with a mark of 3.44, as well as being the team leader in strikeouts with 17. Yanina Sherwood has also rebounded slightly after her awful start to the season, now holding a second-best ERA of 4.38.
After three straight weeks of home MTEs to start the season, UNLV will finally leave Vegas this week to head over to the GCU/ASU Classic in Phoenix and Tempe. Most of their opponents here will be cupcakes, but facing a good Wisconsin team and an excellent Arizona State squad should finally give an idea of where the Rebels truly sit, since three straight weeks of facing mostly easy competition can’t really do that.
7. New Mexico Lobos (5-8)
Last Week: #8
This Week’s Games:
vs. UTEP (6-6) – Feb. 27, 3:00 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Tarleton State (11-5) – Feb. 27, 5:30 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Houston Christian (2-12) – Feb. 28, 3:00 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Tarleton State (11-5) – Feb. 28, 5:30 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Houston Christian (2-12) – Mar. 1, 11:30 a.m. MT, Mountain West Network
at UTEP (6-6) – Mar. 3, 3:00 p.m. MT, ESPN+
New Mexico looked a good bit better last week, but that does tend to happen when you play three games against a team that is 0-11. The Lobos did also hand Abilene Christian their first win of the season in game #1 of the series, but bounced back in games two and three, looking worlds better at the plate than they had the first two weeks of the season.
New Mexico is still ranked dead last in the MWC in batting average, but their current mark of .252 is much closer to an acceptable mark than their .182 average from the first two weeks of the season. Miracle McKenzie leads the Lobos with a .343 average, also leading the team with three home runs and 10 RBIs. Somehow, the next three best hitters (Gabrielle Briones, Jessica DeLeon, and Briana Williams) each have an average of exactly .333. Meanwhile, the Lobos look like they may have found themselves a gem in hometown hero Melanie Macias, who has only taken five at-bats so far, tallying three hits with an OPS of 1.314 and 2 RBIs.
As for the circle, Caitlin Benningfield and McKenna Guest are essentially splitting duties back and forth, both recording ERAs in the 3.00 range (3.00 and 3.40, respectively). The Lobos have an overall team ERA of 4.28, just behind UNLV in 7th in the conference.
The Lobos will host their first and only MTE of the season, facing rival UTEP, an abysmal Houston Christian squad, and a decent Tarleton State team. They will also go on the road to play UTEP at the end of the week, after the teams were forced to reschedule the matchup due to high winds. With HCU being terrible, Tarleton being kind of good, and UTEP having lost their most recent game by a legitimately painful 34-0, this week is an opportunity for the Lobos to keep their momentum going.
8. Fresno State Bulldogs (4-7)
Last Week: #6
This Week’s Games:
vs. UC San Diego (10-6) – Feb. 27, 1:00 p.m. PT, no coverage provided
at Pacific (4-11) – Feb. 27, 3:00 p.m. PT, ESPN+
vs. UC San Diego (10-6) – Feb. 28, 12:00 p.m. PT, no coverage provided
at Pacific (4-11) – Feb. 27, 3:00 p.m. PT, ESPN+
Fresno State had the worst week out of any MWC team in Week 3, going just 1-3 in the Mary Nutter Classic while being mostly uncompetitive in three out of their four games. I don’t expect them to stay down here for very long, but then again, I didn’t see them being this bad at any point this season, either.
The Bulldogs currently rank 8th in the MWC in batting average, posting a team mark of .270 at the plate thus far. Senior Jamie Hicks is the Bulldogs’ top hitter, posting a mark of .444 that ranks 4th in the conference. Hicks is distantly trailed by fellow senior Natalie Elias’ mark of .321. Another senior, Alyssa Ramirez, is the ‘Dogs’ leader in RBIs with 7.
In the circle, the Bulldogs have struggled even more, ranking 9th in the conference in ERA with a mark of 4.52, only ranking ahead of lowly San Jose State. CSUN transfer Lauryn Carranco is indeed the Bulldogs’ best pitcher, currently holding an ERA of 2.85 with 22 strikeouts through her 34.1 innings of work. The Bulldogs’ second starter is freshman Alyssa Loza, who currently has an ERA of 6.78, ranking dead last in the conference among qualified starters. Loza should improve as she gets more reps over the course of the season, but an ERA approaching 7.00 through over 20 innings of play is truly dreadful.
The Bulldogs will have a bit of an easier slate this week, travelling up the road to Stockton, California to take part in Pacific’s Libby Matson Tournament. Host Pacific is a weaker team in any year, but Fresno State’s other opponent, UC San Diego, is having a surprisingly good start to the season, sitting with a 10-6 record. I would expect no less than 2-2 for the Bulldogs here, but they will have to significantly up their level of play to even crack .500 this week.
9. Colorado State Rams (5-10)
Last Week: #9
This Week’s Games:
vs. Northern Colorado (6-9) – Feb. 28, 1:00 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Creighton (5-10) – Feb. 28, 3:30 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Creighton (5-10) – Mar. 1, 11:00 a.m. MT, Mountain West Network
vs. Northern Colorado (6-9) – Mar. 1, 2:00 p.m. MT, Mountain West Network
Colorado State joined the Bulldogs in having just one win this week, going 1-4 at the River State Classic, only beating future Pac-12 rival Texas State. Even that final-game win over the Bobcats was discouraging, as the Rams out-hit the Bobcats 11-2, yet inexplicably took until the 10th inning to narrowly escape San Marcos with a 3-2 win.
CSU is having some serious issues at the plate this season, currently ranking 9th in the conference in batting average (.258) and eighth in RBIs (45). That latter mark is just barely ahead of New Mexico’s 44, and Fresno State, while having an abysmal mark of 30 RBIs, has obviously played four fewer games than any other team, so I stuggle to compare them to those that have played more. The Rams’ best hitter is sophomore Lauren Stucky, who has hit .417 with an OPS of 1.021 so far, the former stat ranking 9th in the conference among qualified hitters. Sophomore Kyra Smith is second on the team with an average of .327, but her 11 RBIs put her clearly in the lead among CSU hitters. No other CSU batter that has taken more than one at-bat is hitting better than .313.
In the circle, junior Reagan Wick and senior Giselle Bentley have been doing an outstanding job given the circumstances, leading a Ram staff that ranks a surprising 3rd in the conference in ERA with a mark of 3.49. Wick leads the team with a 2.07 ERA, Bentley being right behind her with a mark of 2.75. Wick also ranks second in the MWC in strikeouts, her mark of 31 only trailing GCU’s Taryn Batterton, the likely-to-be Pitcher of the Year.
The Rams host their first MTE of the season this week, facing two games each against mediocre Northern Colorado and Creighton squads. I would hope the Rams could go 4-0 against this level of competition, but 3-1 is more than likely the standard to expect from this outfit.
10. San Jose State Spartans (4-11)
Last Week: #10
This Week’s Games:
at Sacramento State (12-2) – Feb. 27, 2:30 p.m. PST, ESPN+
vs. Sacred Heart (1-4) – Feb. 28, 9:30 a.m. PST, no coverage provided
at Sacramento State (12-2) – Feb. 28, 12:00 p.m. PST, ESPN+
at UC Davis (9-5) – Mar. 1, 12:00 p.m. PT, ESPN+
San Jose State continues to bring up the rear, even after somehow having the third-best week of any team, going 3-2 at the Mustang Classic in San Luis Obispo.
The Spartans rank at the bottom in most major categories, though batting average is surprisingly not one of them. SJSU is currently 6th in the MWC in this stat, holding a team-wide average of .288. The Spartans’ leaders at the plate are seniors Ahmiya Noriega (.419) and Reina Zermeno (.381), along with freshman standout Sophia Burdick (.375). Zermeno is the team’s leader in home runs (three), OPS (1.232) and RBIs (12).
While there has been a lot of improvement at the plate for San Jose State, the less said about their pitching staff, the better. The Spartans are the worst pitching team in the conference, possessing a ghastly ERA of 5.45 that trails second-worst Fresno State by a mile. Norah Coulsell is the team’s ace, though that title may be a bit of a stretch when you consider her ERA is 4.34.
SJSU will follow Nevada up to the Capital Classic, playing all of the same teams the Wolf Pack will, with the exception of Santa Clara. I would expect some regression from last week, after all, they don’t have any games against Manhattan to pump up their stats this week. Sacred Heart is the only easy opponent for SJSU to face, as their other three games will be against Sac State and UC Davis teams that are off to hot starts this year. Colorado State did blank Sac State in their own stadium earlier in the year, however, so maybe Spartan fans can have some optimism here.
