The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: 2026 Mountain West Softball Week 5

Week 5 of the 2026 season is in the books, and with it, preseason nonconference play has come to an end. This week saw two teams pull themselves away from the rest of the pack, another put itself firmly into the “solid” tier, and a great deal of shuffling in the six-team pack that makes up most of the conference. Let’s take a look at where the standings sit entering Week 6.

Standings (After Week 5 of 14)

1. Grand Canyon (27-0)
2. Nevada (16-9)
3. San Diego State (14-10)
4. Fresno State (11-9)
5. Colorado State (12-11)
6. New Mexico (12-12)
7. UNLV (12-13)
8. Boise State (12-15)
9. Utah State (10-13)
10. San Jose State (8-15)

At last, Week 6 will mark the start of Mountain West Conference play, where all the talk about

easy, mid-tier, or difficult nonconference schedules will be settled amongst these teams. This is the stage when each game simply means more, and as a result, momentum is everything at this point in the season. Let’s see who had the best, worst, and ugliest outings in Week 5.

The Good

#20/23 Grand Canyon Lopes (27-0)

Game Results: 5-0 (1-0 away, 4-0 neutral)

vs. Wisconsin (14-10) – W, 2-1 (10 innings)

vs. Notre Dame (9-15) – W, 4-2

at San Diego (10-12) – W, 5-2

vs. Princeton (7-5) – W, 7-4

vs. Notre Dame (9-15) – W, 5-4

This was far and away the ugliest week of GCU softball we have seen this season, and yet, here they stand: 27-0 in nonconference play, one of just three undefeated teams in the country, and the one with the most wins of the three. Besides, the ugliness of this week’s games can be mainly excused through the fact that the Lopes were playing away from home for the first time all season.

GCU’s first game of the week was a rematch against the Wisconsin Badgers, a team who the Lopes narrowly defeated, 9-8, in Phoenix the week prior. This time, history repeated itself, GCU coming out on top again with an epic 2-1, 10-inning win. The Lopes trailed 1-0 for the entirety of the first seven innings, and had been on the wrong side of a no-hitter going into the 5th. Down to the last strike of the game in the top of the 7th, Mackenzie Nolan came up clutch with an RBI triple that tied the game. The Badgers then proceeded to load the bases in the bottom of both the 8th and 9th innings, but the Lopes held strong both times, allowing Addison Shifflett to score the winning run on a wild pitch in the top of the 10th. Grand Canyon used four pitchers during the game, combining to not allow an earned run while striking out four.

Each of the Lopes’ next four games were decided by three runs or less. Against Notre Dame, the Lopes used runs in the 5th and 6th innings to pull ahead for good after allowing the Irish to tie the game at 2. Against host San Diego, the Lopes trailed 2-1 after the 5th, pulling ahead with a four-run sixth inning to win 5-2. Against Princeton, the Lopes were down 4-1 after the 5th, proceeding to use three straight home runs in the top of the sixth to win 7-4. Finally, in a rematch with the Irish, GCU once again trailed 2-1, but another four-run inning, this time in the fourth, allowed the Lopes to pull ahead, holding off a furious rally in the top of the seventh to advance to 27-0.

Raegan Holtorf was the Lopes’ star at the plate this week, going a combined 8-for-18 with 3 RBIs, and collecting at least one hit in four of the five games. However, the real stars for GCU were, yet again, those in the circle. Across 38 innings of play, GCU’s five pitchers combined to only allow eight earned runs (1.47 ERA), striking out 26 batters in the process. The best of the five was Maggie Place, who pitched 6.0 scoreless innings across three games.

At no point this week did GCU look like a true top-20 team in the nation. They were largely out of sorts at the plate against vastly inferior competition, and were tied or trailing going into the 5th inning in every single game. However, no matter what was thrown at them, the Lopes still managed to prevail every single time. This is an elite mid-major softball team—arguably the best in the NCAA, and without a doubt the favorites to win the Mountain West Conference in their first season in the league. However, there is one team that looks set to be able to challenge them this season, and they appear to be red-hot at just the right time.

Nevada Wolf Pack (16-9)

Game Results: 3-2 (1-1 away, 2-1 neutral)

vs. Oregon State (10-17) – W, 7-5

vs. Sacramento State (18-7) – L, 9-7 (9 innings)

vs. Oregon State (10-17) – W, 10-2 (6 innings)

at #18/18 Oregon (18-7) – W, 8-5

at #18/18 Oregon (18-7) – L, 7-3

I was not sure whether or not the Wolf Pack would be able to sustain the success of last week at the Jane Sanders Classic. While their record this week may have been worse, their week was no less impressive. Rather, I would argue Nevada has just had their best week of the entire season in Eugene, rolling into conference play on the biggest high imaginable: finally getting their first ranked win of the season. Yes, they did finish with a record of just 3-2 on the week, but no team had as good of a win as what the Wolf Pack did on Saturday.

Nevada’s first game was a rematch against the Oregon State Beavers, whom the Wolf Pack previously lost to at the Mary Nutter. Talia Tretton and Hailey McLean combined for five strikeouts and zero earned runs, but a flurry of three Nevada errors in the second inning allowed OSU to score a whopping five unearned runs. The Wolf Pack then held the Beavers scoreless the rest of the way, taking the lead back after back-to-back home runs in the 5th, holding on to win 7-5. Katie Wetteland went 4-for-4 on the day, Hannah Di Genova went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Talia Tretton went 1-for-4, but tallied three RBIs.

Next was the Wolf Pack’s worst game of the week: an infuriating 9-inning defeat against a vengeful Sacramento State. Nevada led 4-3 from the third inning on thanks to another 3-for-3 gem by Wetteland, but after McLean gave up a solo home run in the top of the 7th, allowing the Hornets to tie it up at four heading into extras, McLean was, strangely, kept in the game for the eighth, barely keeping the game in hand while giving up one run. After Nevada tied the game again to take it to the ninth, McLean was inexplicably forced back into the circle for another inning, despite being just shy of 100 pitches. McLean proceeded to immediately load the bases via walks, yet was still kept in the game, despite freshman Sofie Seese being ready to go in relief.

Such decisions are nothing short of mind-boggling, and that fact was fully exposed by the Hornets’ best hitter, none other than former Wolf Pack prospect Saskia Raab, who was never given much of a chance to perform in her freshman season in Reno. Raab was promptly served a meatball down the middle by a gassed McLean, which Raab blasted to left center field for a game-winning grand slam—her first career home run. Nevada, despite getting two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, had no chance of responding, allowing Sac State and their scorned star to get their revenge, 9-7.

Despite little going on to indicate ability for an immediate turnaround, this is the point where Nevada decided to have the best day of any MWC team this season. First, Nevada destroyed Oregon State in their rubber match, 10-2 in six innings. Wetteland, Tretton, and Madison Clark each had at least two hits, but the star of the show here was little-used senior speedster Matlyn Leetch, who went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, including an impressive walkoff inside-the-park home run—Leetch’s first career homer. With all the momentum they could ask for, the second game of Saturday would be the big headliner: a matchup with host #18/18 Oregon; the start of a two-game series that would provide Nevada’s last chance for a ranked win in nonconference play.

Like their previous three ranked games, the Wolf Pack gained a big lead (5-1), but immediately proceeded to blow the whole lead in the third inning thanks to back-to-back 2-RBI hits surrendered by Tretton. After the long-struggling Bailie Clark finally broke out of her funk with her first home run in nearly two years, two bases-loaded walks surrendered by the Ducks ballooned the Wolf Pack’s lead to three. Once little-used Duck backup Maddie Milhorn came into the game, Nevada would tally just two hits the rest of the way, which left it to the pitching staff to seal the game away.

Rewinding to the fourth inning, Tretton would be allowed to stay in the game despite allowing four earned runs over a two-pitch span in the 3rd. The coaching staff’s confidence in their star was warranted, as Tretton mowed down four straight hitters, only being yanked after a single and a hit-by-pitch in the 5th. In came Tess Bumiller, who was seeking her own slice of redemption, having given up a three-run lead to UCLA after coming in for Tretton in nearly this exact same scenario.

Bumiller knocked down five straight batters before giving Nevada fans a small case of heart palpatations in the bottom of the seventh, putting two on with nobody out. Bumiller refused to be denied, forcing a game-changing double play to demolish any remaining momentum the Ducks had. One final strikeout released a celebration five years in the making, as the Wolf Pack beat their first ranked opponent since taking down #2 Washington in 2021, cementing at least some case to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team.

As incredible as it would have been to see Nevada sweep the Ducks, Oregon was only ever going to let this end one way, defeating the Pack on Sunday, 7-3. McLean got the start, immediately turning a two-run lead into a three-run hole, allowing Oregon’s first five batters to score before being pulled for a platoon of Bumiller, Seese, and Ainsley Belingeri, who combined for just two earned runs across the remaining six innings. Offensively, after scoring on a Hannah Di Genova homer in the 1st, the Wolf Pack were shut down by Oregon ace Lyndsey Grein. Bailie Clark mashed her second home run in as many days to give Nevada a sliver of hope in the 7th, but the Ducks closed out their 7-3 revenge victory.

While ending on a loss stings, especially in a loss where McLean reverted back to midseason form, Nevada has nothing to hang their heads about. This week was an overwhelming success for a team that just needed one potential upset to go their way. Now Nevada doesn’t have to worry about being absolutely perfect throughout conference play, as they have earned at least a small cushion to pad their resume. Don’t get me wrong, it would be best for them to be able to win the majority of their games, obviously, but I think one or two wins against GCU will likely clinch this squad their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2009. That, plus the continued ascension of Katie Wetteland, Tess Bumiller, Sofie Seese, and now Bailie Clark, means that Nevada is in almost as good of a place as the Lopes, despite having many fewer wins.

The Bad

Utah State Aggies (10-13)

Game Results: 0-3 (0-3 away)

at Kansas (18-7) – L, 7-1

at Kansas (18-7) – L, 18-2 (5 innings)

at Kansas (18-7) – L, 14-0 (5 innings)

vs. Idaho State (15-10) – TBD

The box score alone should tell you why Utah State is here. On the road against a good power conference team in the Jayhawks, Utah State was completely obliterated in every phase of the game, ending up getting swept by a combined score of 39-3, far and away the worst three-game stretch of any team in the conference this season.

There is hardly any point in talking about stats here, since it would merely come across as bullying. Even their In the first game, Kansas got out to a 7-0 lead before the Aggies even got a hit. In the second game, the Aggies scored two in the first inning, then proceeded to immediately allow 18 unanswered runs. Then, in what was somehow an even more embarrassing game, the Aggies allowed a whopping 10 runs in the first inning, while getting no-hit offensively by an assortment of Kansas bullpen arms.

Entering conference play, the Aggies have lost seven straight games and 11 of their last 14. No team has less momentum, or has looked worse, than Utah State at this point, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. If the Aggies do indeed keep playing like they have over the last three weeks, they will be easy pickings throughout the entirety of conference play. The Aggies were so objectively bad this week that it doesn’t really feel fair to put anyone else in the same tier as them. They are the only team that did not win a game this week, pending the Idaho State game on Tuesday. Even if they beat the Bengals, I still couldn’t see them being in the same tier as someone else after this travesty of a performance. Seriously, 39-3 in three games is one of the worst stat lines I have ever seen.

The Ugly

Boise State Broncos (12-15)

Game Results: 3-3 (3-3 home)

vs. Cal Baptist (19-8) – L, 5-1

vs. Portland State (8-12) – W, 8-1

vs. Portland State (8-12) – L, 4-1

vs. Weber State (5-21) – W, 9-5

vs. St. Thomas (18-7) – L, 4-1

vs. Weber State (5-21) – W, 9-1

No, Boise State did not finish with the worst record on the week, but they still had a very bad week, especially when they were already near the bottom of the conference standings. Hosting their lone home invitational of the season against a group of good to very bad mid-major teams, the Broncos had a prime opportunity to get their disappointing season back on track. Instead, they merely dug themselves and even bigger hole. For the sake of not making this segment terribly long, let’s talk about these six games in terms of what was expected to happen.

Games against Cal Baptist and St. Thomas were expected to be losses, given the pedigree of their opponents. Nonetheless, Boise State still disappointed, tallying just six hits and two runs across both games. In the CBU game, Olivia Bauer gave up four of the Lancers’ five runs, while Loula-Rae McNamara and Charley Duran gave up a combined one. Conversely, in the St. Thomas game, McNamara and Duran each gave up two, while Bauer gave up none. The Broncos were simply outmatched offensively in both of these games, with Marissa Gonzalez and Chloe Hughes being the only Bronco hitters to get a hit in both games, each recording an RBI.

Next, there were two games against Portland State, a team BSU run-ruled back in the Easton Classic. This time, the Vikings came to play. In the first game, Gonzalez and Skylar Stroh combined for a 6-for-8, seven RBI statline in an 8-1 romp. Obviously thinking that the second game would be much of the same, the Broncos would instead be inexcusably greeted with a dogfight. Two Viking homers allowed by Bauer in the second inning were far too much to overcome, as Boise State was stifled all game by PSU’s Sherrei Nakoa-Chung, who allowed the Broncos to convert only one run out of seven hits. Portland State did beat Cal Baptist in their first game of the invitational, but losing at home to an 8-12 team is still very bad for a team on the brink.

Finally, there were the Broncos’ two wins against Weber State, where Boise State outscored their former Big Sky foe 18-6 across the two games, sweeping the season series with the Wildcats 3-0. Boise State tallied 25 hits against Weber State’s hapless pitching core, led by Kate Penberthy’s 5-for-7, five RBI line, with at least four Broncos recording multiple hits in each game. While these do seem like great wins, the issue here is that Weber State is currently 5-21, with two of those wins coming against, funny enough, the two “great” teams that Boise State lost to in this invite. All this is to say that these wins somehow made the Broncos’ losses to CBU and St. Thomas look even worse, as if they were beatable for Weber State, why couldn’t the Broncos beat them?

I initially had the Broncos in the “bad” tier, but I realized that this week was simply an ugly one. Boise State was so close to having a true turnaround week; one where they could gain back some of the ground they had lost to the top teams in the conference over the last three weeks. Instead, the Broncos head into conference play having lost 13 of their last 19 games, and will be forced to make a six-hour trek down to Reno for their first conference series against one of the hottest teams in the country. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

San Diego State Aztecs (14-10)

Game Results: 2-2 (1-2 home, 1-0 away)

at Long Beach State (12-8) – W, 13-0 (5 innings)

vs. Wisconsin (14-10) – L, 5-4

vs. Notre Dame (9-15) – L, 4-3

vs. Princeton (7-6) – W, 14-6 (6 innings)

This is the first week where I felt two teams belonged in the “ugly” tier, the second of which being the Aztecs. For a while, I tried to be generous to SDSU, simply based off of their recent history and visible talent, including arguably the best player in the conference (Jade Ignacio). With that being said, there is no sugarcoating it now. San Diego State is in deep trouble, limping into conference play having lost eight of their last 14 games—an incredible fall for a team that had only done that once under Stacey Nuveman Deniz.

The Aztecs both started and ended the week with run-rule wins against Long Beach State and Princeton. Against LBSU, the Aztecs lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 17 hits, all while surprise breakout pitcher Faith Jordan recorded the fifth no-hitter in SDSU history. Quinn Waiki led the way with a 3-for-3 performance in the dominant win. The 13-0 win over the Beach was fantastic, though the Beach losing at home two games later by six to a 3-21 CSU Bakersfield team makes the win look much worse.

Against Princeton, SDSU scored at least one run in each of the six innings played, racking up 15 hits, led by Angie Yellen’s 4-for-4, Jayleen Hernandez’ 3-for-3, and Jazmin Williams’ three RBIs. The Tigers threatened to make this a close game in the 4th, closing the gap to 10-6 with three straight runs off Matti Kwarta, but Jordan made a relief appearance that immediately quashed all ideas of any more orange jerseys crossing home plate. Considering that this same Tiger team came oh-so-close to taking down undefeated GCU, this win was mighty impressive.

Now for the ugly, starting with the Aztecs’ 4-3 loss to Notre Dame. As opposed to other sports, where a loss to the Irish is nothing to be ashamed of, Notre Dame is currently in a softball slump, having finished below .500 last year for the first time this century. This fact has not changed in this year’s team, the Irish currently standing at 9-15 with losses to Charleston Southern, Rutgers, Ohio, and Princeton on their resume at this point. Despite this, SDSU spent the entire game trying to dig out of a 4-0 hole dug in the first inning by Kwarta. Ignacio went 2-for-3, Olivia Gigante had two RBIs, and while SDSU was able to come close, they were ultimately not able to take the final leap to victory.

Finally, let’s talk about San Diego State’s horrific loss to Wisconsin, which can only be accurately described as a cataclysmic choke. After a full-on pitchers’ duel through the first four innings, the Aztecs plated four runs across the fifth and sixth innings, thanks to Jazmin Williams’ triple and Olivia Gigante’s home run, going into the seventh inning up 4-0. Key-annah Pu’a, who had captained the ship to six scoreless innings, was pulled in favor of recent no-hitter Jordan, a no-brain decision to close out the game. What followed was a complete and utter meltdown, as Jordan allowed five runs on six hits, going from an easy win to a 5-4 deficit—and after three straight outs in the bottom of the frame, an absolutely brutal loss in a game that could have served as a statement win. In the words of the great Jon Rothstein: “the epitome of brutality.”

With nonconference play having come to an end, I think it is safe to say that the Aztecs do not have an at-large-worthy resume on their hands. From four blowout losses to ranked teams to four more home losses to not-great teams, the Aztecs have gone from the belle of the mid-major ball to its biggest disappointment, a team with all the confidence and talent in the world, but none of the results to back it up. SDSU will surely bounce back in a weak Mountain West, and their schedule draw of playing GCU and Nevada at home is even more crucial in hindsight, but the Aztecs are quickly running out of their past goodwill from the Selection Committee, if they haven’t already. The clock is ticking, Aztecs. It’s time for a rebound.