Next in our journey to preview the Mountain West softball teams is the Fresno State Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are going through a scenario all too common in the mid-majors: losing your head coach to a power
conference school. Coach Stacie May-Johnson, who just led the Bulldogs to the brink of a MWC title before falling short in the championship game to San Diego State, left Fresno State in the offseason to become the head coach at her alma mater of Iowa. Strangely, though, this honestly may have been for the best, as May-Johnson’s tenure in Fresno had been a bit disappointing.
The Bulldogs have consistently been one of the best softball programs in the country ever since the team was founded in 1978, making it to four Women’s College World Series championship games in the 1990s under legendary skipper Margie Wright, winning it all in 1998. Wright retired in 2012 with a 27-year average winning percentage of .742 and a total win count for the Bulldogs of 1,294, which is fourth all time with a single team. The Bulldogs’ next two head coaches—Trisha Ford and Linda Garza—did admirable jobs at keeping the tradition of excellence going, combining for an average winning percentage of .662.
All of this had been done without ever finishing a season with a sub-.500 record, a stat which changed in May-Johnson’s very first season, one where the Bulldogs crashed into the basement with a 2-14 start and a 19-36 record. May-Johnson rebounded her record to a mark of .514 before leaving for Iowa City, but that mark is still a far cry from that achieved by her predecessors.
Fresno State is hoping to get back to being the powerhouse they once were, and they are hoping that the next era of ‘Dog domination will come under new Head Coach Charlotte Morgan. Morgan comes to Fresno State after four years as the head coach of Cal State Northridge, where she averaged 27 wins a season and nearly made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2025. Morgan brings several of her key players with her from CSUN, who hope to be key contributers right away.
Schedule
The Bulldogs open the season at home, hosting their annual Kickoff Classic. Here, they will face doubleheaders against Idaho State and Southern Illinois. Both teams lost in their respective conference title games a year ago, falling just short of making the NCAA Tournament, so neither is expected to be much of a pushover. This will be a good gauge for what kind of team we should expect going forward.
The Bulldogs will next stay home for a rare nonconference three-game series. This series is an important one, as the ‘Dogs will face off against the preseason #25/22 ranked Washington Huskies, who made the NCAA Tournament a season ago. This is the first great chance for Fresno State to prove that they are truly back.
The ‘Dogs will then make the drive to Cathedral City, California, where they will take part in the eternally prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Here, they will face off against Cal, who made the Tournament last year, and Cal Baptist, who did not. These matchups are sandwiched between matchups with preseason #1/2 Texas Tech, the defending national runners up, and preseason #10/10 UCLA. This is yet another early chance to make an impact in nonconference play.
Next will be a much easier MTE, the Pacific Invitational, where the ‘Dogs will play two games each against Pacific and UC San Diego, two teams who each won just 16 games a season ago and came nowhere near the Tournament. This should theoretically be an easy stroll for the Bulldogs.
After a nonconference game at another 16-win team, CSU Bakersfield, the ‘Dogs will head up I-5 to take part in their final MTE, the Silicon Valley Classic, a joint event hosted by Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara, and San Jose State. Here, they will play two games each against Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara. These two teams averaged 30 wins a year ago, with Santa Clara being crowned as West Coast Conference champions, falling to new MWC member Grand Canyon in the Tucson Regional. This should be a good series between the three teams.
During conference play, the Bulldogs will only have one nonconference matchup, though it certainly is a big one: a home match against preseason #17/18 Stanford. This is a longtime rivalry matchup that has turned more towards the Cardinal in recent years, with the Trees currently riding an 8-game win streak against the ‘Dogs, so this is arguably a more important game than any previous nonconference matchup.
In conference, the Bulldogs have five home series and four road series. At home, the ‘Dogs face Utah State, UNLV, Grand Canyon, Colorado State, and San Diego State. On the road, they will face Boise State, San Jose State, New Mexico, and Nevada. This slate looks rather favorable, playing two of the three projected conference leaders at home (GCU and SDSU). The only very tough draw is having to take a trip up to Reno to face the Wolf Pack, which will serve as Nevada’s final home series before the Wolf Pack also host the conference tournament.
Overall, this schedule starts tough, has a break in the middle of the season, before staying mostly doable in conference, outside of one tough series. With consistent production from their players, both new and old, I could see the Bulldogs being able to build a resume capable of earning an at-large bid with somewhere between 33 and 37 wins.
Hitting Core
Just like Colorado State a year ago and Boise State this year, the Bulldogs are going through a significant roster turnover this season. The Bulldogs’ hitting core was already directly in the middle of the Mountain West last year, placing 5th overall with a total team clip of .288, which was closer to last place than it was to first. Fresno State’s best hitter last year was junior catcher Kennedy Bunker, who hit .364 with 4 home runs and 38 RBIs. Bunker took the opportunity to transfer to Ole Miss in the offseason.
Second star Natalie Elias is still with the Bulldogs for her senior season in the red and white. Despite having only 8 RBIs the entire season and an OPS of .781, Elias hit .358, the only other player near Bunker’s caliber of consistency at the plate.
The problem is that Elias is truly all that remains. The third through sixth ranked hitters—Lauren Almeida, Taryn Irigoyen, Marissa Montelongo, and Alyssa Orr—all graduated at the end of the 2025 season. The next-best remaining hitter is now-junior Kealani Nitta, who hit just .265 in her 98 at-bats last season. The only remaining starter that took over 100 at-bats last season was sophomore Madison Rey, who ended up transferring to Cal. In addition, Fresno native and projected future team leader Kiara Sipe ended up following May-Johnson to Iowa.
A returning player I did not mention earlier that I would expect to make an impact is senior Melissa Martinez, who looks to rebound after an injury-hampered season where she hit just .220. Another is Rylee Bocchini, the likely replacement for Bunker at the catcher position, who hit .200 in her freshman season.
This leaves any success the Bulldogs will have to be obtained by a group of young players and incoming transfers, the latter group mostly following Coach Morgan from CSUN. Comfortably the most notable of these is junior Tiara Westbrook. Westbrook was named to the 2025 All-Big West First Team, leading CSUN in home runs (10), RBIs (38), total bases (88), slugging percentage (.595), on base percentage (.435), batting average (.351), on-base percentage (.435), and OPS (1.030). With this all having taken place in her first season with the Matadors, it’s pretty safe to say Westbrook has her coach’s trust, and will almost certainly make an immediate impact in her first season with the Bulldogs.
Gizella Vargas Sandoval is the only other former Matador that played a major role in the team’s play last season, hitting .297 in 101 at-bats. Now-sophomore Larissa Flores took 75 at-bats for the team last year, but hit a ghastly .120. Aside from UIC transfer Leila Dixon, whose experience in her time with the Flames makes her effectively a freshman, that is it for the transfer-acquired core.
Out of the freshmen, there is a great deal of talent in this class, but I would probably tab Arianna Aguayo to be the most likely contributor due to her great all-around talent. A four-year varsity player, Aguayo was First Team All-League and Defensive Player of the Year in 2025, finishing her senior season with a .515 batting average, slugging .660 with an OBP of .593, scoring 49 runs, driving in 20, and stealing 29 bases. Alongside her, Jayda Crosby brings a similar resume, although Crosby showed more home run hitting potential, with 8 home runs and 32 RBIs in her senior year.
With Fresno State’s track record of developing talent, I would expect at least a couple of freshmen to make a significant impact right away. Elias and Westbrook should be capable team leaders, and if they continue their previous production, the rest of the core should have the time it needs to sort itself out.
Pitching Core
Whereas the hitting core was rather mediocre last season for the ‘Dogs, the pitching staff was among the best in the country. The team’s combined ERA of 2.78 ranked at the top of the MWC, ranking 32nd in the NCAA.
The ‘Dogs were led in this effort by the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year, Serayah Neiss, whose ERA was a conference-leading 2.03, good for 29th in the country. Her 21 wins were far and away the most in the conference, as were her 179.2 innings pitched. Neiss single-handedly guided the Bulldogs into the MWC Championship, as she served as the starting pitcher for every single MWC Tournament game.
Neiss was backed in the rotation by secondary starter Key-annah Pu’a, whose ERA of 2.79 was good for fourth in the conference among qualified starters. The Bulldogs’ third starter, Hannah Ortega, had an ERA of 4.34, good for 14th in the conference. In addition, primary closer Faith Jordan recorded a conference-leading four saves, posting an ERA of 2.64 in 63.2 innings, which was the best out of any non-starter. Finally, freshman Hannah Duncan rounded out the staff with an ERA of 6.00 in her 25.2 innings, but had a 1-0 record and recorded eight strikeouts.
As you could probably guess by this point, every single one of those players has left the program. Neiss followed May-Johnson to Iowa, Ortega left for Utah Valley, Duncan went to Southern Utah, and both Pu’a and Jordan defected to in-conference rival San Diego State. Whether any of these departures has left any bad blood within the program or not, there is no denying that Fresno State will have to undergo a complete overhaul of their rotation and bullpen going into this season.
That effort will start with the one pitcher who followed Coach Morgan from CSUN. Now-senior Lauryn Carranco was the Matadors best pitcher a year ago, recording an ERA of 2.77 across 189.2 innings while recording 113 strikeouts. Carranco will undoubtedly be the #1 pitcher for Fresno State this season.
It was a bit difficult to verify, but there are three other players I could see making appearances for the Bulldogs this season. Senior infielder Alyssa Ramirez pitched in high school and made three appearances in the circle during her freshman season for the ‘Dogs, but hasn’t pitched in a game since then. Redshirt sophomore Christal Lopez, who grew up a diehard ‘Dogs fan, was a two-way player in high school, but excelled as a pitcher, recording a career ERA of 1.60 while recording 122 strikeouts and holding opponents to a batting average of .160. Finally, true freshman Alyssa Loza was also a two-way player in high school, and in the circle she was a rather volatile pitcher, giving up an ERA of 3.09 during her senior season while also recording 161 strikeouts.
This will be a largely inexperienced group of pitchers, but the two-way potential of most pitchers outside of Carranco intrigues me greatly considering their new coach was once a standout two-way player at the University of Alabama. If anyone knows what it takes to develop a player into a star in both hitting and pitching, it’s Coach Morgan.
Prediction
2025 Result: 37-20 (15-7 MWC), Regular Season: 3rd, Tournament: 2nd, Missed NCAA Tournament
2026 Prediction: 31-15 (18-7 MWC), Make Conference Tournament, Miss NCAA Tournament
The new coaching staff, plus the Bulldogs’ massive roster turnover, make Fresno State a bit of a hard team to gauge for the upcoming season. I don’t think they will win a conference title, as there are three clear contenders for that crown right now (GCU, SDSU, Nevada), so I can’t see the ‘Dogs making it into the Tournament as an at-large team. However, I do have trust that this program will be able to make a smooth transition to a new era, as Fresno State is not lacking for softball support, either from their administration or their fans.
As mentioned, the two-way playing experience of new coach Charlotte Morgan should help the ‘Dogs develop their admittedly light pitching staff rather quickly, alongside being able to develop behind a pitching specialist like Lauryn Carranco. The hitting core also lost its leader and most of the supporting cast from a year ago, but keeping Natalie Elias was massive for this program, as she and Tiara Westbrook should be able to carry the torch for the Bulldogs at the plate early in the season.
Fresno State’s schedule is also largely favorable. While, yes, the Bulldogs do play 11 games against teams that either were ranked or received votes in one or both of the preseason polls, but every single one of those games will either be played in Fresno proper or close enough to home for Bulldog Nation to show up in full force in support of their squad. In conference, the Bulldogs play both of the MWC’s teams that received votes in the initial polls at home, a fortunate draw indeed. The only outright tough road matchup for the ‘Dogs will be when they have to travel to Reno near the end of the season, which I believe will be a crucial matchup in deciding the regular season title.
The Bulldogs have a big season ahead of them, one which Bulldog fans hope will mark the beginning of their return to glory. With the staff and roster they currently have assembled, I would say that there is a better chance of that happening than most people would think.
Next up will be new Mountain West member Grand Canyon, dropping tomorrow at 8 a.m. PST.
