VILLANOVA, Pa. – After winning the program's first two conference titles in 2021 and 2022, the Villanova softball team will now look to defend its title for a second straight year as head coach Bridget Orchard announced the 2023 schedule this week.
As has been tradition throughout Orchard's coaching tenure, VU has a loaded non-conference schedule. Thirteen of the Wildcats' 29 opponents this year finished in the top 100 of the RPI last season, headlined by 2022 Super Regional competitor Stanford (31) and Regional participant Auburn (34).
The 'Cats will begin their season with the Texas State Tournament, taking place from February 10-12. VU will face Wichita State and Kent State twice each, while a matchup against Texas State comes on Saturday afternoon.
Following the trip to Texas, the Wildcats will make a visit to Auburn's Tiger Invitational for five contests across February 17-19. Villanova will take on the host Tigers and Dayton twice, as well as one matchup against Austin Peay.
Two more non-league tournaments are on the docket for the 'Cats, as visits to Florida Atlantic and Stanford round out the early season schedule. The Wildcats will play North Carolina, FAU, Wisconsin and Boston College (twice) in their trip to the FAU "Strike Out Cancer" Tournament in Boca Raton, taking place from Feb. 24-26.
Villanova will spend spring break on the West Coast, with three days of competition set in California. The 'Cats will travel to Stanford and play two games against the Cardinal, then round out the trip with a contest against Cal-Berkeley on March 5.
VU begins its BIG EAST slate with a visit to Washington, D.C., to take on Georgetown in a three-game series. The Wildcats will make their first appearance at home for a series against Creighton from March 17-19.
VU will take a nearly two-week break from conference play and take on Towson in a doubleheader (March 21), Delaware and Boston University (both March 25), and St. Joe's (single game, March 29).
Home BIG EAST opponents include UConn (March 31-April 2), DePaul (April 21-23) and Providence (May 5-7), while the 'Cats travel to Butler (April 6-8), St. John's (April 14-16) and Seton Hall (April 28-30).
Throughout April, Villanova will also square off with non-league opponents Penn, Drexel, Hofstra, and 2022 NCAA qualifiers Princeton (doubleheader) and Lehigh.
The BIG EAST Tournament will take place at UConn from May 11-13. The NCAA Tournament starts with regionals from May 18-21 before Super Regionals (May 25-28), and the NCAA Women's College World Series kicks off in Oklahoma City on June 1.
This Year's Opponents in Top 100 of RPI
Stanford (31)
Auburn (34)
Wisconsin (36)
Wichita State (39)
Texas State (50)
Cal (53)
Boston University (57)
UConn (60)
UNC (64)
Delaware (82)
Boston College (87)
Lehigh (89)
DePaul (100)
