VILLANOVA, Pa. — The Villanova softball team opens its 50th season in program history at the Buzz Classic hosted by Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia from Feb. 5-7 Thursday against No. 16 Alabama and the hosting Yellow Jackets. 

The 'Cats (0-0) will take on the Crimson Tide Thursday at 3 p.m. before a matchup with Georgia Tech (0-0) at 5:30 p.m. in the nightcap. 

VU then faces East Carolina (0-0) and Georgia Tech (0-0) at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively Friday. The 'Cats close their weekend in Atlanta Sunday against Alabama at 1:30 p.m.

50 SEASONS OF VILLANOVA SOFTBALL        

2026 will be the 50th season of varsity softball for the Wildcats. The conference title winners in 2021, 2022 and 2024, Villanova is coming off six- straight postseason appearances in the Bridget Orchard era. The softball program was formed during the 1970s and it is believed that 1977 was the first year of varsity competition, although the fledgling Wildcats had an official roster and played games prior to the 1977 season. Using that year as a starting point, the program's all-time record following the 2025 season was 1,092-916-13 (.544). Since 2019 and the start of the Orchard VU head coaching era, the Wildcats compiled a 209-148-1 (.586) overall record and have the most BIG EAST wins (92) of any program in the league heading into this season.

ORCHARD APPROACHING A MAJOR MILESTONE    

Heading into the 2026 season, head coach Bridget Orchard holds a career head coaching record of 961-568-4 (.629), 39 wins away from 1,000 in her career. To reach the mark in 2026, Orchard's 'Cats will need 39 wins, which would mark the most single-season wins for Orchard at Villanova. Under Orchard, Villanova has won 37 games twice (2021, 2023). 


MARANDA HOME RUNCO     

Junior designated player Maranda Runco returns to the 'Cats after a season in which she broke the Villanova home run record with 20 long balls in 2025. The 2025 First Team All-BIG EAST selection also led the 'Cats in batting average (.375), RBIs (48), total bases (126) and walks (27) last season.

NONE IN, NONE OUT    

The 'Cats had zero portal entries and zero portal additions, a rarity in today's college landscape. Villanova's five losses from 2025 to 2026 were due to eligibility. The 'Cats five additions are all true freshmen. 

THE CONSISTENT CRIMSON TIDE 

Alabama is coming into the 2026 campaign after its 26th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The Crimson Tide made it to the Super Regional round before falling to Oklahoma in two games. 

The Crimson Tide enters their opening game against Villanova ranked No. 16. They are led by sophomore outfielder Audrey Vandagriff who was named a preseason Softball America All-American.

THE BUZZ ON GEORGIA TECH

Georgia Tech enters the 2026 campaign after making the NCAA Regional round last season. The Yellow Jackets are led by senior Addison Leschber, who batted .350/.607/.472 in 2025. 

PIRATES ON THE RISE 

East Carolina made a run to the American semifinals under head coach Shane Winkler in 2025 before falling to eventual champions, USF. 

The Pirates slugged their way through the American last season and are led on offense by returning outfielders Kanisha Anderson and Anna Sawyer. 

All six games will feature statistics courtesy of StatBroadcast, with only the Georgia Tech games streamed on ACC Network.

Keep up with the Villanova University softball program through social media by following on Twitter (@VUSoftball) and Instagram (@novasoftball) and 'liking' on Facebook (/VUSoftball).