BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings softball team raised the standard in 2025. The team increased it's overall win total by seven from the previous season. It's 11-11 mark in GNAC play was it's best conference record since 2018. And most importantly, the team was able to make it's return to postseason competition for the first time since 2015, making a trip to the GNAC Championships.
 
But in 2026, the mission is clear for this year's version of Yellowjacket softball: prove last season wasn't a fluke, but the start of an era of sustained success.
 
"I think part of it is just continued buy in and hard work," said MSUB head coach Joe Yegge, who enters his second season at the helm of the program. "We're recruiting the right people that fit our character, fit our personalities. We want them to play free, and continue to just compete no matter what the score is. That was one of the things we did really well last year, the girls had a lot of fight in them and played to the last out. We can win any game against any team as long as we keep our noses to the grindstone and stay focused."
 
External expectations also have the bar raised for the Yellowjackets, who were selected to finish fifth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The goal for the 'Jackets will be to finisher higher than that though, as the team seeks to qualify for consecutive conference tournament trips for the first time in the program's history.
 
"Last year I preached to the girls that our goal was just to get there," Yegge said. "We made the tournament, we didn't play great, but hopefully now the girls understand that just making the conference tournament isn't the ultimate goal, but trying to get past that and make the NCAA Tournament. I think it's a fair preseason pick with us losing our two main pitchers from last season, but the league doesn't think we're a doormat anymore. They've got us there right in the middle of the pack, they obviously know that we've got a good base coming back, and that we can compete and be someone to reckon with. I hope it motivates us to want to become a mainstay top four team that always expects to get in."
 
The full GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll can be found here.
 
The Roster
 
The 'Jackets will be without a few of the key pieces from last season's roster. Gone are longtime infielders in Lauren Blaschak, a two-time All-GNAC Selection, and Jazlyn Kalehuawehe, who finished her career eighth all-time in program history for home runs. The battery will shape up differently in 2026 as well, with Kaylin Galvin graduating at catcher, along with both of the Yellowjacket's primary starting pitchers from last season in All-GNAC selection Emily Waters and Caitlyn James, both of whom combined for 205 innings pitched between the two of them.
 
But plenty of talent is returning to fill out the Yellowjacket's lineup from last season's team. After leading the team with 51 hits and a .381 batting average last season, Marleigh Nieto returns for her senior season in the outfield after earning an All-GNAC First Team nod last season. The team's primary leadoff hitter last season, Nieto racked up ten doubles, a triple, two home runs and 14 RBIs last season, scoring 28 runs and finishing the year with an on base percentage of .414. Behind Nieto, fellow outfielder Wynter Hurst will be back, looking to build on a campaign that saw her earn GNAC Newcomer of the Year honors, as well as receiving an All-GNAC Second Team award. Hurst batted .314 on the season, totaling 41 hits, ten doubles, a team-best four triples, one homer, 23 runs and 22 RBIs. She would also finish as MSUB's top fielder over in right, leading all qualified players with a .981 fielding percentage.
 
In the infield, Kennedy Dypwick returns after starting every game for the Yellowjackets at shortstop last season as a true freshman. Now a sophomore, Dypwick is coming off an All-GNAC Honorable Mention season where she batted .304 with 35 hits, collecting a trio of doubles and triples, four home runs, 24 RBIs and 20 runs, while tying for a team-high eight steals. Fellow sophomore Grace Hood will also try to build on a solid year one with the 'Jackets, where she hit .280 in 28 games, totaling 14 hits, two doubles, two triples, two home runs, eight runs, and nine RBIs.
 
After playing in limited action with an injury last season, Alexis Tovar will step back to the plate for her senior season. Tovar played in just four games in 2025, but was a key bat for the Yellowjackets the previous season, hitting .280 across 37 games and blasting 26 hits, five doubles, a pair of home runs and ten RBIs.
 
MSUB also returns a pair of players capable of making an impact as two-way options. Sophomore Avery Gray hit five home runs and collected 13 RBIs for MSUB in her freshman year, collecting 16 while stepping up to play third base in games. Gray would also make 17 appearances in the circle for the 'Jackets, pitching a total of 19 innings and will look to build upon her first season of collegiate action. Meanwhile, Ashley Akers batted .293 with 17 hits last season, collecting four doubles, one home run, and 12 RBIs at the plate, while emerging as a pitching option late in the season for MSUB, making three appearances. Behind them, options like Emily Brevig provide additional depth in the outfield, with the sophomore also swiping three bags last season, while Kendall Klemp provides some familiarity behind the dish, and Mia Andersen returns after seeing time in the infield.
 
In the pitching department, the Yellowjackets do return a few options from last season. Elaina Troxell returns for her senior season, with the lefty helping get the team out of some big jams late in games last season, including collecting her first career save. Shelby Wasilewski will also be back in the fold as a junior after making 11 appearances last year.
 
Rounding out the roster is the addition of ten newcomers, nine freshman and one transfer, who will look to hit the ground running for the Yellowjackets this season. Sticking with the theme of two-way players, MSUB welcomes the talents of freshmen Josie Theilen and Danica Butler, both of whom have experience playing both in the infield and in the circle. And a Helena local, Faith Howard provides another strong arm for MSUB as a pitcher, with the freshman having collected a 15-2 record with a 1.42 ERA last season at Helena High School. The three will help MSUB fill innings this season for a young pitching group that will have to work together to win games.
 
"We've got eight people throwing right now, and I think they all compliment each other well," Yegge said. "We lost our two main arms from last year, but even the people we relied on for a few innings last year luck much improved there from where they were last year. We've got a lot of depth in the circle. We're extremely young, so keeping them confident and helping them realize it's a different grind than coming out of high school. It's going to be nice that we're going to be able to have a different variety of pitchers out there. We'll probably pitch by platoon, and it'll look a little more baseball style. We're going to celebrate when we turn to an arm to get an out or two in the biggest spot in the game. Celebrating our wins and not dwelling on our failures is going to help our crew build up their confidence as the season goes on and they get used to the pace and the grind."
 
Another Montana local in switch-hitting freshman Cazz Rankosky will enter the program as a catcher, having helped Glacier High School win two state titles in three years, earning All-State honors multiple times along the way. And supplementing the Yellowjacket's depth are a number of exciting freshmen options in Delaney Vazquez, Brooklyn Brauer, Jillian Karsjen, Destiny Villas, and Cami Hearn, all of whom have the opportunity to break out and make an impact early in their collegiate careers.
 
Rounding out the list of newcomers for MSUB is it's lone transfer in Lina Delgado, who makes her way to Billings after two seasons at Missouri Western. Delgado saw most of her action in 2024, where in 17 games she had 19 at bats, collecting four hits and three RBIs.
 
The Road Ahead
 
The Yellowjackets open the season this week in Minot, ND with a trio of doubleheaders from January 30-February 1, taking on Minot State, University of Mary, and Black Hills State. That kicks off a strong non-conference schedule that continues the following weekend as MSUB makes it's way to Colorado for back-to-back doubleheaders against Metro State Denver and Colorado School of Mines from February 7-8.
 
The next two weeks see the 'Jackets take part in a pair of tournaments, getting five games in in each location. They head first to Topeka, Kansas to compete in the Washburn Invitational, facing off against Fort Hays State, Washburn, Central Missouri, Northwest Missouri State, and Central Oklahoma from February 20-22. Following that from February 27-March 1, the Yellowjackets head west to participate in the West Region Softball Crossover Tournament, going up against region opponents in Cal State San Marcos, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Stanislaus State, Chico State, and Cal Poly Humboldt.
 
Following that, MSUB opens up GNAC play with a pair of road trips to Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser the next two weeks of March, finally returning to Billings for it's first home series of the year against Simon Fraser from March 27-28. The Yellowjackets hit the road again to begin April with a trip to Western Oregon, before rounding out non-conference play with a pair of games against Division I competition, heading to Missoula on April 7 to face off against Montana. The Yellowjackets then host two consecutive home weekends, bringing Western Washington to town from April 10-11 and Northwest Nazarene in on April 17-18, with the 18^th marking senior day and MSUB's final home games of the season. The 'Jackets then conclude the regular season with one more series on the road against Central Washington, with the final date of the regular season set for April 25. The GNAC Championships are set for May 1-3 at Halle Field on the campus of Northwest Nazarene, with the top four teams in the GNAC Standings punching their tickets.
 
A full detailed 2026 schedule for the Yellowjackets can be found online here.
 
How to Follow the Yellowjackets
 
All of MSUB's conference games this season will be streamed live on the GNAC Network. Live statistics will be available here for all home Yellowjacket softball games. Yellowjacket softball runs a cashless ticket system for all home contests, with tickets available to purchase for the season online here. Admission to all MSUB home events is free for Yellowjacket students and staff, as well as children eighth grade and under.