Notes: Hawkeyes Travel To Macon Georgia For MUSB Invitational I

LOOKING BACK
The University of Iowa softball team went 3-2 on opening weekend. The Hawkeyes scored 28 total runs with four home runs and 15 doubles over five games.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Seven Hawkeyes hail from Iowa, five from California, three from Arizona, two from Illinois and one from Utah, Massachusetts, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida, Oregon and Ohio. Iowa has one international player from Australia. The roster is comprised of five seniors, six juniors, four true sophomores and one redshirt, and eight true freshman and one redshirt. The team returns 11 players from the 2025 roster, including 10 letterwinners, and welcomes 14 newcomers.

SCOUTING ARMY
The Black Knights started their season 2-3 after finishing with a 35-22 record in 2025. Head Coach Jen Consaul is in her third season at the helm. Army completed last season with a 16-2 conference record and claimed the Patriot League regular season championship. Consaul was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year, while current senior Ashton White was named Player of the Year. In the 2025 season, White was the only player to start all 57 games. White led the Black Knights in OPS (1.000), batting average (.389), hits (74), doubles (14), and RBIs (42). Receiving the No. 2 spot in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, the Black Knights also had multiple athletes named to the Preseason All-League team. Infielder Ashton White (also named the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year), infielder Taylor Brown, pitcher Katelyn Flanders, and outfielder Annie Christiana. Iowa faces Army for the first time in school history.

SCOUTING MERCER
Mercer started its 2026 season strong on a 5-0 run. The Bears were the Southern Conference champions last season, finishing with a 40-26 overall record and a 11-9 conference record. Mercer was named fifth in the Southern Conference preseason coaches’ poll. Head Coach Chris Kuhlmeyer joined the Bears in June of 2025, after a six-year stint with UMBC. Mercer had one player, infielder/pitcher Grace Jones, listed to the Preseason All-Conference team. The current sophomore was named to the 2025 So-Con All-Freshman team playing in all 66 games for the Bears with 65 starts. Jones finished last season hitting .307 with 10 extra-base hits, 44 RBIs and 34 runs scored. On the pitching diamond, Jones made seven appearances with six starts. Striking out 17 batters in 26.2 innings pitched, collectingthree wins as a pitcher. This will be the second time the Hawkeyes meet the Bears. The first being in 2007, where Iowa took the victory over Mercer 13-6.

SCOUTING WESTERN KENTUCKY
Western Kentucky begins its season 4-1 after closing out last season 30-21-1. Former Hilltopper Amy Tudor leads Western Kentucky in her 13th season as the Head Coach. The Hilltoppers earned fourth place in the 2026 CUSA Preseason Poll. Iowa meets Western Kentucky for the third time in program history. Leading the all-time series 2-1, the Hawkeyes most recent win was in 2024, where they claimed an 8-0 victory.

PLAYING THE BEST
The Hawkeyes are set to face 10 teams that made the 2025 NCAA Tournament: Florida State, Georgia State, Indiana, LSU, Mercer, Miami (Ohio), Nebraska, Oregon, UConn and Washington

NEW YEAR, NEW STAFF
• Stacy May-Johnson, who is in her first season as Iowa’s head coach, brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience -- six as a head coach -- to the program. The Nevada native has posted a 148-141 record in stops at Utah Valley and Fresno State. Before returning to Iowa, May-Johnson was head coach at Fresno State for four seasons. She led the Bulldogs to 37 wins and a runner-up finish in the Mountain West Championship.

• Bobby Alvara joins the Hawkeye staff after serving as May-Johnson’s pitching coach at Fresno State. 

• Fran Strub joins the program after spending four seasons as an assitant coach at Boise State.

• Ally Miklesh joins the staff after one season as an assitant coach at Indiana.

VETERAN LEADERSHIP
Seven of Iowa’s 11 returners are upperclassmen, with four being seniors.

•  Senior Tory Bennett appeared in five games with three starts, batting .500 on the season. Three of her four hits have been for extra bases. Bennett has also recorded two sacrifice hits and one sacrifice fly.

•  Echo Mattiello has lead off for the Hawkeyes in every contest. She currently boasts a .533 on-base percentage and leads the team in walks with two.

•  Devin Simon is 5-11 on the season with two RBIs and four runs scored. She currently leads the team in stolen bases (2).

• Avery Jackson also went 5-11 at the JoAnne Graf Classic. The senior is tied for second on the team in RBIs (4) and recorded her first home run of the season, a solo to left, in Iowa’s come from behind win over UConn.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Two transfers and two freshman made an immediate impact in their Hawkeye debuts.

• Freshman Mariah Myers hit an RBI double in her first collegiate at-bat. Over five games she went 4-16 with three RBIs and three extra base hits, and she leads the team with five runs scored. In Iowa’s 3-2 comeback win over Samford on Saturday, Myers scored the game-winning run with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth.

• Junior catcher Leah McAnally, a transfer from Boise State, leads the team with seven RBIs. She is batting .250 with an .813 OPS.

•  Sophomore Kiara Sipe started in all three game she appeared in opening weekend. She went 2-9 with four rbis. Both of her hits were two run doubles in the Hawkeyes 10-9 walk-off win over UConn, with the second serving as the game winner.

• Freshman McKenzie Leitgen homered in her first career at-bat. She finished the weekend going 3-9 at the plate, with three hits going for extra bases. She recorded three RBIs and two runs scored over five appearances   

UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action Feb. 20-22, traveling to Buies Creek, North Carolina, for the Campbell Softball Tournament. The Hawkeyes will face Radford, Campbell and Miami (OH) over three days at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.