Notes: Campbell Softball Tournament

LOOKING BACK
The University of Iowa softball team went 4-0 at the MUSB Invitational I. The Hawkeyes scored 33 total runs with 12 homeruns over four 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 RADFORD
The Highlanders are 2-2 after finishing 30-26 last season. Head coach Kevin Fagan is in his second season. Radford went 14-4 in conference play in 2025 and won the Big South regular-season title. Consaul was named Big South Coach of the Year, and Dakota Redmon earned Pitcher of the Year honors.

Redmon made 33 appearances with 23 starts, posting a team-high 2.40 ERA in 178 innings with 129 strikeouts and a .231 opponent average. Morgan Cooper was recently named Big South Pitcher of the Week after throwing 11 scoreless innings.

Radford was picked No. 1 in the Big South 2026 Preseason Softball Poll, with five players earning preseason all-conference honors. Iowa faces Radford for the fourth time in program history.

SCOUTING CAMPBELL
Campbell enters the weekend with a 7-2 record in 2026. The Fighting Camels finished fourth in the CAA last season with a 19-8 conference mark and a 37-20 overall record. Head coach Emily Carosone is in her second season leading Campbell.

The Camels were picked second in the 2026 CAA Coaches Poll. Senior Allyiah Swiney earned CAA Player of the Week honors after batting .462/.600/.846. The outfielder leads the team with 10 RBIs and two home runs. Infielder Amber DeSena has a team-high 15 hits to go along with nine RBIs and eight runs scored.

Freshman pitcher Katelyn Hubley has posted a 2.92 ERA in 24 innings with 20 strikeouts. Swiney and DeSena were joined by Hannah Cornetto and Charlie Montgomery on the 2026 preseason All-CAA team.

The Campbell Softball Tournament marks the 10th meeting between the Hawkeyes and Camels.

SCOUTING MIAMI (OHIO)
After a trip to the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament, Miami (Ohio) is 5-4 in 2026. Head coach Mandy Gardner-Colegate is in her second season. In her first year, she was named 2025 MAC Co-Coach of the Year. Gardner-Colegate spent the previous two seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Iowa before becoming head coach at Miami (Ohio). 
                                                                                                                       
The RedHawks are the reigning MAC regular-season and tournament champions and were picked to finish first in the 2026 MAC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll. Junior Bailey Manos leads the team with 11 RBIs and is tied for first with two home runs. Presley Hosick anchors the pitching staff with a 2.31 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings.

The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series, 5-3.

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.

THAT'S OUTTA HERE
The Hawkeyes currently rank 19th nationally in home runs with 16. 12 of them were hit this past weekend at the MUSB Invitational I. Of Iowa’s 75 total hits, 34 of them went for extra bases.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Iowa is three-for-three in double steal attempts.

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

• Junior Devin Simon currently has nine runs scored and four stolen bases, leading the team in both categories. The outfielder is also tied for second in RBIs with eight. She logged two homeruns on day one of the MUSB Invitaional I, recording a solo shot in each contest.
• Senior Tory Bennett collected two home runs at MUSB Invitational I. She has a .409 average with four RBIs, and ranks second on the team in runs scored with seven.
•Avery Jackson is one of two Hawkeyes to have started in all nine games this season. The infielder is batting .409 with six RBIs and four runs scored. She also currently holds a .955 fielding percentage. 

IMMEMDIATE IMPACT
• Freshman McKenzie Leitgen leads the team in home runs (5) and RBIs (11). She homered in her first collegiate at-bat and on Friday, Feb. 13, Iowa was down 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh against Army. With the bases loaded, Leitgen was called to pinch-hit and knocked a walk-off grandslam to give the Hawkeyes the win.
• Sophomore Kiara Sipe has started in all seven games she appeared in. The Fresno State transfer currently slashes .389/.455/.889 with two round-trippers, eight RBIs and six runs scored. In Iowa’s walk-off win over UConn, she collected two, two run doubles, with the second serving as the game winner.
• Avery Sapp currently holds a 3.29 ERA  with 12 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. She earned her first win of the season after three innings of relief  in Iowa’s 8-6 comeback victory over Western Kentucky. 

UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action Feb. 27- 28, traveling to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the LSU Invitational. The Hawkeyes will face Nicholls State, Memphis and LSU over two days at Tiger Park.