Softball opens up the 2026 season at the Big Region Season Preview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - After the cancellation of the Carson-Newman Classic, mixed with some more schedule tinkering, the waiting is finally over. Carson-Newman softball returns to the diamond tomorrow with a trip to Johnson City for the Big Region Season Preview, hosted by King University. The Eagles will face three teams from the Mountain East and one from Conference Carolinas to open the 2026 season.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | X | 6 | 14 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | X | 6 | 8 | 0 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - After the cancellation of the Carson-Newman Classic, mixed with some more schedule tinkering, the waiting is finally over. Carson-Newman softball returns to the diamond tomorrow with a trip to Johnson City for the Big Region Season Preview, hosted by King University. The Eagles will face three teams from the Mountain East and one from Conference Carolinas to open the 2026 season.
It starts on Sunday at 12 p.m. as C-N shakes off the cobwebs in its series against Glenville State to open the 2026 season. The two sides last tangled on March 5th, 2011, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at the Mid-South Classic. It was the first of two wins on that day, the second over Francis Marion, which resulted in Vickee Kazee-Hollifield's 900th career win. The Eagles close out Day 1 later in the afternoon against Concord, a team they beat twice last season in the Eagle Invitational. All-time Carson-Newman is 13-4 against the Mountain Lions and has won the last eight meetings.
On Day 2, it begins bright and early with Davis & Elkins. The Eagles and Senators squared off for the first time since 2015 last year, a 7-4 win for C-N. The trip to Johnson City closes with a contest against Converse. C-N won the meeting last season, 6-5. The Eagles are 7-0 all-time against the Valkeries, and these sides will see each other for a two-game set on February 24th in Spartanburg.
Carson-Newman is 35-3 all-time in season openers after starting 2025 with an 8-0 win over Kentucky State. Carson-Newman has won its opener in four consecutive years after King had snapped a nine-year win streak on opening day, 8-2, to kick off 2021. Carson-Newman has won its season opener in run-rule fashion in three of the last six years. Carson-Newman's only three season-opening losses have come to King (2021), Bellarmine (2012) and Radford (1996).
Head coach Michael Graves enters his eighth season at the helm of C-N. He is just two victories away from a milestone mark of 200 career wins. He is eyeing a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2023 season.
Carson-Newman slotted in at fourth in the annual South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches' poll. This marks the third consecutive year that C-N was picked to finish fourth to begin the season.
"It's good that the other coaches think highly of our program, they know we lost a lot, but we also return some of the better players in the conference," head coach Michael Graves said. "They know we can reload our roster from year to year. In saying that, we still have to go out there and play the games."
The Eagles finished the 2025 season with a 28-20 record, just missing out on an NCAA Tournament bid. The three teams picked in front of C-N, and the one behind, all made it to the big dance last season.
Macauley Bailey headlines the returners for the Eagles. The senior is coming off a 2025 campaign in which she set career marks and etched her name in C-N history, becoming the all-time home run and RBI leader. In the build-up to 2026, Bailey was named to the Preseason All-SAC Team at third base.
Seniors, Santana Anderson, Grace Gregory and Abbi Martin were all named SAC Players to Watch alongside freshman newcomer Mayliah Smith.
This trip to Johnson City marks the first of three early-season jamborees that C-N will participate in. Next week, on February 13th and 14th, the Eagles will travel to Hardeville, South Carolina, for the Low Country Classic hosted by USC-Beaufort, before closing out February and opening up March with a three-day affair in Raleigh, North Carolina, with the Triangle Classic.
First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m. from the James K. Ellis Softball Complex at Winged Deer Park. The game can be heard on cneagles.com/live. Fans can also watch the radio crew at work via a press row feed on YouTube.
