Troy softball gears up for 2026 season with big transfer class

              The Troy softball team is looking to continue their run of four straight conference tournament appearances this season. Head coach Eric Newell has been hard at work through the offseason looking to finally get to hold the Sun Belt Conference Trophy. 

Coach Newell started his offseason hiring a new pitching coach from Florida Atlantic, Coach Elizabeth Hightower. She was a standout pitcher at Florida and started as a pitching development coordinator at FAU.  

Newell also focused heavily on the transfer portal, managing to get four Power Four transfers, Ella Cunnigham from Michigan State, Kam Munson from NC State, Kyye Ricks from South Carolina, and Kiley Huffman from Texas Tech. With these new transfers, the Trojans seek to build on their 2025 team batting average of .307, their highest since 1995. 

Despite reaching into the transfer portal, the team did retain Mya Holt, Savannah Money and Esmee Ames from the pitching roster. That equates to around 169 total innings from last season returning to Troy.  

Troy hopes to retain the number of bases stolen from last season to this season. McKinnon Howard, Makaley Boswell and Megan Loftis all return after stealing 13 or more bases each last season, while also adding Ricks who stole 19 bases at South Carolina.  

With the stolen bases and pitching group, Newell is looking at a strong pitching roster and a speedy offense that can steal a bag without the other team knowing. 

The 2026 Troy softball schedule opens with three home tournaments. The first of these is marked by a doubleheader against Middle Tennessee and Chattanooga, both on Friday, Feb. 6 in the Trojan Classic. North Alabama and a rematch against Chattanooga follow on Saturday, Feb. 7. To round out the Trojan Classic, the Trojans will face Southern on Sunday, Feb. 8.  

To start the Cardinal Clash, Troy will play Central Arkansas, IU Indy, Radford and Alabama State from Feb. 13 to Feb. 18. For the Trojan Invitational, Troy will play Furman, Nicholls, Kennesaw State and Omaha from Feb. 20 to Feb. 22. Omaha opened the season in the top 10 of D1 Softball’s mid-major top 25 poll.  

After three straight home invitationals, Troy travels to Auburn, Alabama, to face two of the three Power Four schools on this year's schedule. They face Auburn, USC Upstate, and Virginia Tech on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27. Immediately following the Auburn Invitational, the Trojans will play Georgia Tech on the road, before going to Fort Myers, Florida, to play a three-game series against Florida Gulf Coast.  

After one game against Alabama State on the road, conference play starts for the Trojans as they face South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama.  

Following the South series, Troy will then go on to play Samford, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, Southern Miss, Florida A&M, Louisiana -- after beating the Cajuns in a series for the first time in program history -- West Georgia, Texas State, Georgia Southern, Florida A&M and Auburn again, ULM and Coastal Carolina.  

Following the conference slate, the Trojans will look to take on the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Lafayette, Louisiana. 

The 2026 campaign begins on Friday, Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m. against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders in the Troy Softball Complex.