The 2024 Pac-12 season gets underway Thursday, Feb. 8 with a slew of top matchups on deck throughout the weekend. 

No. 7 Washington is set to face two top-25 opponents this weekend at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, including reigning National Champion No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday, Feb. 9. It's the second-straight time the Huskies will face Oklahoma in a season-opening tournament.

No. t-3 Stanford has three top-25 showdowns this weekend, two of which come against No. 25 Kentucky and another against host No. 24 San Diego State at the SDSU Season Kickoff. No. 15 Oregon takes on No. 5 Clemson in the first-ever matchup between these two teams, which will air on MLB Network.

No. 10 UCLA takes on No. 8 Texas twice at the Stacy Minsberg Tournament and the Mark Campbell Invitational. The Bruins are also set to host No. 9 Oklahoma State on ESPN on Sunday, Feb. 11.

Arizona State hosts the Kajikawa Classic beginning this Thursday, and Pac-12 Networks is set to air all five of the Sun Devils’ contests throughout the weekend.

Quick Hits

• No. 13 Utah’s contest against Notre Dame on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic will be televised on MLB Network as the first-ever live collegiate softball game to be broadcast on the channel. No. 15 Oregon versus No. 5 Clemson will also air on MLB Network that day to round out the broadcast tripleheader.  
• 11 Pac-12 players are on USA Softball’s Top 50 “Watch List” for Player of the Year: Maya Brady, UCLA; NiJaree Canady, STAN; Megan Grant, UCLA; Stevie Hansen, ORE; Taryn Kern, STAN; Mariah Lopez, UTAH; Ruby Meylan, WASH; Sharlize Palacios, UCLA; Carlie Scupin, ARIZ; Allie Skaggs, ARIZ; Jordan Woolery, UCLA.  
• Brady, Canady, Kern and Woolery were named First Team Preseason All-Americans by D1Softball, while Meylan, Palacios, Supin and Skaggs were named to the Second Team.  
• The Pac-12 returns 12 First-Team All-Conference members from a season ago: Tatum Anzaldo (CAL); Aliya Belarde (UTAH), Brady (UCLA), Canady, (STAN), Abby Dayton (UTAH), Grant (UCLA), Dakota Kennedy (ARIZ), Lopez (UTAH), River Mahler (STAN), Meylan (WASH), Skaggs (ARIZ), Woolery (UCLA). 

Rankings Rundown

• No. t-3 Stanford paces the Pac-12 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll. The Cardinal is followed by No. 7 Washington, No. 10 UCLA, No. 13 Utah and No. 15 Oregon, while California and Arizona are receiving votes. The league’s three teams in the NFCA top ten is tied with the Big 12 for the most, and the five teams in the top-25 are the second most of any other conference. 
• 77.8% of the league (7/9) is represented in the NFCA poll, with 55.6% (5/9) ranked in the top 25. 
• D1Softball: No. 2 Stanford, No. 9 UCLA, No. 10 Washington, No. t-14 Oregon, No. t-14 Utah. 
• Softball America: No. 4 Stanford, No. 10 UCLA, No. 13 Utah, No. 16 Oregon, No. 22 Washington. 
• ESPN.com/USA Softball: No. 3 Stanford, No. 8 UCLA, No. 10 Washington, NO. 13 Oregon, No. 16 Utah, RV Arizona State.

Conference Notebook

• Arizona: The Wildcats welcome back seven starting position players and four pitchers from a season ago, including Blaise Biringer, Olivia DiNardo, Kennedy, Scupin and Skaggs.  
• Arizona State: The Sun Devils have 10 newcomers suiting up this season, including six transfers. Jordyn VanHook, who led the league in home runs last season with 19, returns for her final collegiate campaign in 2024. 
• California: Preseason All-Pac-12 honoree Anzaldo returns for her fifth season in 2024. The infielder led the team with a .383 batting average in 2023, and began 2022 with a 14-game hit streak. 
• Oregon: The Ducks return 98% of their innings pitched and 96% of their strikeouts from last season, as well as all of their wins and saves. RHP Hansen returns for her junior season following a dominant 2023 campaign in which she led the team with 110 strikeouts while going 20-7 with a 2.63 ERA in the circle. 
• Oregon State: Oregon State adds College World Series experience in grad transfer Logan Hulon this season. Hulon joins the beavers from Texas where she led the Longhorns to the 2022 WCWC, striking out 15 over 21.1 innings that season. 
• Stanford: Canady and Mahler look to build off of their dominate freshman campaigns in 2024, and will be joined by fellow sophomore Kern who transfers in from Indiana. Kern was named the Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year after hitting .404 with 23 home runs and 65 RBI for the Hoosiers a season ago. 
• UCLA: The Bruins boast four on USA Softball’s Top 50 “Watch List” for Player of the Year in Brady, Grant, Palacios and Woolery, which are the second most honorees nationally.  
• Utah: The Utes enter the season with their highest-ever USA Today/NFCA preseason ranking at No. 13. Utah is coming off a season in which they won the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament and made the programs first WCWC appearance since 1994. 
• Washington: The Huskies made their 29th straight NCAA Tournament appearance last season and reached the WCWC for the eighth time under head coach Heather Tarr. NFCA Third-Team All-American Meylan returns after putting together an 18-7 record with a 2.14 ERA and 204 strikeouts in 2023.

Preseason Coaches Poll

• Stanford received seven first-place votes and 63 total points to finish atop the 2024 preseason coaches poll for the first time in Pac-12 history. Reigning regular-season champion UCLA was second with 54 points, while Utah came in third with 49 points and one first-place vote. Washington grabbed the remaining first-place vote and 45 points to finish fourth. 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year and Batting Champion Brady of UCLA headlined the 20-member Preseason All-Pac-12 Team. 

2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament

• Stanford’s Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium will host the 2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament, which takes place from May 8-11. The four-day event will begin with a play-in game between the eighth and ninth-place teams in the regular-season standings on Wednesday. That winner will advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship being contested on the following three days. The winner of the Pac-12 Softball Tournament will receive the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Historically Speaking

• The nation’s most successful softball conference, Pac-12 programs have combined to win 24 of the 40 NCAA softball championships all-time, 17 more than the next closest league, and all nine Pac-12 teams have made appearances in the Women’s College World Series. Of the 13 different programs to have won an NCAA softball championship, five are from the Pac-12: UCLA (12), Arizona (8), Arizona State (2), California (1) and Washington (1). The Pac-12 sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, with three teams advancing to the Women’s College World Series, the most of any other conference. 

Upcoming Schedule (Full Schedule)