SAN ANTONIO — New faces abound in the dugout for the 2026 St. Mary's University Softball team as first-year Head Coach
Taylor Lira announces the schedule for her first campaign.
Lira brought in 13 new players, along with her coaching staff, to complement 13 returners, as the Rattlers take on a tough 13-game non-conference slate before facing the always stiff competition from the Lone Star Conference.
StMU will compete in the DII First Pitch Invitational in Conroe, Texas, to open the year (Jan. 30-Feb. 1). The team will then head to Bentonville, Ark., to take part in the Alvy Early Memorial Classic for the first time, where they play two games each day (Feb. 6-8).
The Rattlers will face Mississippi College (Jan. 30), Harding (Feb. 6), and William Jewell (Feb. 7) for the first time in school history on the diamond and will square off against Chadron State (Jan. 31) and Missouri S&T (Feb. 6) for only the second time and the first time since 2014 and 1996, respectively. The final non-conference games will be a doubleheader against Our Lady of the Lake on Feb. 17 at The Park at St. Mary's.
The conference format for 2026 will consist of 40 games set up in doubleheaders on Fridays and Sundays, with 20 home games and 20 road games, playing each team twice, with four teams in a second doubleheader. The top nine teams will qualify for the Lone Star Conference Championship.
The Rattlers open up league play with the Battle of the Saints, hosting St. Edward's on Feb. 15. StMU will also host Western New Mexico (Feb. 20), Sul Ross State (Feb. 22), Midwestern State (Mar. 6), Lubbock Christian (Mar. 8), Texas Woman's (Mar. 20), defending national champion UT Tyler (Mar. 22), league newcomer UT Dallas (Apr. 3), Angelo State (Apr. 19), and UT Permian Basin (Apr. 20). Senior Day ceremonies will take place after game two against Angelo State.
For the complete competition schedule, please click
here. Softball fans are aware that due to the unpredictable spring weather, all dates and times are subject to change. Updates will be announced on rattlerathletics.com.
