Upcoming Event: Softball versus Weber State on October 14, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
Softball
vs Weber State
Friday, February 7
Tempe, Ariz.
9 a.m.
University of Utah
vs
Minnesota
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
With a Host of New Faces and in a New Conference, Utah Softball Ready for 50th Season
2/3/2025 1:01 PM | Softball
A trip to Tempe for five games in three days gets the 2025 campaign underway
SALT LAKE CITY – In each of the last two seasons, the University of Utah softball team battled its way into contention for conference tournament titles and earned berths in the NCAA Tournament. Now, with a new core of players that includes nine first-year Utes, coach Amy Hogue is preparing to guide her team into its first season of competition in the Big 12, which is also the 50th season of Utah Softball.
Utah is preparing to begin a 54-game 2025 slate that will start with five contests at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., a place the Utes started the season for seven straight years from 2016 – 22. The first pitch of the new year will be thrown on Friday at 9 a.m., when Utah will square off with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. One day later, the Hogue's squad will renew acquaintances with the No. 21 California Golden Bears at 9 a.m., followed by a 1:30 p.m. affair with the Maryland Terrapins. A 9 a.m. game against the Miami (OH) Redhawks and an 11:15 a.m. rematch against Minnesota are on the docket for Sunday.
Feb. 7 – 9 Schedule
How to Follow
Fans can follow each game via links to live stats on UtahUtes.com or by following Utah Softball on Twitter at @Utah_Softball and Instagram at @utahsoftball. Unfortunately, there will not be a live video stream of any of Utah's games in Tempe.
Back in the Fold
While the Utes will showcase a host of new faces in 2025, they'll still be able to count on a group of returners that includes Big 12 Preseason Team pick and 2024 all-conference selection Kaylah Nelsen, as well as 2024 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honorees Shonty Passi and Reese Lee.
Nelsen excelled in all phases during her junior year, providing a solid glove at first base while crafting a .370 average, driving in a team-best 41 runs, leading the Pac-12 in doubles with 16 and striking out only five times in over 180 at-bats. Nelsen was also tops on the team in multi-RBI games, collecting 14 and put together a consecutive on-base streak that covered 26 games and saw her reach base safely in every game her team played in April.
Passi spent the final month of the season raising her average by over 100 points, batting .487 over Utah's final 13 regular season games, then punctuating that hot streak with a game-winning, three-run homer in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament against No. 22 Oregon. Lee batted .273 in conference play during her rookie year while also logging four outfield assists.
The Utes' offensive attack will also be able to rely on outfielder Shelbi Ortiz, who hit .338 with a .608 slugging percentage in 2023, catcher Kendall Lundberg, who's career stat line includes a .288 average and six home runs and infielder Hailee White, a junior with a .310 lifetime average across 29 at-bats. Also expected to contribute at the plate are junior Emily Capobianco, sophomores Taylor Jacobs and Sianni Sakai and freshman Jolie Mayfield.
On the pitching staff, Utah's returners are Jacobs, Brooklyn Carreon and Raci Miranda, all of whom made their Utah debuts in the circle in 2024. Carreon picked up the first victory of her career in 2024 and held Stanford to just a single run in 3 2/3 innings in her first career start in March. Jacobs logged her first collegiate save a season ago with an inning of clutch relief against Arizona State.
New Utes
The 2025 Utes have added nine new faces into the mix, with a signing class composed of six freshmen and three transfers, all of whom will have opportunities to contribute during their first year at Utah.
All three transfers come from programs that did plenty of winning in 2024, including outfielder Hailey Deter, who spent last year helping the Liberty Flames capture regular season and tournament titles in Conference USA and reach the final of the NCAA Athens Regional while slugging .462 for the Flames.
During her sophomore season, utility player Kayla Lyon was an all-conference performer thanks in part to a stat line that included a .393 average, nine homers and 44 RBIs. She also led Cal Baptist to a program-record 33 wins and posted their best conference series record since joining the WAC.
Pitcher Shelbee Jones joins the Utes from Salt Lake Community College, where she posted a .468/.608/.885 slash line, smacked 17 homers, collected 14 wins and 187 strikeouts and helped the Bruins earn the No. 1 seed in the Region 18 Tournament. She also took home five pitcher of the week awards.
Utah's freshmen class includes pitcher Hailey Maestretti, who earned spots on the Softball America and D1Softball Freshman Watch Lists after a high school career that saw her named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado in 2023. Extra Inning Softball and MaxPreps also selected her as an All-American. Joining Maestretti on the staff is right-hander Candace Tarle, who helped her team win a pair of Western League Championships during her career at Cathedral Catholic High School.
Getting ready to step into the collegiate batter's box for the first time is a group that consist of catcher Kennedy Proctor, infielder Rio Mendez and outfielders Marley Espiau and Charlee-Rose Stevens. Proctor was an all-league and all-CIF selection, as well as being chosen as a team captain multiple times, while Mendez was picked to the All-American Watch List in 2022 and 2023. Espiau was named all-state by three different publications during her prep career, while Stevens was honorable mention all-state and helped her club teams capture West Coast World Series 16u and USSSA West Coast National Championships.
Team 50
The 2025 campaign is the 50th season of competition for Utah Softball, which began in 1976, and Hogue and her squad will be attempting add to a long list of memorable moments and incredible accomplishments that have defined the program throughout its history.
Over the course of 49 previous seasons, the Utes have reached the AIAW or NCAA Women's College World Series six times, earned 23 trips to regionals, collected 18 conference regular season or tournament championships and produced 20 All-Americans. Seven former Utah softball players have also been inducted into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame.
Seven different people have held the title of head coach or co-head coach for Utah softball, but Norma Carr, Jo Evans, Mona Stevens and Amy Hogue have been the main stewards of the program throughout its history. Each collected more than 200 wins during their time as head coach, Carr, Evans and Hogue all guided the Utes to the Women's College World Series during their tenures, while Stevens helmed Utah to championships in the Mountain West Conference in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
Utah's 20 All-American selections have been piled up by 15 players, starting with outfielder Melonie Kent in 1981. Four Utes, Charmelle Green, Sandy Rhea, Hannah Flippen and Ellessa Bonstrom earned All-American honors in multiple seasons, with Flippen being the only three-time All-American in school history. In 1985, 1994 and 2023, the Utes fielded teams with multiple All-Americans and in all three of those campaigns, they reached the Women's College World Series.
Scouting the Opposition
The Utes will be tested by four teams during their time in Arizona, three of whom finished 2024 with winning records, including the 21st-ranked Golden Bears and the Redhawks, who won the MAC with a conference record of 26-1.
The Golden Gophers will be embarking on a campaign they hope will get them back to the NCAA Tournament after they were left out of postseason play in 2024 for the first time in more than a decade. The group that will try to accomplish that feat includes all-region and All-Big 10 First-Team catcher Taylor Krapf, as well as freshmen Tinley Easton, Cameron Chard and Jae Cosgriff, all of whom were named to Softball America's Freshman Watch List.
The Bears are able to call upon the services of Preseason All-Americans Elon Butler and Acacia Anders, both of whom received those honors from Softball America. The Terrapins, meanwhile, will be fielding a roster that includes all-conference returners Mazie Macfarlane and Sydney Lewis, as well as nearly a dozen underclassmen.
Miami is beginning the season under a new leader following the hiring of head coach Mandy Gardner-Colegate in June. After spending the past two seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Iowa, Gardner-Colegate is now at the helm of a team seeking a fourth-straight MAC Tournament title and led by 2024 All-American and 2023 MAC Player of the Year Jenna Golembiewski.
Amy Hogue Milestone Watch
Head coach Amy Hogue can already lay claim to the title of the winningest coach in Utah softball history, a milestone she reached in 2022 and one year later, she earned her 400th victory at the helm of the program, as well as her 600th overall. Hogue enters the 2025 campaign needing 25 more victories to reach 500 as Utah head coach amd 28 to reach 700 in her career as a head coach.
Kaylah Makes the Cut
After a breakout 2024 campaign that saw her earn All-Pac-12 Second-Team status, Kaylah Nelsen earned preseason recognition in the form of a spot on the Big 12 Preseason Team. Nelsen spent 2024 batting .370, leading the Pac-12 in doubles and finishing in the top 10 in the league in hits and RBIs. She also provided Utah with solid defense at first base and earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team.
For Openers
In 17 previous season openers under Amy Hogue, the Utes own a record of 12-5, which includes seven wins in their last eight lid-lifters. The last time Utah opened the year against a Big 10 program was in 2020, when they earned a 3-2 triumph over No. 14 Northwestern.
Coming Back to the Classic
The Utes have returned to the Kajikawa Classic for the first time since 2022, but they started every season at this event from 2016-22. Utah's overall record at the classic over that time was 25-11 and include a pair of 5-0 weekends in Tempe, first in 2017 and again in 2020.
Schedule Facts
Utah will be tasked with navigating a difficult schedule in their first year in the Big 12, as the team's slate includes 10 squads who garnered a spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason poll and three more that received votes. That group includes No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Texas Tech, who the Utes will meet in conference play, and No. 6 UCLA and No. 9 LSU, who the Utes will meet on Feb. 28 in back-to-back games at the Judi Garman Classic.
The 2025 regular season schedule will also take the Utes to Arizona, California, Idaho, Texas and Oklahoma before the 2025 Big 12 Tournament, which will be held at Devon Park in Oklahoma City from May 7 – 10.
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2025 campaign are now available. Fans can purchase season tickets by calling the Utah ticket office at 801-581-8849 or visit www.utahtickets.com/softball/.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitte |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
Utah is preparing to begin a 54-game 2025 slate that will start with five contests at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., a place the Utes started the season for seven straight years from 2016 – 22. The first pitch of the new year will be thrown on Friday at 9 a.m., when Utah will square off with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. One day later, the Hogue's squad will renew acquaintances with the No. 21 California Golden Bears at 9 a.m., followed by a 1:30 p.m. affair with the Maryland Terrapins. A 9 a.m. game against the Miami (OH) Redhawks and an 11:15 a.m. rematch against Minnesota are on the docket for Sunday.
Feb. 7 – 9 Schedule
| Date | Game | Live Stats |
| Feb. 7 | Utah vs. Minnesota | Live Stats |
| Feb. 8 | Utah vs. California | Live Stats |
| Feb. 8 | Utah vs. Maryland | Live Stats |
| Feb. 9 | Utah vs. Miami (OH) | Live Stats |
| Feb. 9 | Utah vs. Minnesota | Live Stats |
How to Follow
Fans can follow each game via links to live stats on UtahUtes.com or by following Utah Softball on Twitter at @Utah_Softball and Instagram at @utahsoftball. Unfortunately, there will not be a live video stream of any of Utah's games in Tempe.
Back in the Fold
While the Utes will showcase a host of new faces in 2025, they'll still be able to count on a group of returners that includes Big 12 Preseason Team pick and 2024 all-conference selection Kaylah Nelsen, as well as 2024 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honorees Shonty Passi and Reese Lee.
Nelsen excelled in all phases during her junior year, providing a solid glove at first base while crafting a .370 average, driving in a team-best 41 runs, leading the Pac-12 in doubles with 16 and striking out only five times in over 180 at-bats. Nelsen was also tops on the team in multi-RBI games, collecting 14 and put together a consecutive on-base streak that covered 26 games and saw her reach base safely in every game her team played in April.
Passi spent the final month of the season raising her average by over 100 points, batting .487 over Utah's final 13 regular season games, then punctuating that hot streak with a game-winning, three-run homer in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament against No. 22 Oregon. Lee batted .273 in conference play during her rookie year while also logging four outfield assists.
The Utes' offensive attack will also be able to rely on outfielder Shelbi Ortiz, who hit .338 with a .608 slugging percentage in 2023, catcher Kendall Lundberg, who's career stat line includes a .288 average and six home runs and infielder Hailee White, a junior with a .310 lifetime average across 29 at-bats. Also expected to contribute at the plate are junior Emily Capobianco, sophomores Taylor Jacobs and Sianni Sakai and freshman Jolie Mayfield.
On the pitching staff, Utah's returners are Jacobs, Brooklyn Carreon and Raci Miranda, all of whom made their Utah debuts in the circle in 2024. Carreon picked up the first victory of her career in 2024 and held Stanford to just a single run in 3 2/3 innings in her first career start in March. Jacobs logged her first collegiate save a season ago with an inning of clutch relief against Arizona State.
New Utes
The 2025 Utes have added nine new faces into the mix, with a signing class composed of six freshmen and three transfers, all of whom will have opportunities to contribute during their first year at Utah.
All three transfers come from programs that did plenty of winning in 2024, including outfielder Hailey Deter, who spent last year helping the Liberty Flames capture regular season and tournament titles in Conference USA and reach the final of the NCAA Athens Regional while slugging .462 for the Flames.
During her sophomore season, utility player Kayla Lyon was an all-conference performer thanks in part to a stat line that included a .393 average, nine homers and 44 RBIs. She also led Cal Baptist to a program-record 33 wins and posted their best conference series record since joining the WAC.
Pitcher Shelbee Jones joins the Utes from Salt Lake Community College, where she posted a .468/.608/.885 slash line, smacked 17 homers, collected 14 wins and 187 strikeouts and helped the Bruins earn the No. 1 seed in the Region 18 Tournament. She also took home five pitcher of the week awards.
Utah's freshmen class includes pitcher Hailey Maestretti, who earned spots on the Softball America and D1Softball Freshman Watch Lists after a high school career that saw her named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado in 2023. Extra Inning Softball and MaxPreps also selected her as an All-American. Joining Maestretti on the staff is right-hander Candace Tarle, who helped her team win a pair of Western League Championships during her career at Cathedral Catholic High School.
Getting ready to step into the collegiate batter's box for the first time is a group that consist of catcher Kennedy Proctor, infielder Rio Mendez and outfielders Marley Espiau and Charlee-Rose Stevens. Proctor was an all-league and all-CIF selection, as well as being chosen as a team captain multiple times, while Mendez was picked to the All-American Watch List in 2022 and 2023. Espiau was named all-state by three different publications during her prep career, while Stevens was honorable mention all-state and helped her club teams capture West Coast World Series 16u and USSSA West Coast National Championships.
Team 50
The 2025 campaign is the 50th season of competition for Utah Softball, which began in 1976, and Hogue and her squad will be attempting add to a long list of memorable moments and incredible accomplishments that have defined the program throughout its history.
Over the course of 49 previous seasons, the Utes have reached the AIAW or NCAA Women's College World Series six times, earned 23 trips to regionals, collected 18 conference regular season or tournament championships and produced 20 All-Americans. Seven former Utah softball players have also been inducted into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame.
Seven different people have held the title of head coach or co-head coach for Utah softball, but Norma Carr, Jo Evans, Mona Stevens and Amy Hogue have been the main stewards of the program throughout its history. Each collected more than 200 wins during their time as head coach, Carr, Evans and Hogue all guided the Utes to the Women's College World Series during their tenures, while Stevens helmed Utah to championships in the Mountain West Conference in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
Utah's 20 All-American selections have been piled up by 15 players, starting with outfielder Melonie Kent in 1981. Four Utes, Charmelle Green, Sandy Rhea, Hannah Flippen and Ellessa Bonstrom earned All-American honors in multiple seasons, with Flippen being the only three-time All-American in school history. In 1985, 1994 and 2023, the Utes fielded teams with multiple All-Americans and in all three of those campaigns, they reached the Women's College World Series.
Scouting the Opposition
The Utes will be tested by four teams during their time in Arizona, three of whom finished 2024 with winning records, including the 21st-ranked Golden Bears and the Redhawks, who won the MAC with a conference record of 26-1.
The Golden Gophers will be embarking on a campaign they hope will get them back to the NCAA Tournament after they were left out of postseason play in 2024 for the first time in more than a decade. The group that will try to accomplish that feat includes all-region and All-Big 10 First-Team catcher Taylor Krapf, as well as freshmen Tinley Easton, Cameron Chard and Jae Cosgriff, all of whom were named to Softball America's Freshman Watch List.
The Bears are able to call upon the services of Preseason All-Americans Elon Butler and Acacia Anders, both of whom received those honors from Softball America. The Terrapins, meanwhile, will be fielding a roster that includes all-conference returners Mazie Macfarlane and Sydney Lewis, as well as nearly a dozen underclassmen.
Miami is beginning the season under a new leader following the hiring of head coach Mandy Gardner-Colegate in June. After spending the past two seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Iowa, Gardner-Colegate is now at the helm of a team seeking a fourth-straight MAC Tournament title and led by 2024 All-American and 2023 MAC Player of the Year Jenna Golembiewski.
Amy Hogue Milestone Watch
Head coach Amy Hogue can already lay claim to the title of the winningest coach in Utah softball history, a milestone she reached in 2022 and one year later, she earned her 400th victory at the helm of the program, as well as her 600th overall. Hogue enters the 2025 campaign needing 25 more victories to reach 500 as Utah head coach amd 28 to reach 700 in her career as a head coach.
Kaylah Makes the Cut
After a breakout 2024 campaign that saw her earn All-Pac-12 Second-Team status, Kaylah Nelsen earned preseason recognition in the form of a spot on the Big 12 Preseason Team. Nelsen spent 2024 batting .370, leading the Pac-12 in doubles and finishing in the top 10 in the league in hits and RBIs. She also provided Utah with solid defense at first base and earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team.
For Openers
In 17 previous season openers under Amy Hogue, the Utes own a record of 12-5, which includes seven wins in their last eight lid-lifters. The last time Utah opened the year against a Big 10 program was in 2020, when they earned a 3-2 triumph over No. 14 Northwestern.
Coming Back to the Classic
The Utes have returned to the Kajikawa Classic for the first time since 2022, but they started every season at this event from 2016-22. Utah's overall record at the classic over that time was 25-11 and include a pair of 5-0 weekends in Tempe, first in 2017 and again in 2020.
Schedule Facts
Utah will be tasked with navigating a difficult schedule in their first year in the Big 12, as the team's slate includes 10 squads who garnered a spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason poll and three more that received votes. That group includes No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Texas Tech, who the Utes will meet in conference play, and No. 6 UCLA and No. 9 LSU, who the Utes will meet on Feb. 28 in back-to-back games at the Judi Garman Classic.
The 2025 regular season schedule will also take the Utes to Arizona, California, Idaho, Texas and Oklahoma before the 2025 Big 12 Tournament, which will be held at Devon Park in Oklahoma City from May 7 – 10.
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2025 campaign are now available. Fans can purchase season tickets by calling the Utah ticket office at 801-581-8849 or visit www.utahtickets.com/softball/.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitte |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
Players Mentioned
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INF
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