For softball programs across the country, losing 27 games in a season and exiting the postseason in the first round is a season to forget. But for Quinnipiac, it’s remembering every one of those defeats as motivation to do what prior teams haven’t: take home championship gold.
“My vision has always been about putting Quinnipiac on the map,” Quinnipiac head coach Hillary Smith said. “Last year was just the first steps in doing that.”
Her attitude is reflected in the Bobcats’ No. 7 placement in the MAAC Preseason Poll, an increase of two spots from their 2025 campaign.
“They want it really bad,” Smith said. “They’re going to do whatever it takes to get there.”
Let’s break down what this season will look like for the Bobcats.
Schedule
Kicking off the season, the Bobcats open with two invitational tournaments. With the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Tournament in the rear view mirror, Quinnipiac travels across the country to Hampton, VA., to take part in the Norfolk State/Hampton Tournament.
From there, the Bobcats continue their road trip to Jersey City, N.J. and New Rochelle, N.Y., beginning MAAC play against the St. Peter’s Peacocks and the Iona Gaels, respectively, returning home March 18 to face the University of New Haven Chargers, a new opponent for the Bobcats.
The 2026 season sees conference and non-conference opponents sprinkled throughout their 30 game schedule. For the Bobcats, they’re staying ready for anything that MAAC play has to offer.
“We don’t prepare for the same thing every day,” senior infielder Sofia Vega said. “We are prepared to always be uncomfortable.”
On March 28 and 29, Quinnipiac will meet the Rider Broncs, the same team who bounced the Bobcats last May in a one-run defeat. Quinnipiac is not only hungry to avenge that loss, but to use it as motivation to get back to the MAAC Tournament.
“They got a taste of postseason success and they’ve been focused on that ever since we lost,” Smith said.
In order to achieve quantifiable results, Quinnipiac will need to take full advantage of opponents it doesn’t see every season to prepare itself for MAAC play.
New Faces
The 2026 campaign will welcome five freshmen to Hamden, comprising two position players, two pitchers and a two-way player. As always, new faces require a leadership group willing to mentor and teach. This year’s team is ready and willing to step up to that task.
“We’ve really taken up the responsibility of showing the girls the standards,” Vega said. “I think that once we leave a standard, they will continue it for years to come.”
Smith has also given high praise to the leadership team of Vega, senior catcher Kennedy Demott and senior infielder Natalia Apatiga.
“I feel really confident in the leadership that we have,” Smith said. “This is truly the best leadership we’ve ever had.”
On the coaching staff, Smith is joined by two new assistant coaches Hannah Davis ‘24 and Xen Penny. Davis, a former Bobcat, will serve in a coaching capacity for the first time in her athletic career. Penny, a former minor league coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, will bring a wealth of experience at the professional level to Hamden.
“He is very passionate about what he does,” Smith said. “He’s so confident in himself as a hitting coach and he cares about them so much. He has a hitting plan for every single kid.”
Smith isn’t the only one who has given high praise to Penny.
“Having that male here has definitely brought something else that our team needed,” Demott said. “He pushes us harder than we may have in the past.”
Penny’s experience at the professional level, as well as Davis’s young, fresh and relatable voice, will be instrumental in the Bobcats’ quest to capture championship gold.
Mentality
As the 2026 campaign begins, Smith and her squad are approaching each game with a simple motto: RIB. Be relentless, be intense and be a badass.
“We always stick to that idea,” Vega said. “We want to be fighters.”
In order to achieve their championship aspirations, the Bobcats will need just that. They will need to be relentless in how they prepare off the field, intense in how they approach challenges and matchups on the diamond and be a badass 100% of the time.
Quinnipiac will continue its 2026 campaign against the Saint Francis University Friars in the Norfolk State/Hampton Tournament on Friday, Feb. 20. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.
