CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois softball is set to open its 2026 season at the Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 6-8. The Fighting Illini will face Lamar twice, Nevada, NC State, and finish the weekend against host LSU. All games can be streamed on ESPN+, besides the matchup against LSU, which will air on SEC Network+. For full information, visit Tournament Central.
Heading Home
Head coach Tyra Perry is no stranger to Baton Rouge, raised just 30 minutes up the road from LSU in Zachary, Louisiana, a city in East Baton Rouge Parish. She was inducted into the Zachary High School Hall of Fame in 2007.
After two seasons playing collegiate softball at Nicholls State, Perry followed her head coach to LSU, becoming the second-ever signee in LSU softball history.
In her two seasons with the Tigers (1997-98), she helped the program post a combined 102-28 record including a 58-14 mark in SEC play. She was also a pivotal piece in the program's first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament appearance, where it finished second.
Milestone Marks
Head coach Tyra Perry is just five victories away from 700 wins for her career as a head coach. Only 35 other active Division 1 head coaches (out of 306) have achieved the milestone, including current LSU head coach, Beth Torina, who sits just ahead of Perry on the list with 707 career wins.Â
Perry is also just 14 wins away from 300 wins at the helm of the Illinois program, which she could achieve as early as February 21.
Familiar Foes
Perry returns to LSU, her alma mater, for the fourth time since taking the helm of the Illinois program. The last meeting between the sides was a narrow 3-2 victory for the Tigers, and the Illini last defeated LSU on Feb. 13, 2022, 5-2, in an eight-inning showdown at Tiger Park.
The Tigers were ranked #14 heading into the 2022 matchup, and the Illini have had one victory over a higher ranked team since, a defeat of #10 Arkansas, 8-6, exactly a week later (Feb. 20, 2022) in Fayetteville.
Welcome to the FamILLy
The Fighting Illini added 8 newcomers in the offseason, including six transfers and a pair of true freshmen. The transfers join the Orange and Blue from six different programs in six different states. Three of the six additions will look to make an immediate impact in the circle, including Amanda Smith, who pitched nearly 400 innings in two seasons at Moorpark College in California. Abby Sabalaskey joins Illinois from Northern Kentucky, the lone lefty on the pitching staff.
Watch [List] Party
A trio of Illinois juniors, Eileen Donahue, Adisyn Caryl, and Megan Nuechterlein, were named 2026 Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch, as announced by the conference last week.
Caryl, an infielder and team captain, started all 50 games in 2025 for the Illini, logging 18 extra base hits, with 11 doubles and 7 home runs. She hit .321 on the season.
Donahue, also an infielder, earned the best batting average on the 2025 squad, going .331 at the plate, while adding 10 home runs and 12 multi-hit games.
Nuechterlein, representing the Illinois pitching staff on the list, appeared in 26 games and made 14 starts in 2025. She tossed six complete games, recording a 3.31 ERA with 91.0 innings pitched and 47 strikeouts.
Top-25 Opponents
The Fighting Illini will have faced at least one team ranked in the top 25 during opening weekend for all 11 seasons of Perry's tenure but one (2018). They have defeated a ranked team on opening weekend six times in the prior ten seasons (2016-2025), including twice during the 2020 NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla., (#21 Ole Miss and #23 Auburn), before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season.
Game One History
The Illini are 17-9 all-time in game one of the season, including two prior game one victories in the state of Louisiana.
Opponent Scout
Game one opponent Lamar recorded its third-straight 20-win season in 2025, going 29-27, earning the team the fifth seed in the conference tournament. The Cardinals return 14 members of the 2025 squad, including Cala Wilson, who notched Southland Conference All-Defensive Team honors at first base.
Nevada captured the Mountain West regular season title in 2025, showcasing a 41-14 record, including a dominant 18-4 mark in conference play. The Wolf Pack's Hailey McLean was tabbed Preseason Pitcher of the Year by the conference, and Madison Clark and Haylee Engelbrecht were also named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team.
NC State finished 25-29 in 2025 and return senior catcher Hannah Church, who was ranked the No. 10 catcher in the country by Softball America. Church led the Wolfpack with 19 home runs last season. The Illini will head to Raleigh later this season (Feb. 20-22) for the Raleigh Times tournament, hosted by NC State.
LSU is coming off a 42-16 campaign in 2025, where they fell to Southeastern Louisiana in the Baton Rouge NCAA Regional, after earning the rights to the No. 10 national seed. Key pieces for the Tigers in 2026 include first baseman Tori Edwards, who was named No. 18 on Softball America's Top 100 Players List, and catcher Maci Bergeron, who slotted in at No. 48 on the list.
