Softball Team Set to Visit North Carolina This Weekend

Friday, February 20

Chapel Hill, N.C.

10:00 AM

Princeton University

North Carolina Central

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

Softball Team Set to Visit North Carolina This Weekend

February 17, 2026 | Softball

After a 4-1 weekend to open the regular season in Florida, the Princeton softball team will head south again this weekend, this time to North Carolina, for five games combined against Appalachian State, North Carolina Central, Rider, and host UNC.

First-weekend notes: Princeton nearly swept the opening weekend, getting two wins against Stony Brook, one each against Iona and co-host Jacksonville, and nearly defeating co-host North Florida, losing 6-1. As a team, Princeton hit .381, slugged .613 and had an OBP of .426, doing so without any errors from the opposition. Individually, three players hit better than .500 on the opening weekend, including Braeden Hale, whose .611 average entered the week as seventh-best in the nation, Karis Ford (.545) and Graciela Dominguez (526). Ford hit three homers in four games for an 0.75 homer per game rate, putting her seventh in the nation as well. Mia Valenzuela was named the Ivy Rookie of the Week after hitting .389 with at least one hit in each of the five games, two doubles and two homers.

The Ivy title run: Princeton has won the last four Ivy League titles, which are decided on regular-season play, and has hosted the last four Ivy League postseasons, including the 2022 Ivy League Playoff Series (winning two of three from Harvard), the 2023 Ivy League Tournament (made final, which Harvard won), the 2024 Ivy League Tournament (won), and the 2025 Ivy League Tournament (made final, which Brown won). Only one other time in Ivy League history has a team won at least four Ivy League titles in a row, and that was Princeton as well, which won seven straight from 1983-89.

Who's back: Reigning Ivy League Pitcher of the Year Brielle Wright is back for her senior season, leading five of the team's six 2025 first-team All-Ivy honorees who return, including Sonia Zhang (3B), Julia Dumais (SS), Braeden Hale (utility) and Karis Ford (DP). Second-team pitcher Cassidy Shaw is back, as is honorable mention Graciela Dominguez (2B) giving Princeton seven returning 2025 All-Ivy Leaguers. Graduated from Princeton's 2025 all-league honorees are outfielder Allison Ha, a four-time All-Ivy Leaguer, three-time All-Ivy outfielder Lauren Sablone, 2025 honorable mention All-Ivy catcher Lauren Pappert. Along with Wright and Shaw, who accounted for 235 2/3 of the team's 301 1/3 innings pitched, Princeton returns sophomore Keala Hollenkamp, who was third on the team with 43 2/3 innings pitched.

Coaching staff: Princeton head coach Lisa Van Ackeren is in her 14th season at Princeton and is the dean of the current Ivy League coaches. All-time, Van Ackeren is the second-winningest coach in program history and sixth-winningest head coach in Ivy League history, at 257 wins. She could become the fifth-winningest coach in league history this season, with former Brown coach Phil Pincince currently in that spot with 269 wins. The top four, all former coaches in the league, are Harvard's Jenny Allard (688), Cornell's Dick Blood (623), Princeton's Cindy Cohen (559) and Penn's Leslie King (354). Princeton has won six of the nine Ivy League Coach/Coaching Staff of the Year honors since the award was inaugurated in 2015, including 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 (no award in 2020 or 2021). Assistant coach Alyssa Davis is entering her seventh season, Ashley McDonald her second, and Nicole Arias her 12th.

Newcomers: Five Tigers join the team this year, all first-years including infielder/utility player Mia Valenzuela, catcher/infielder Maddie Ratcheson, outfielder Lola Coole, infielder Camryn Bradshaw, and pitcher Reece Uehara.

Next up: Princeton will have next weekend away from competition before heading to California for five games in San Diego against USD, San Diego State, Notre Dame and Grand Canyon.

Appalachian State
Friday, 12:30 p.m. Live Stats | Saturday, 10 a.m. Live Stats
2026 record: 8-1
2026 conference poll: 6th of 12 in the Sun Belt, 2B Makayla McClain and SS Grace Barrett on 15-player preseason all-conference team
2025 finish: 23-27, Sun Belt quarterfinals
Series vs. Princeton: Have not met
Notes: Appalachian State has already faced Ivy competition this season, defeating Columbia twice last weekend in Greensboro, N.C., 12-0 and 4-2. The Mountaineers won their first eight games of teh season before a loss to host UNCG to end the Greensboro event. McClain has already hit six homers this season, good for sixth in the nation.

North Carolina Central
Friday, 10 a.m. Live Stats
2026 record: 1-8
2026 conference poll: 4th of 8 int he MEAC, pitcher Simone Mack was a preseason second-team all-league pick.
2025 finish: 13-33, MEAC first round
Series vs. Princeton: Princeton leads 1-0, winning a 2015 game 7-6 at Liberty
Notes: N.C. Central picked up its first win of the season against Fort Valley State last weekend at the HBCU Collegiate Invitational in Covington, Ga.

North Carolina
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. Live Stats | ESPN+
2026 record: 8-0
2026 conference poll: 7th of 15 in the ACC, outfielder Sanaa Thompson was one of 14 on the Preseason All-ACC team.
2025 finish: 40-17, NCAA Knoxville Regional
Series vs. Princeton: Princeton is 5-3 all-time against UNC. Princeton won the first five games, all between 1986 and 2006, while UNC won in 2009 and both meetings last year, also in Chapel Hill, 2-0 and 9-2.
Notes: The 8-0 start to the season has seen UNC outscore opponents 101-10 and out-homer opponents 22-3 while holding a .460 batting average to opponents' .166.

Rider
Sunday, 10 a.m. Live Stats
2026 record: 2-3
2026 conference poll: 6th of 13 in the MAAC, infielder Kendall Reda-Fehsal was one of 12 on the Preseason All-MAAC team.
2025 finish: 25-34, MAAC semifinal
Series vs. Princeton: Princeton holds a 52-13-1 all-time lead in the series with its fellow Mercer County Division I program.
Notes: Rider opened the season in Norfolk, Va., playing twice against Norfolk State (0-2) and three times against Central Connecticut State (2-1).