ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany softball program is set to open the 2026 season with a five-game weekend at Presbyterian (Feb. 13-15).
 
The Great Danes head into the 2026 slate looking to win their second America East title in three seasons. Should UAlbany make it to the championship game, it would be the team's fifth championship appearance in six years.
 
2025 IN REVIEW
The Great Danes headed into the America East Championship tournament with a 9-8 conference record and five postseason awards. Caitlyn Frederick led the bunch with a First Team All-Conference nod while starting pitcher Kate Powers collected Second Team All-Conference and All-Academic Team honors. Returner Taylor Quinn was also named Second Team while freshmen Vanessa Meyers and Hailey Errichiello were named All-Rookie.
 
UAlbany beat Maine, 7-3, to open their time at the AE Tournament. Facing second-seeded UMBC, the Great Danes fell in five innings before their time in Vestal came to a close with a two-run loss to Bryant.
 
At the end of the season, three Great Danes led the conference. Kate Powers earned a conference-best 2.37 ERA while Caitlyn Frederick stole 29 bases to lead the conference. With one triple in the tournament, Taylor Quinn tied for the conference lead with four triples. In addition to conference leaders, several Great Danes finished among the conference's bests. Among the returning athletes, Deanna Grahek ranked in triples (3, T3rd) and assists (72, T7th); Quinn ranked in stolen bases (13, 5th), and Mary Kate Murray ranked in RBI (27, 10th) and double plays (11, 3rd). Last season's rookies, Vanessa Meyers (catcher) and Hayley Wieczerzak (pitcher) were strong in the field. Meyers finished third with 229 putouts and second with 11 caught stealing and a .996 fielding percentage. Wieczerzak allowed only a .219 batting average, tied for second in the conference, along with the sixth-most strikeouts (109) and fourth-most KLs (33), both of which were good for first in the conference when calculated per inning pitched (1.4 SO/inning and .4 KL/inning).
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Great Danes return much of the 2025 roster. Only one from last season's roster played in all 46 games - Deanna Grahek will return for her senior season at shortstop. The majority of the 2025 infield returns - senior Sara Anderson at third base, sophomore Charlotte Lomb at second base, junior Mary Kate Murray at first base, and sophomore Vanessa Meyers at catcher. Rookies during the 2025 season, Hayley Wieczerzak and Hailey Errichiello return to pitch for the Great Danes. Preseason All-Conference Taylor Quinn is the only returning outfielder. 
 
The Great Danes' leading substitute Ava Beal looks to break into the starting lineup after 14 starts in the outfield as a freshman. She led all pinch-runners with seven stolen bases in eight attempts. Sara Scozzari, who saw 11 games as UAlbany's starting second baseman, will look to continue to make a significant impact for the Great Danes.
 
For the second year in a row, UAlbany welcomed a large class of 10 newcomers. Transfers Gaelen Kelly and Amanda Stalker join the Great Danes each with two years of eligibility. Kelly comes in with catching experience at Rutgers and Notre Dame while Amanda Stalker is a combo infield/outfield athlete with two years at the College of Staten Island. 
 
Half of the eight incoming freshman have experience as a utility player with a primary position - Taylor Hooven (infield), Pyper Morley (catcher), Becca Munslow (pitcher), and Sierra Roy (catcher). The remaining four rookies are Marley Connor (infield), Katie Parisi (outfield), Julia Pike (pitcher/outfield) and Isabella Scandurra (infield/outfield).
 
2026 AMERICA EAST PRESEASON
The Great Danes were selected to finish fourth in the conference behind Binghamton, Bryant, and UMBC, respectively. Taylor Quinn represents UAlbany on the 2026 AE Preseason All-Conference Team.
 
America East Preseason Coaches' Poll

1. Binghamton - 25 (5)
2. Bryant - 19 (1)
3. UMBC - 15
4. UAlbany - 13
5. UMass Lowell - 11
6. Maine - 7

 
America East Preseason All-Conference
C - Elisa Allen (Binghamton)
1B - Emma Lawson (Binghamton)
2B - Akira Kopec (Binghamton)
3B - Emily Riggs (UMBC)
SS - Amaya Carroll (UMBC)
OF - Maddy Dodig (Binghamton)
OF - Taylor Quinn (UAlbany)
OF - Thyanais Santiago (UMass Lowell)
OF - Ella Squaires (UMBC)
DP - Rachel Carey (Binghamton)
UTL - Lex Powell (Bryant)
P - Olivia Decitise (UMass Lowell)
P - Olivia Kennedy (Binghamton)
P - Brianna Roberts (Binghamton)
 
SCHEDULE
The Great Danes will kick off the season with three full weekends of action - Scotsman Invitational at Presbyterian (Feb. 13-15), the Make It Happen Games at Madeira Beach, Florida (Feb. 27-Mar. 1), and UMBC's Round Robin #2 (Mar. 6-7). 
 
After an early-season doubleheader against Siena at UAlbany Field, the Great Danes will head on the road for a series of doubleheaders - Mount St. Mary's (Mar. 15-16), Coppin State (Mar. 17), and Towson (Mar. 18). 
 
Conference season begins at Bryant on March 21. Throughout the remainder of the season, UAlbany will compete against their conference opponents on six weekends. Seeing Bryant and UMass Lowell twice (once at home and once on the road), the Great Danes will also host UMBC and visit Binghamton. In addition to the weekend series, UAlbany will matchup in doubleheaders against Le Moyne and CCSU at UAlbany Field with road doubleheaders at Siena and Colgate.
 
HOW TO WATCH
All UAlbany home games will be available to fans across the globe on AmericaEast.TV. 
 
Road contests may be streamed on a variety of platforms, including but not limited to ESPN+, AmericaEast.TV, and FloSports.
 
SOCIAL CENTRAL
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