TROY, Ala. (February 5, 2026) – Softball season has arrived for the University of North Alabama, as the Lions commence the 2026 campaign this weekend at the Trojan Classic hosted in Troy, Ala.
The season begins Friday morning with back-to-back games against Middle Tennessee at 9 a.m. and Chattanooga at 11:30 a.m. Saturday will have more of a gap between games, as UNA plays Southern at 8:30 a.m. and tournament host Troy at 1:30 p.m. The Lions end the weekend against MTSU on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
None of UNA's games will be available on ESPN+ but live stats are available
at this link. Admission is free of charge.
TOURNAMENT INFO
2026 Trojan Classic
Feb. 6-8 (Friday-Sunday)
Location: Troy, Alabama
Venue: Troy Softball Complex
Game 1 vs. Middle Tennessee: Feb. 6 at 9 a.m. —
LIVE STATS
Game 2 vs. Chattanooga: Feb. 6 at 11:30 a.m. —
LIVE STATS
Game 3 vs. Southern: Feb. 7 at 8:30 a.m. —
LIVE STATS
Game 4 at Troy: Feb. 7 at 1:30 p.m. —
LIVE STATS
Game 5 vs. Middle Tennessee: Feb. 8 at 11:30 a.m. —
LIVE STATS
NOTES
NEW SEASON: North Alabama enters its 44th softball season with 1,076 all-time wins. Head coach
Ashley Cozart is responsible for most of those with an all-time record of 416-195-1 over 12 seasons — making her the winningest coach in program history. The Lions have won 30 or more games for four straight seasons, including a 30-21 record last year. UNA has finished above .500 for 13 straight seasons, including all seven since moving up to Division I in 2018-19.
2025 RECAP: Last season, the Lions were one of just 10 teams in Division I to start with a 9-0 overall record. UNA went on to finish 30-21 overall and had a 10-14 record against a tough Atlantic Sun Conference schedule. UNA had a 15-9 record at home, a 10-8 record on the road and a 5-4 record in neutral site games. Two Lions received all-conference honors, including
Laura Leigh Wheeler who returns this season as a senior outfielder. The Lions will look to remedy a heartbreaking finish in last year's ASUN Championship — a first round exit against Jacksonville.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: UNA has a veteran-heavy roster with 10 seniors, four juniors and five sophomores. The Lions also have a young core of freshmen with eight rookies, some of whom are expected to contribute right away. The Lions will have two starting spots to fill with the graduation of long-time second baseman
Hailey Jones and first base duo
Lillyanna Cartee and
Ryleigh Boyett. However, UNA returns the entire starting outfield, two infielders and catcher
Natalie Shaw. The top four pitchers from last season all return and will be joined by two newcomers.
THE STARS: Three all-conference caliber players return to lead their respective position groups, including Wheeler in the outfield who was a Third Team All-ASUN pick last season. The infield will be led by junior
Briley Dover — a second team selection in 2024 and preseason selection in both 2025 and 2026. Fifth-year senior
Alivia Wilken will continue to be the ace after leading the team in innings the last two seasons and netting first team all-conference honors in 2024. She and senior teammate
Emily Simon were voted Preseason Co-Pitcher of the Year by the ASUN. Simon had a 2.18 ERA to lead the pitching staff last season.
TRANSFERS OF NOTE: The Lions added sophomore first baseman
Holly Merritt this offseason from Miami Ohio, a former high school teammate of sophomore pitcher
Kaylee Snyder. Merritt is expected to fill the role of first base this season. Another key transfer is senior pitcher
Rylee Tittle, who was a key contributor in the circle for UT Martin last season. She is originally from Tuscumbia and played at Deshler High School.
TWIN MAGIC: There are currently 17 teams in Division I softball this season with a set of sisters on the roster. However, North Alabama is the only school among those teams with two sets of sisters — both of whom are twins. Seniors Emily and
Katie Simon enter their second seasons with UNA, while
Haley Westhoven and
Lindsey Westhoven are true freshmen. Lindsey is a catcher, while the other three are pitchers.
MORE TWIN MAGIC: Not only is UNA the only team with two sets of twins in Division I softball this season, but the Lions also have a head coach with a twin. Head coach
Ashley Cozart has a twin sister named Candice.
COACHING STAFF: Cozart, who recently received a contract extension through 2028, will be joined by pitching coach
Whitney Hawkins for an eighth season, including four in her current stint. Hawkins was on staff for the 2016 Division II National Championship, as she and Cozart were the Division II Coaching Staff of the Year. This season, Cozart added hitting coach Greg Larnerd, who comes to UNA from Chattanooga — one of UNA's opening day opponents. Larnerd played baseball at SUNY Plattsburgh from 2008-12 and has nearly two decades of coaching experience in the baseball and softball world.
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE: MTSU finished with a 26-27 record last season and went 13-14 in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders were one win away from making the postseason conference tournament last season, which takes the top six teams. Senior catcher and power bat Ansley Blevins and sophomore infielder Jana Want lead the team as preseason all-conference selections, as Want is the Reigning CUSA Freshman of the Year.
SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA: With help from Coach Larnerd before he joined the UNA staff, the Mocs had a successful season with a 41-15 overall record and a 15-5 record in the Southern Conference. Two of the 15 losses came to North Alabama at home. The Mocs were SoCon Regular Season Champions and came one win away from the tournament championship, but lost two games to Mercer in the championship round. UTC is led by senior pitcher Taylor Long, who had a 12-3 record and 2.56 ERA in 2025.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN: The Southern Jaguars had a 22-24 record last season and finished 13-11 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Southern had a tough exit from the SWAC tournament last season with losses to both the top two seeds in the conference — Jackson State and Prairie View A&M. Sophomore utility Katiana Maldonado is back after batting .297 as a rookie last season, leading all returners in hitting. Junior Jordynn Jennings is the top returning pitcher.
SCOUTING TROY: The Trojans finished 33-24 last season and 12-12 in the Sun Belt. Troy was edged by James Madison in the opening game of the Sun Belt Tournament to be eliminated. The Trojans, who are set to host three straight softball tournaments, have eight returners and will be led by junior outfielder McKinnon Howard. Howard was a second team all-conference pick last season after breaking Troy's single-season batting record with a .439 average. Sophomore transfer Kiley Huffman joins Howard in the outfield after playing last season at Texas Tech and playing in the 2025 College World Series as a true freshman.
SERIES HISTORY: The Lions have an 11-5 all-time record against the four opponents this week, including a 5-3 record against Troy, a 3-0 record against Southern, a 2-1 record against Chattanooga and a split 1-1 record against Middle Tennessee.
SERIES DEEP DIVES: UNA will play MTSU for the third time in program history, splitting two games in 2024 in a tournament hosted by the Blue Raiders. UNA has a 2-1 record against Chattanooga — all road games at Chattanooga — with a loss in 2024 and two wins in 2025. The Lions have three wins over Southern from 2021 and 2022 by a combined score of 25-2. UNA last split with Troy in the 2024 Trojan Invitational, winning 7-4 before falling 2-1 in an eighth inning walk-off. UNA's first meeting with Troy came all the way back in 1987 under UNA Hall of Fame Coach Ande Jones, as the Lions won 7-2 and went on to complete back-to-back Gulf South Conference Championships that season.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
