CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard softball is back on the diamond this weekend, as the Crimson embark on the 45^th season in program history at the GCU Invite on Saturday, Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 15.

Harvard squares off against Sacramento State at 1:30 p.m. eastern standard time and Northern Colorado at 9:30 p.m. EST to kick-off the season on Saturday, Feb. 14. The Crimson conclude opening weekend on Sunday, Feb. 15, starting the day against tournament host Grand Canyon at 1:30 p.m. EST and ending the tournament with a rematch against Northern Colorado at 4 p.m. EST.

The Crimson's clash against Grand Canyon on Sunday, Feb. 15 will air live on themw.com/watch.

MEET THE CRIMSON:

• Harvard softball starts the 2026 searching for the 11^th Ivy League regular season title in program history, as the Crimson ended the 2025 season with a 26-13 record and a 15-6 record in Ivy League action.
• Head coach Jenny Rohn is in her third season at the helm of Harvard softball, as Rohn is joined by assistant coaches Xiao Gin, Claire Roll and Amelia Varela.
• A former assistant coach for the Crimson, Rohn owns a 53-30 record at Harvard and a 88-77 career record.
• In the Ivy League's 2026 Preseason Poll, the Crimson own the No. 2 spot.
• Last season saw the Crimson once again thrive as one of the most talented sides in the Ivy League, as Harvard led the conference in opposing batting average (.239), hits allowed (244), runs allowed (144), and ranked second in both batting average (.309) and earned run average (2.98).
• This season sees the Crimson return a plethora of experience both at the plate and in the circle. Harvard returns 98 percent of its innings pitched and 100 percent of its strikeouts from last season.
• Offensively, Harvard is once again poised to be a constant threat at the plate. Junior infielder Sophie Sun, senior infielder Finley Payne, sophomore utility Alexa Muller and junior outfielder and team captain Audrey Szollosi all return after posting a batting average of .300 or above in 2025. The Crimson return 70 percent of its hits from last season as well.
• Harvard's team captains this season are senior pitcher Riley Flynn, junior infielder Megan Davies and Szollosi.
• Following its time in Phoenix, Harvard will feature in two more marquee nonconference tournaments.
• From Friday, Feb. 20 to Sunday, Feb. 22, The Crimson will compete against Holy Cross, USC Upstate, Wofford and Morgan State at the Upstate Classic and Sparkle City Invite.
• A trip to the Sunshine State wraps the Crimson's tournament slate, as Harvard takes on South Dakota, FIU and Fordham at the FIU Classic.
• Harvard will then face Army, St. John's and Sacred Heart between Saturday, Mar. 14 and Wednesday, Mar. 18 before starting Ivy League action on the road against Yale on Saturday, Mar. 21 and Sunday, Mar. 22.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:

• Sacramento State is 4-1 after the opening weekend of the national softball slate, picking up wins against UC Davis, Saint Mary's and Cal Poly. In 2025, Sacramento State posted a 27-23 and saw their run in the 2025 Big Sky Tournament end with an 8-5 loss against Northern Colorado.
• Coming off a 19-30 campaign in 2025 that ended in the Big Sky Tournament Semifinals, North Colorado posted a 2-3 record to start the season at the Southern California Tournament, securing victories against UCSB and UC Riverside and falling short against LMU, Long Beach State and No. 7 UCLA.
• An NCAA Tournament qualifier last year with a 47-8 record, Grand Canyon is undefeated to start the 2026 season, going 5-0 with wins against Santa Clara, Southern Utah and Weber State.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Harvard and Sacramento State will only meet for the second time on the softball diamond, with the first arriving during the 2024 season, a 4-1 win for the Hornets in Riverside California.
• For the first time since 2004, Harvard and Northern Colorado will face off, as the Bears earned a 9-1 win.
• Sunday's contest represents the first softball matchup between Grand Canyon and the Crimson.

HERE COMES THE SUN

• Entering her third campaign with the Crimson, Sun is one of the most talented hitters in the Ancient Eight.
• The first student-athlete in conference history to win Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season, Sun ranked in the top five in the Ivy League in batting average (.411), on-base percentage (.469), runs scored (33), hits (53) and total bases (81) during the 2025 season.
• A 2024 Top 10 Finalist for the Tucci/NFCA Freshman of the Year award, Sun is the current all-time program leader in career batting average (.416), slugging percentage (.714) and on-base percentage (.472).
• A native of Austin, Texas, Sun was ranked No. 98 in D1Softball's D100 Top 100 Mid-Major players, only one of three Ivy League student-athletes to receive the honor.

R.O.Y FACTORY

• The last three Ivy League Rookies of the Year are all products of the Crimson, as Harvard is the first program in Ivy League history to product three consecutive Rookie of the Year honorees.
• Last season Muller win Ivy League Rookie of the Year after shining at the plate, especially in conference action.
• Muller led all first-years last season in the Ancient Eight in batting average (.368) and hits (28). A native of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Muller ranked third in batting average (.436) and second in on-base percentage (.515) in Ivy League contests last season.
• In 2024, Sun orchestrated one of the greatest rookie seasons in recent memory, leading all first-years in the NCAA in slugging percentage (.797) and ranked third among all first-years in the nation in batting average (.421).
• The 2023 season saw Flynn earn Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors after setting a new program record for saves in a season with six, as the Phoenix, Arizona native was the 2023 Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player after tallying 11 innings in all three wins for the Crimson.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

• Once again, Harvard boasts of the conference's top pitching staffs, as the Crimson return 98 percent of its innings pitched from a year ago.
• Junior Nicolette Hunter leads the way after earning All-Ivy League Second Team honors in 2025. A native of Camarillo, California, Hunter ranked second in the Ivy League with a 2.25 earned run average and ranked seventh with a career-best 65 strikeouts. Hunter led all Crimson in innings pitched (106.0) last season.
• An All-Ivy league honorable mention last year, Flynn posted a career-best 2.45 earned run average across 85.2 innings and 22 appearances last season, tallying a team-leading 67 strikeouts along the way.
• Grace, a two-time team captain for the Crimson, emerged as a key bullpen arm in 2025, logging career-highs in appearances (21), saves (2), innings pitched (48.1) and strikeouts (51).

IVY LEAGUE EXCELLENCE

• Over the last five full seasons, Harvard is one of the top softball programs in the Ivy League, owning a league-best 90-36 record in conference play from 2018 to 2024.
• In that time span, Harvard is the only team in the Ancient Eight to not drop double-digit conference games in a single season.
• Harvard won back-to-back Ivy League regular season titles in 2023 and 2024, as it won the inaugural Ivy League Tournament in Princeton in 2023.

CRIMSON ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY

• Harvard softball is rolling with a roster that pulls talent from across the nation this season.
• 11 different states are included on the Crimson's roster this season, including Arizona, New Jersey, Hawaii, Washington, California, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina.

UP NEXT

Harvard stays on the road this weekend, this time heading to South Carolina from Friday, Feb. 20 to Sunday, Feb. 22 for the Upstate Classic and Sparkle City Invite.