DURHAM, N.C. – Duke softball will head back to the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic for the second straight year and third time in program history. The event will run Feb. 19-22 at the Big League Dreams Sports Park in Cathedral City, Calif.
Duke is set to compete in five games over the four-day invitational, including three contests against 2025 Women's College World Series (WCWS) participants in Oklahoma, UCLA and Oregon. In their appearance last season, the Blue Devils finished 5-0 on the weekend and outscored their opponents 20-1.
Duke opens the tournament on Thursday, Feb. 19 with a doubleheader against Texas A&M and Hawaii at 8:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET, respectively. The Blue Devils will meet both the Aggies and Rainbow Wahine for the first time.
The following day, Duke battles Oklahoma at 4 p.m. before taking on UCLA at 9 p.m. The Blue Devils and Sooners are set to face off for the fourth time, with the Sooners holding a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams last met in the opening game of the 2024 WCWS. The Bruins lead the series, 2-1, after first meeting in the 2022 NCAA Super Regionals in Los Angeles, Calif. The Blue Devils' lone win came last season with a thrilling 1-0 victory in the final game of the Mary Nutter.
The Blue Devils close out the weekend against Oregon at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 21. The contest will also mark the first all-time meeting between the two programs.
All games will be livestreamed on FloSoftball and ticket information for the event is available
HERE.
The remainder of the Blue Devils' 2026 season schedule will be announced at a later date.
Young returns 12 letterwinners from last year's squad that compiled a 41-18 overall record and earned the program's fifth-consecutive bid to the NCAA Softball Championship. The Blue Devils also welcomed 10 newcomers in transfers
Layla Lamar (Florida),
Larissa Jacquez (UIW),
Tyrina Jones (Purdue) and
Mallory Wheeler (Louisiana) and freshmen
London Collins,
Brookelyn Grayson,
Ariel Krueger,
Adelyn Matthews,
Gabriella Shadek and
Jayla Stafford for the 2026 campaign.
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