Duke Opens 2026 Season at UCF Invitational

Kairi Rodriguez batting vs. Michigan 2025

Duke Opens 2026 Season at UCF Invitational

2/5/2026 5:00:00 PM | Softball

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke softball opens the 2026 season in Orlando, Florida Friday afternoon, competing in five games in the UCF Black and Gold Invitational. The Blue Devils are set to face Boston University, Buffalo, CSU Bakersfield and host UCF during the four-day invitational at UCF Softball Complex.

HOW TO FOLLOW
All contests of the UCF Invitational will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available through Statbroadcast.

THE SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 6
2 p.m. – Duke vs. Boston University
WATCH | LIVE STATS

7 p.m. – Duke vs. UCF
WATCH | LIVE STATS

Saturday, Feb. 7
11:30 a.m. – Duke vs. Buffalo
WATCH | LIVE STATS

5 p.m. – Duke vs. CSU Bakersfield
WATCH | LIVE STATS

Sunday, Feb. 8
9 a.m. – Duke vs. CSU Bakersfield
WATCH | LIVE STATS

NEED TO KNOW

Head coach Marissa 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 (Incarnate Word), Tyrina Jones (Purdue) and Mallory Wheeler (Louisiana) and freshmen London Collins, Brookelyn Grayson, Ariel Krueger, Adelyn Matthews, Gabriella Shadek and Jayla Stafford.
Graduate student Jada Baker and senior D'Auna Jennings were selected as captains for the 2026 campaign, following a vote from the team. Baker will serve as a captain for the third straight year while Jennings was selected for the first time in her career.
The senior duo of Cassidy Curd and Aminah Vega were among the 53 players to earn a spot on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List. Duke was one of four ACC schools to be represented on the list, joining Florida State (4), Stanford (2) and Clemson (1).
Three Blue Devils garnered Preseason All-ACC recognition in redshirt junior Kairi Rodriguez, Jennings and Vega. Florida State led the conference with five representatives on the team, followed by Duke with three, Stanford and Virginia with two and Clemson and North Carolina with one apiece.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Duke and Boston University will meet for the third time in program history Friday afternoon. The Blue Devils evened the all-time series, 1-1, after earning a 4-2 win during the Duke Invitational in 2024. The Terriers collected a 7-4 win during the first meeting in 2018.

BUFFALO
Saturday's contest between the Bulls and Blue Devils will mark the first all-time meeting between the two programs. In 2025, Buffalo finished with an overall record of 17-33 and 10-17 in MAC play.

CSU BAKERSFIELD
Duke and CSU Bakersfield will meet for the first time in program lore on Saturday. The Blue Devils and Roadrunners are set to face off twice during the opening weekend. Last season, CSUB finished 16-34 on the year, including a 7-20 mark in Big West action.

UCF
The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 2-1 since first meeting in 2020. Duke and UCF last met in the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational in 2023 with the Blue Devils claiming a 4-3 victory after 10 innings.

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils remain in the Sunshine State, traveling to Clearwater, Feb. 13-15 to play five games in the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational. Duke will face Texas A&M (Feb. 13), LSU (Feb. 13), Oklahoma State (Feb. 14), Georgia (Feb. 14) and Missouri (Feb. 15) during the three-day event.

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