GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University softball team begins the 2026 campaign this week as they embark on an eight-game road trip to California to take on seven different schools from the West Region and compete in the DII West Coast Challenge.
This is the first time the Mavericks will open their season in California since 2023 with all eight games this week being against nonconference opponents. In addition, this is the only nonconference matchups the Mavs will have this season before they begin their conference portion of their schedule and 44 straight RMAC games.
During this week the Mavs will play on four different days with live stats available for every game pending network issues and streaming available on Wednesday against Azusa Pacific University through The PacWest Network.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Following the Wednesday double-header at Azusa Pacific the Mavs will begin the DII West Coast Challenge on Friday hosted by Cal State San Marcos.
A total of six games will take place in a three-day stretch with games beginning on Friday morning and going through Sunday afternoon.
All games will take place at the Rosetta Canyon Sports Park in Lake Elsinore, Calif. with Colorado Mesa playing on the yellow, blue and red fields of the complex.
Every school the Mavs face is also a part of the West Region with each game being against a different opponent. Three of those schools begin this season ranked in the NFCA preseason poll.
Daily recaps will be posted on www.cmumavericks.com
HOW LAST YEAR ENDED
The Mavs ended the 2025 season with a 40-17 record overall while going 35-9 in RMAC play. They finished second in the conference and reached as far as the second round of the NCAA Regionals, before eventually falling to Angelo State.
They came up just one game short of winning the regular season RMAC title while also reaching as far as the RMAC Tournament championship game for the third time in the last five years. Thanks to their efforts in the regular season and showing at the tournament they earned the No. 6 seed in the Regional Tournament through an outright bid.
As an offense, the team hit .302 while recording 85 doubles and 60 home runs. They finished second in the RMAC with that home run total while ranking in the top five of the conference for slugging percentage.
Their defense was also a strong suit of the team with them holding the second highest fielding percentage at .966.
In the circle, Colorado Mesa owned a 2.67 ERA as a staff while striking out 287 batters to finish second in both categories of the RMAC.
Following the season the Mavs had six All-RMAC selections, two all-Region selections, one all-American and one NFCA DII Freshman of the Finalist. They would also record multiple individual and team academic awards, including the RMAC Academic Player of the Year.
ABOUT THIS YEAR'S TEAM
The Mavs will look to return a majority of last year's key contributors this spring with only four seniors departing the team.
Those four left big shoes to fill though as each of them were All-RMAC performers, with that group being led by former all-Americans Myah Arrieta and Ally Distler. Former RMAC Pitcher of the Year Preslee Christensen also finished her playing career with Gold Glover Chloe Valdez being the final Mav to exit due to graduation.
Returning to lead the Mavs this spring will now be the group of Makayla Westmoreland, Jessalyn Gallegos and Khloe Kubitschek with each of them serving as everyday players for the team in 2025.
Gallegos returns after winning the RMAC Freshman of the Year last season and being a Second Team All-RMAC selection. Gallegos served as the team's ace while owning a 2.20 ERA over 175.1 innings pitched and recording a 19-4 record. She struck out 163 batters total while limiting opponents to a batting average against of .242.
Following the end of the season she was selected as an NFCA DII Freshman of the Year finalist.
Westmoreland joins her as an All-RMAC selection as well with her being the only First Team member on the Mavs to return. In 2025, Westmoreland hit .324 for second best on the squad while totaling 13 doubles and 10 stolen bases. She started and played in all 57 games last season.
Kubitschek rounds out the top returners with her appearing and starting in 54 games last year and hitting .272. She recorded 41 hits on the season with her serving as a key player in the corners of the infield and ending the year on a strong note after being selected to the RMAC Softball Championship All-Tournament team.
Beyond the trio, the Mavs bring back experience in players Bella Aragon, Brynn Escobar, Cailynn Parsons, Jackie Oster, Kamdyn Hagerty and Ava Stephens with each of them appearing in 30 or more games in 2025. Both Aragon and Parsons each ended the year as everyday starters as well.
Pitchers Sophia Tassinari and Marisa Nehm return to the pitching staff once again this season to help bolster efforts in the circle.
Both Allison Lindsay and Dakota DiPaola will also look to impact the team after medically redshirting last year.
In addition to the returners the Mavs also have six new players this year with two of them being transfers and four of them being true freshmen.
Those two transfers include Paige Pierce and TK Landes.
Pierce comes from Colby Community College where she hit .350 or better in two seasons with the Trojans while being selected as an All-KJCAA Honorable Mention in her sophomore year. Landes joined the team in the fall with her previously playing at Maryland-Eastern Shore and appearing in 14 games in her junior season. Prior to Maryland-Eastern Shore, she spent two seasons at North Dakota State College of Science and made it to the NJCAA Division III World Series twice.
The final four newcomers are freshman Kate Hella, Lacie Rodabaugh, Molli Magaña, and April Neill.
In total there are 22 players on this year's roster spanning over six states.
THE COACHES
Returning to coach the girls this season is Mercedes Bohte who enters her sixth season at the helm of Maverick Softball after taking over as the Interim Head Coach in the 2021 season and then officially being hired as the Head Coach in June of 2021.
In Bohte's career at CMU, she holds a 202-65 record while leading the team to five consecutive 30-plus wins season, including three of them having 40 or more wins. In addition, she is responsible for claiming three of the last five RMAC regular season champions with one RMAC Tournament Championship. She was named as the RMAC Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2024.
Since taking over the reins of the program in 2021, Bohte has totaled eight all-Americans, 21 all-region selections and 35 all-conference picks.
Additionally, she has amassed three RMAC Players of the Year, four RMAC Pitchers of the Year, one D2CCA Region Player of the Year, one D2CCA Region Pitcher of the Year and one NFCA DII Freshman of the Year Finalist.
Joining her once again this season to aid her coaching efforts are the pair of Willie Hinojosa and Eddie Mort as her top assistants. Former softball standout and all-American Myah Arrieta joins the staff as well as another assistant coach after finishing her playing career in 2025.
IN THE POLLS
The Mavs were picked to finish second in this year's RMAC Preseason Poll with them being voted as a top three conference team after finishing second in the 2025 season.
They earned 109 points in this year's preseason voting with them claiming three first-place votes, five second-place votes and two third-place votes.
They were just eight points behind Colorado Christian who was picked to win the conference with them earning seven first-place and four-second place votes en route to a total of 117 points.
Both schools, and MSU Denver, all made the NCAA Regionals last season as the RMAC's only representatives.
In addition to being selected second in the conference, the Mavs also had two picks to the Preseason RMAC Team that was released with the poll. Jessalyn Gallegos and Makayla Westmoreland were the two Mavs to be selected with the duo being the only returning All-RMAC performers for the team.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
A summary of each team along with the time and field of this weekend's game can be found below.
Azusa Pacific (Wednesday, Feb. 4- 4:00 P.M. & 6:00 P.M. MST)- Cougar Softball Complex
Facing off with each other for an opening doubleheader to the week, Wednesday's games will be just the second and third times both schools have faced off in their history with CMU having the lone win in their previous matchup in 2022.
In 2025, the Cougars went 31-22 overall while finishing third in the PacWest and reaching as far as the PacWest Tournament Championship game.
They have already played four games this season starting off 3-1 with them defeating both CSU Pueblo and Fort Lewis from the RMAC at the Concordia Classic Kickoff.
They return two key players in Bella Fraser and Julia Doan who were both all-conference selections a year ago with Doan also being named as a D2CCA All-Region pick.
Biola University (Friday, Feb. 6- 10:30 A.M. MST)- Yellow Field
Also having a limited history with the Mavs, the Eagles are 1-1 in the two schools' previous matchups with both having not faced each other since 2022.
Biola went 39-21 overall last season while earning an at large bid into the NCAA Regionals. They went 1-2 in their NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Eagles also took part in the Concordia Classic Kickoff, starting their season 2-2 so far while losing to RMAC foe, CSU Pueblo, 4-3 in their most recent game.
They had six players named to the PacWest Preseason Watch List with them predicted to finish second in the conference.
Cal State San Bernardino (Friday, Feb. 6- 3:00 P.M. MST)- Blue Field
The Coyotes and Mavs have met four times in school history with CSUSB owning a 3-1 record in those games and winning the most recent matchup in 2016.
The Coyotes went 26-27 in 2025 while reaching as far as the CCAA Conference Tournament before being a first-round exit.
They have played five games so far this year, owning a 3-2 record. They most recently beat Hawaii Pacific this past Sunday as they also took part in the Concordia Kickoff Classic.
They return three different All-CCA selections while also adding in another pair of all-conference transfers from Sonoma State.
#3 Western Washington University (Saturday, Feb. 7- 10:00 A.M. MST)- Blue Field
The Vikings and Mavs have only faced off twice before this weekend with the record being an even 1-1.
WWU comes into this year ranked No. 3 in the nation with them reaching all the way to the 2025 NCAA Division II World Series last season after boasting a 47-13 record.
They are currently 3-2 after their opening weekend at the Concordia Kickoff Classic. They will also take on RMAC school Colorado Christian today before entering the tournament this weekend.
The Vikings were picked to win the GNAC this year with them having the reigning conference co-Coach of the Year and two former GNAC Players of the Year in Maleah Andrews and Hailey Ruth returning as well.
#14 Cal State San Marcos (Saturday, Feb. 7- 3:00 P.M. MST)- Red Field
The Cougars will serve as the host of the tournament this weekend with them also being ranked No. 14 in the nation in the NFCA preseason poll.
Saturday's game will be the first time in school history that they matchup with the Mavs as both schools have been at many of the same tournaments but never met on the diamond.
The Cougars finished 2025 with a 43-23 record while making it all the way to the NCAA Super Regionals before falling to Western Washington.
They are currently 4-1 this season while winning the Concordia Kickoff Classic this past weekend.
Jillian Albayati serves as the team's key member to return after being their top offensive performer last season.
#17 Cal State East Bay (Sunday, Feb. 8- 11:00 A.M. MST)- Red Field
The Pioneers and Mavs have met only two other times before this weekend with CMU winning both of those games.
After a successful 2025 season in which they went 40-15 and reached the NCAA Regionals, Cal State East Bay was picked to win the CCAA this year with them also being ranked No. 14 nationally in the preseason poll.
The Pioneers are 4-1 this season with their only loss so far coming to Colorado Christian at the Concordia Kickoff Classic.
They return both Marissa Quintero and Marissa Farias who were both named to the 2026 CCAA Softball Preseason Watch List.
Vanguard University (Sunday, Feb. 8- 1:30 P.M. MST)- Red Field
Just like the game against Cal State San Marcos, The Mavs and the Lions have never faced off before with Sunday's game being the first time in school history.
Vanguard is only in their second year of competing at the Division II level with them moving up from NAIA last year.
In their first DII season they went 22-30 overall while not being eligible to compete in the postseason due to their status of changing levels.
This year they have begun the season with a 3-2 record while being picked to finish seventh in the PacWest.
Kamryn Walker serves as the team's biggest returner with 14 other players returning as well.
RMAC NETWORK NEWS
The RMAC Network has moved to a pay-per-view model for the 2025-26 season. This season, all RMAC athletic events broadcast by its 15 full-member institutions and associate members will only be available for purchase via a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them with access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
Additionally, a discounted annual subscription price will be available to students, faculty, and staff of each member institution throughout the year. Purchasing options and pricing for individual RMAC Championships will be announced closer to each event.
COLORADO MESA TURNS 100
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.
Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.
To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit cmucentury.com
UP NEXT
Following the Mavs trip to California they will get a weekend of play off before taking to the road again when they travel to Denver to open RMAC play against Regis University on Feb. 21. Streaming can be found online through the RMAC Network.
