ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The RIT Softball team opens the 2026 campaign this Sunday (March 8) with two games at the Gene Cusic Classic in Florida. Here are six things you need to know about the Tigers this season.
BIG CLEATS TO FILL
Seventeenth-year Head Coach
Rebecca Stryker bid adieu to a strong graduating senior class last spring. First-Team All-Region/two-time all-conference outfielder
Maddy Cook headlined the group after leading the Liberty League with a .426 batting average and finishing seventh with 33 RBI – the fourth-highest single season total in program history. She and classmate
Bailey Kehl (.345 BA, 21 RBI) tied for second in the conference with 15 doubles, while
Erin Ozminkowski (.290 BA, 13 RBI),
Kristin Hino (79 career games played) and pitcher
Lexi Pieri (63 career appearances) helped anchor the team the last four years.
DON'T MESS WITH JESS
Senior captain
Jessica Majot returns for one final season in the circle. A 2025 Second-Team All-Liberty League honoree, she finished eighth in the Liberty League with a team-best 90.0 innings pitched and sixth with 78 strikeouts to go along with a 3.97 earned run average a season ago. In 60 career appearances and 298.1 innings pitched, Majot (20-25, 3.66 ERA) has compiled 210 strikeouts while also maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA majoring in mechanical engineering.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Fourteen of the 16 players on the 2026 roster are underclassmen, including seven sophomores and seven first-year players.
DON'T WORRY…THE KIDS CAN HIT
The five returning position players from last spring's first-year class combined to hit .339 with 56 RBI. They also join lone junior
Maria Minemier, who was selected captain and has combined to hit .301 with 47 hits, 31 runs and 32 RBI the last two seasons.
KATE THE GREAT
Sophomore
Kate Carlone is back after capping her first year on the squad with Liberty League Second-Team All-Conference honors. Carlone batted .405 with 30 hits and 14 RBI, leading the Tigers with a .458 on-base percentage in 74 at-bats over 26 games played. Tied for fourth on the team with eight multi-hit games, she also logged five games with multi-RBI, including a 3-for-3 performance with four runs scored and three RBI in the 23-3 win over Keuka (Apr. 3).
2026 SCHEDULE
After opening the season with 10 games at the Gene Cusic Classic next week in Florida, the Tigers are slated to play back-to-back home doubleheaders opposite St. John Fisher (Mar. 24) and Brockport (Mar. 26). Following a trip to Alfred (Mar. 31), RIT will open Liberty League play hosting Rochester (Apr. 4) before taking on host Geneseo (Apr. 8) in non-league action. The Tigers will welcome conference foes Clarkson (Apr. 10) and St. Lawrence (Apr. 11) to town before hitting the road for contests at Fredonia (Apr. 14), RPI (Apr. 17), Skidmore (Apr. 18) and Oswego (Apr. 22). RIT finished the regular season at home for three of its final for series, hosting Ithaca (Apr. 25) and Nazareth (Apr. 28), traveling to Keuka (Apr. 29), and hosting Union (May 2). The Liberty League Tournament is scheduled for May 7-9, hosted by the top seed.
