Tarleton State University Women's Softball

Mark Cumpian will begin his 11th year at the helm when the 2027 softball season begins. Cumpian and the Texans just posted a historic 2026 campaign. They went 38-23 overall and 13-5 in WAC play, advancing to a winner-take-all WAC Tournament championship game, finishing second in the conference. The 38 wins marks a new program best in its NCAA Division I era, surpassing the 36 wins Tarleton State posted just a season before in 2025. Tarleton State took second in the WAC’s regular season and second in the WAC Softball Tournament, back-to-back years making it to the WAC Tournament championship game. For the first time in the D1 era, Tarleton State Softball was voted to finish first in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, while standout pitcher Shelby Schultz was named Preseason Co-Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year. Tarleton State rattled off nine straight wins to start the 2026 campaign, and posted highlight wins against Texas State, UTEP, New Mexico, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Colgate, South Dakota State and Stephen F. Austin throughout non-conference play. After winning its first WAC series of the year, the Texans followed with three straight WAC sweeps and nine straight WAC wins overall, rolling through Southern Utah, Utah Valley and Utah Tech. That set up a winner-take-all regular season finale at California Baptist for the conference regular season title. Following the regular season, three Texans were named to All-WAC Teams. LHP Shelby Schultz and RHP/OF Jaelynn Duke were named First Team All-WAC, and IF Casey Schultz was named Second Team All-WAC. Both the Schultz sisters, C Macie Vickers and IF Braylin Pannill earned All-WAC Tournament Team honors, as well. Statistically across NCAA Division I, the Texans ranked top-50 in walks (No. 25 with 231), hits (No. 32 with 493), runs (No. 41 with 363), RBI (No. 44 with 326), and sacrifice bunts (No. 47 with 33). In the classroom, the Texans posted a 3.48 team GPA, with 18 student-athletes posted a 3.5 GPA or better. The first year of Tarleton State’s NCAA postseason eligibility in 2025 featured a Cumpian-led Texan run to their first WAC Championship title game. The Purple and White secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament. In the final weekend of conference play through the first game of the tournament for Tarleton State, the Texans defeated tournament host California Baptist in four straight games, three of them in Stephenville. In March, Tarleton State took the three-game conference series from then-No. 24 Grand Canyon. The 2-1 series win included 3-0 and 5-2 victories for Tarleton State, which marked the first time the Lopes took a home series loss since 2022, a conference series loss since 2023 and marked just one of two times they were shutout in the 2025 season. Two more historic days came as Hannah Blincoe became just the third pitcher in program history to ever toss two no-hitters in a single season and the first since 2019. She tossed her first one on Feb. 23, 2025, vs. New Mexico in a 2-0 no-hitter shutout victory. Just 19 days later she tossed her second of the season over UT Arlington on March 14, 2025, in the Texans’ 8-0 walk-off run-rule no-hitter shutout win becoming the first in the Tarleton State’s Division I era to do so. Individually, Cumpian helped Shelby Schultz earn WAC Freshman of the Year, the first time at the Division I level a Texan has earned the honor. He also helped three student-athletes in Austin Germain, Kalyn Hill and Shelby Schultz to All-WAC First Team honors while Hannah Blincoe earned All-WAC Second Team honors. All four of these also earned WAC All-Tournament Team for their efforts in driving the Texans to the title game. Shelby Schultz and Hill were also both named to the NFCA All-Region team. Hill was named third team while Shelby Schultz was named second team as she was then named an NFCA All-American Nominee. In his final year of reclassification in 2024, Cumpian helped lead the Texans to their second straight WAC Tournament in as many years as eligible propelled by back-to-back home runs by Kayla Wallace and Tristyn Trull in the final regular season contest. History was once again etched in the books as Kendall Daniel tossed just the 11th no-hitter in program history on Feb. 18, 2024 vs. Mississippi Valley State, the second freshman to ever complete the feat. Individually, Cumpian helped Kelci Hill earn First Team All-WAC honors. Hill was also named to the 2024 NFCA second team All-Region, marking the first Texans to accomplish the feat in the Division I era. She also finished in the top three in the conference in batting average, hits, doubles, triples, total bases and at bats. In 2023 after its second-straight 30-win season, Tarleton State earned the fifth seed in its first ever appearance at the WAC Tournament. Following the conference tournament, the Texans were once again invited to take part in the National Invitational Softball Championships (NISC). The Texans won their second game of the tournament for its second postseason win as a Division I program. A pair of masterful pitching performances dazzled in the Tarleton State circle in 2023. Graduate transfer Grace Garcia tossed the second perfect game in program history on Feb. 19 against Texas A&M-Commerce. Tristan Bridges twirled the 10th no-hitter in Tarleton State history against California Baptist on March 31. Individually, Cumpian helped two Texans earn Second Team All-WAC honors, Katy Schaefer and Kelci Hill. Schaefer was also named to the All-WAC Preseason Team. Hill finished in the top three in the conference in hits and was tied for second in triples with Kayla Wallace. Grace Garcia ranked second in strikeouts in the league at 106. In just their second year as a member of NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference in 2022, Cumpian led the Texans to one of the nation’s best turnarounds. Tarleton State recorded its first 30-win campaign at the Division I level and qualified for the National Invitational Softball Championships (NISC). It marked the first national postseason berth by any Tarleton State Athletics program in the Division I era and the Texans won their second game of that tournament – 6-4 over UC San Diego – for the first postseason win in school history. In the spring of 2021, Cumpian led Tarleton State into the Division I ranks as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. Tarleton State wasted no time in taking on some of the nation’s elite with showdowns against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Texas in the first two months of the season. Cumpian earned his first win as an NCAA Division I head coach with a 7-3 home win over Prairie View A&M. Tarleton State finished its Division II tenure as one of the elite softball programs in the nation under Cumpian. Tarleton State won 109 games from 2018-20, which was the most by any team in the daunting Lone Star Conference over that span. Tarleton State was atop the league standings with a 19-4, 6-0 record when the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 season. Prior to that, Tarleton State had posted 90 wins in each of its previous two seasons with a school-record 50 wins coming in 2018. Cumpian’s team also spent nine weeks in 2018 ranked in the NFCA National Top 25 poll, including eight straight top 20 weeks to close out the season. Tarleton State reached as high as No. 15 in the nation on two different occasions throughout the season. The team stayed nationally-ranked through the majority of its remaining tenure at the Division II level. In his first season at the helm in 2017, Cumpian made Tarleton State history by becoming the first rookie head coach in any Tarleton State sport to qualify for the NCAA postseason in his first year as head coach. His team won 35 in the debut season and earned the No. 7 seed in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. He totaled four All-LSC selections in his first year as head coach, including First Team catcher Nyka Wood, to go along with an Academic All-LSC selection and an LSC Gold Glove award winner. During his time as a head coach in the Lone Star Conference, Cumpian had three players named to All-America teams, including the school’s first freshman All-American, Georgia Capell, and Academic All-American, Megan Durante. Capell and Jordan Withrow were multi-year All-Americans. He had 10 all-region award winners and 30 All-LSC awards, including the LSC Pitcher of the Year, two LSC Academic Players of the Year, LSC Newcomer of the Year, and LSC Freshman of the Year. His foundation of success started within the Tarleton State Softball program after spending six seasons as the top assistant coach. Over his final two seasons as an assistant coach for Tarleton State, Cumpian was the primary hitting instructor and led Tarleton State to back-to-back seasons of hitting over .300 as a team, which was the first time a Tarleton State team topped a .300 batting average since 2007. His 2015 Tarleton State offense ranked No. 14 in the nation in scoring offense. In 2015, his first season as the primary hitting instructor, he led Tarleton State to new heights offensively with two players hit over .400 for the season and, as a team, the team hit .328 for the No. 27-ranked batting average in the nation. In addition to his leadership of the offense, Cumpian spent his final two seasons as an assistant coach as the recruiting coordinator for Tarleton State. His first recruiting class helped Tarleton State clinch the 2015 South Central Region I Championship and advance to the NCAA Division II Super Regional Series for the first time in school history. Tarleton State was ranked in the NCAA regional rankings in five of Cumpian’s six seasons as an assistant. In his earlier seasons with Tarleton State, Cumpian served as the pitching coach and had success in that area as well. He coached a first-team all-conference, all-region, and two LSC Gold Glove pitchers during his time in charge of the Tarleton State pitchers. In his time as an assistant coach for Tarleton State, he mentored 26 all-LSC players, four LSC Gold Glove winners, the 2011 LSC Newcomer of the Year, four all-region selections, and one NFCA All-America honoree. Tarleton State also had 42 LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll selections during his time on the coaching staff. Cumpian, a 2010 graduate of Howard Payne University, was the student assistant with the Lady Jackets for the 2009-10 season prior to joining Tarleton State. Cumpian was a relief pitcher for Howard Payne's baseball team for four years. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from HPU and earned a master’s degree in kinesiology from Tarleton State in 2014. He resides in Stephenville with his wife, Jennifer. They have two children, Myles and Hazel.   The Mark Cumpian File Hometown Charlotte, Texas High School Charlotte High School ('05) College Howard Payne ('10) Family Wife: Jennifer Son: Myles Daughter: Hazel Coaching History Year School Position 2010 Howard Payne Student Assistant 2011-16 Tarleton State Assistant Coach 2017-Present Tarleton State Head Coach NCAA Head Coaching Record Year School Overall Conf. Home Postseason 2017 Tarleton State 35-22 18-12 14-7 NCAA Regional 2018 Tarleton State 50-11 23-7 22-1 NCAA Regional 2019 Tarleton State 40-15 20-10 14-7 NCAA Regional 2020 Tarleton State 19-4 6-0 2-0 Season ended due to COVID-19 2021 Tarleton State 17-36 5-12 8-5 Inaugural D1 Season 2022 Tarleton State 30-25 14-10 16-8 NISC Qualifier 2023 Tarleton State 31-29 13-11 16-11 WAC Tournament, NISC Qualifier 2024     Tarleton State 23-32 9-16 14-8 WAC Tournament 2025     Tarleton State 36-22 16-8 22-7 WAC Tournament Title Game 2026     Tarleton State 38-23 13-5 21-10 WAC Tournament Title Game TOTAL Tarleton State: 10 Years 319-219 137-91 149-64  

When the 2027 softball season begins, Stefanie Phillips will start her 14th year as a part of the Tarleton State Softball program and her second year as Associate Head Coach. She has been the top assistant coach for head coach Mark Cumpian across all of his 10 completed seasons.   After spending her first three seasons as a second assistant under Julie Mata, she has coached pitchers, catchers, and slappers in all 13 years of her Tarleton State tenure and will begin her 10th season of also working with outfielders and serving as the recruiting coordinator.   Phillips and the Texans just posted a historic 2026 campaign under her first year as Associate Head Coach. They went 38-23 overall and 13-5 in WAC play, advancing to a winner-take-all WAC Tournament championship game, finishing second in the conference. The 38 wins marks a new program best in its NCAA Division I era, surpassing the 36 wins Tarleton State posted just a season before in 2025. Tarleton State took second in the WAC’s regular season and second in the WAC Softball Tournament, back-to-back years making it to the WAC Tournament championship game. For the first time in the D1 era, Tarleton State Softball was voted to finish first in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, while standout pitcher Shelby Schultz was named Preseason Co-Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year. Tarleton State rattled off nine straight wins to start the 2026 campaign, and posted highlight wins against Texas State, UTEP, New Mexico, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Colgate, South Dakota State and Stephen F. Austin throughout non-conference play. After winning its first WAC series of the year, the Texans followed with three straight WAC sweeps and nine straight WAC wins overall, rolling through Southern Utah, Utah Valley and Utah Tech. That set up a winner-take-all regular season finale at California Baptist for the conference regular season title. Following the regular season, three Texans were named to All-WAC Teams. LHP Shelby Schultz and RHP/OF Jaelynn Duke were named First Team All-WAC, and IF Casey Schultz was named Second Team All-WAC. Both the Schultz sisters, C Macie Vickers and IF Braylin Pannill earned All-WAC Tournament Team honors, as well. Statistically across NCAA Division I, the Texans ranked top-50 in walks (No. 25 with 231), hits (No. 32 with 493), runs (No. 41 with 363), RBI (No. 44 with 326), and sacrifice bunts (No. 47 with 33). In the classroom, the Texans posted a 3.48 team GPA, with 18 student-athletes posted a 3.5 GPA or better.   The first year of Tarleton State’s NCAA postseason eligibility in 2025 featured a Texan run to their first WAC Championship title game. The Purple and White secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament. In the final weekend of conference play through the first game of the tournament for Tarleton State, the Texans defeated tournament host California Baptist in four straight games, three of them in Stephenville. In March, Tarleton State took the three-game conference series from then-No. 24 Grand Canyon. The 2-1 series win included 3-0 and 5-2 victories for Tarleton State, which marked the first time the Lopes took a home series loss since 2022, a conference series loss since 2023 and marked just one of two times they were shutout in the 2025 season. Two more historic days came as Hannah Blincoe became just the third pitcher in program history to ever toss two no-hitters in a single season and the first since 2019. She tossed her first one on Feb. 23, 2025, vs. New Mexico in a 2-0 no-hitter shutout victory. Just 19 days later she tossed her second of the season over UT Arlington on March 14, 2025, in the Texans’ 8-0 walk-off run-rule no-hitter shutout win becoming the first in the Tarleton State’s Division I era to do so. Individually, Phillips helped Shelby Schultz earn WAC Freshman of the Year, the first time at the Division I level a Texan has earned the honor. She also helped three student-athletes in Austin Germain, Kalyn Hill and Shelby Schultz to All-WAC First Team honors while Hannah Blincoe earned All-WAC Second Team honors. All four of these also earned WAC All-Tournament Team for their efforts in driving the Texans to the title game. Shelby Schultz and Hill were also both named to the NFCA All-Region team. Hill was named third team while Shelby Schultz was named second team as she was then named an NFCA All-American Nominee. At the completion of the 2025 season, the Texans had the 22nd lowest ERA in the nation and second-best in the WAC at just 2.66. The rock slingers for the Purple and White were also 16th in the nation in team strikeouts per seven innings.   In Tarleton State’s final year of reclassification in 2024, the Texans made their second straight WAC Tournament in as many years as eligible propelled by back-to-back home runs by Kayla Wallace and Tristyn Trull in the final regular season contest. History was once again etched in the books as Kendall Daniel tossed just the 11th no-hitter in program history on Feb. 18, 2024 vs. Mississippi Valley State, the second freshman to ever complete the feat. Individually, Kelci Hill earned First Team All-WAC honors. Hill was also named to the 2024 NFCA second team All-Region, marking the first Texans to accomplish the feat in the Division I era. She also finished in the top three in the conference in batting average, hits, doubles, triples, total bases and at bats.   In 2023 after its second-straight 30-win season, Tarleton State earned the fifth seed in its first ever appearance at the WAC Tournament. Following the conference tournament, the Texans were once again invited to take part in the National Invitational Softball Championships (NISC). The Texans won their second game of the tournament for its second postseason win as a Division I program. A pair of masterful pitching performances dazzled in the Tarleton State circle in 2023. Graduate transfer Grace Garcia tossed the second perfect game in program history on Feb. 19 against Texas A&M-Commerce. Tristan Bridges twirled the 10th no-hitter in Tarleton State history against California Baptist on March 31. Individually, Phillips helped two Texans earn Second Team All-WAC honors, Katy Schaefer and Kelci Hill. Schaefer was also named to the All-WAC Preseason Team. Hill finished in the top three in the conference in hits and was tied for second in triples with Kayla Wallace. Grace Garcia ranked second in strikeouts in the league at 106.   In just their second year as a member of NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference, Phillips was the top assistant for the Texans in one of the nation’s best turnarounds – going from 17 wins in 2021 to 30 in 2022. Tarleton State recorded its first 30-win campaign at the Division I level and qualified for the National Invitational Softball Championships (NISC). It marked the first national postseason berth by any Tarleton State Athletics program in the Division I era and the Texans won the second game of that tournament – 6-4 over UC San Diego – for the first postseason win in school history.   Phillips was a key part of Tarleton State’s reclassification to NCAA Division I in the spring of 2021 as the Texans won 17 games in their debut season with the Western Athletic Conference. Tarleton State’s move to Division I was the penultimate chapter in a wild two-year span for Tarleton State Softball. After making the decision to leave NCAA Division II and the Lone Star Conference in November 2019, the 2020 softball season was on the verge of becoming Tarleton State’s best yet. The Texans boasted victories over the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and defending national champion Augustana and a doubleheader sweep of No. 2-ranked UT Tyler. Tarleton State was leading the Lone Star Conference standings with a 6-0 league mark when the season was abruptly canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four months later, Tarleton State made the move to the WAC official on July 1, 2020.   Before making the jump, Phillips was an integral part in making Tarleton State one of the elite programs in all of NCAA Division II.   Beginning with the 2018 season, Tarleton State boasted the third lowest ERA in the LSC and the second-most strikeouts. Sophomore Jordan Withrow was named the LSC Pitcher of the Year and a Fastpitch News DII All-American after stepping into the ace role and throwing over 220 innings and striking out 252 hitters. Phillips had two pitchers named all-conference – Withrow and Megan Rosewell – during Tarleton State’s program-record 50-win season. Tarleton State returned to the NCAA playoffs and advanced to the regional finals for the second time in program history. Tarleton State followed up with a 2019 campaign that saw Tarleton State go 40-15, marking the second straight season of at least 40 wins. The 90 wins over the two seasons were the most in the daunting Lone Star Conference. With Phillips coaching the pitchers, junior Jordan Withrow broke Tarleton State’s all-time career strikeouts record with 570 and was named an All-American for the second straight season. Tarleton State advanced to the NCAA regional tournament for the third straight year with Phillips on staff.   In her first season as the top assistant, Tarleton State qualified for the NCAA postseason for the fifth time in school history with 35 wins. Phillips’ pitching staff boasted the third-best ERA in the Lone Star Conference with 11 shutouts, including two shutouts of then-No. 1 Angelo State to take the regular season series.   During her early seasons on staff, Phillips was a part of the run to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in school history. Tarleton State went 33-22 and entered the regional tournament as the No. 8 seed before defeating West Texas A&M and Cameron to claim the South Central Region 1 Tournament Championship. She coached freshman Haley Freyman to an all-conference season as a freshman and the second-most wins in a single season (21). Phillips has helped Freyman and catcher Nyka Wood earn all-conference accolades in three straight seasons.   Phillips, under her surname Watson, came to Tarleton State after spending the 2013 as a coach at Sterling High School in Baytown. Prior to her time at SHS, Phillips was a graduate assistant coach at Oklahoma. While at OU, the Sooners won the Big 12 Conference championships and were the runners-up at the College World Series. She joined the Sooner coaching staff after a four-year playing career at East Central as a utility player.   She graduated in May 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in science with minors in education and math. She received her master’s degree in 2014 in sports administration. Phillips was married in June 2015 to her husband, Josh. The couple resides in Granbury with their daughter, Hattie, and son, Huck.

Following a handful of years away from Stephenville, Nyka Wood made her return to a place very familiar as head coach Mark Cumpian announced the hiring of Wood as assistant coach on June 10, 2025.   Wood was a first-year assistant coach at Tarleton State in 2026, where the Texans just posted a historic campaign. They went 38-23 overall and 13-5 in WAC play, advancing to a winner-take-all WAC Tournament championship game, finishing second in the conference. The 38 wins marks a new program best in its NCAA Division I era, surpassing the 36 wins Tarleton State posted just a season before in 2025. Tarleton State took second in the WAC’s regular season and second in the WAC Softball Tournament, back-to-back years making it to the WAC Tournament championship game. For the first time in the D1 era, Tarleton State Softball was voted to finish first in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, while standout pitcher Shelby Schultz was named Preseason Co-Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year. Tarleton State rattled off nine straight wins to start the 2026 campaign, and posted highlight wins against Texas State, UTEP, New Mexico, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Colgate, South Dakota State and Stephen F. Austin throughout non-conference play. After winning its first WAC series of the year, the Texans followed with three straight WAC sweeps and nine straight WAC wins overall, rolling through Southern Utah, Utah Valley and Utah Tech. That set up a winner-take-all regular season finale at California Baptist for the conference regular season title. Following the regular season, three Texans were named to All-WAC Teams. LHP Shelby Schultz and RHP/OF Jaelynn Duke were named First Team All-WAC, and IF Casey Schultz was named Second Team All-WAC. Both the Schultz sisters, C Macie Vickers and IF Braylin Pannill earned All-WAC Tournament Team honors, as well. Statistically across NCAA Division I, the Texans ranked top-50 in walks (No. 25 with 231), hits (No. 32 with 493), runs (No. 41 with 363), RBI (No. 44 with 326), and sacrifice bunts (No. 47 with 33). In the classroom, the Texans posted a 3.48 team GPA, with 18 student-athletes posted a 3.5 GPA or better.   Wood returned to the Cowboy Capital of the World after coaching at Akron from 2022-24. The four-year backstop is no stranger to Cumpian's staff as she served as a Graduate Assistant for the Texans in 2019 after wrapping up her playing career from 2015-18.   "Having Nyka back in Stephenville is phenomenal," said Cumpian at the time of her hiring. "She was a terrific player and graduate assistant for me, and I'm thrilled to now have her on staff with me again. I'm looking forward to what she can bring to help us elevate our program even more."   During her time on the field, Wood was not only a force to be reckoned with behind the plate, but in the box as well. The North Richland Hills, Texas, native batted .330 or better all four years highlighted by her .404 average her freshman season.   The general behind the dish began her playing career for the Purple and White in 2015 and played for head coach Julie Mata for two seasons. After Cumpian took over in 2017, Wood helped Tarleton State to an NCAA Tournament berth. The following season, Wood's senior campaign, the Texans notched 50 wins for the first time in program history marking the winningest season in program history. Across her four-year campaign for the Purple and White, Wood started every game she played in, missing just one game her senior year as she was on the field for 227 of the 228 games played from 2015-18.   During her time at the plate, Wood hit .374, tallying almost 700 at-bats finishing just shy of the century mark in runs with 98 following 258 career hits. She found the gap in the outfield plenty, collecting 56 doubles. The four-year slugger hit 22 homers which is the third-most by any Texan since 2018 to spend at least four years on the diamond for Tarleton State.   Wood collected 191 RBI over her four years while drawing 82 walks for a .455 on-base percentage and was slugging .554 during her time. She also took 36 hit by pitches.   Behind the plate she tallied 948 putouts including a single-season-high of 316 for the backstop her senior season. She was also credited with 134 assists and was perfect in the field her junior season.   Following her four-year playing career, Wood decided it wasn't time to leave the 'Ville just yet as she joined Cumpian's staff as a Graduate Assistant. She held that position from 2018-20 before packing things up and heading south for her first full-time coaching gig. During her two years on the Texans' staff, the team posted a record of 59-19, made another appearance at NCAA Regionals in 2019 and finished 2020 ranked 20th nationally in the NFCA poll.   In 2020, she was hired as an assistant coach for the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelina softball program, where she spent two seasons. In her first year in Kingsville, Wood helped the Javelinas reached their second consecutive NCAA Tournament. Her work with TAMUK's lineup helped the team post a .324 batting average, third-best in the Lone Star Conference and 29th in the nation. The Javs also had six All-LSC players, including four student-athletes on the All-Conference First Team.   After two years down south, Wood left the Lone Star State for Ohio as she took an assistant coaching job with Akron. In her first season with the Zips, she made a trip to the 'Ville for the 2023 Whataburger Invitational hosted by Tarleton State. During her time up north the Zips went 51-52 while she was on staff across two seasons.   Wood rejoined the Texans late in 2025 as a volunteer assistant coach, and helped the Texans lock up the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament, with a run to the WAC Tournament championship game.

Alexa Rehmeier joined the Tarleton State Softball staff as an Assistant Coach ahead of the 2026 season, bringing with her a decorated collegiate pitching career, championship experience, and a strong academic background.   Rehmeier was a first-year assistant coach at Tarleton State in 2026, where the Texans just posted a historic campaign. They went 38-23 overall and 13-5 in WAC play, advancing to a winner-take-all WAC Tournament championship game, finishing second in the conference. The 38 wins marks a new program best in its NCAA Division I era, surpassing the 36 wins Tarleton State posted just a season before in 2025. Tarleton State took second in the WAC’s regular season and second in the WAC Softball Tournament, back-to-back years making it to the WAC Tournament championship game. For the first time in the D1 era, Tarleton State Softball was voted to finish first in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, while standout pitcher Shelby Schultz was named Preseason Co-Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year. Tarleton State rattled off nine straight wins to start the 2026 campaign, and posted highlight wins against Texas State, UTEP, New Mexico, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Colgate, South Dakota State and Stephen F. Austin throughout non-conference play. After winning its first WAC series of the year, the Texans followed with three straight WAC sweeps and nine straight WAC wins overall, rolling through Southern Utah, Utah Valley and Utah Tech. That set up a winner-take-all regular season finale at California Baptist for the conference regular season title. Following the regular season, three Texans were named to All-WAC Teams. LHP Shelby Schultz and RHP/OF Jaelynn Duke were named First Team All-WAC, and IF Casey Schultz was named Second Team All-WAC. Both the Schultz sisters, C Macie Vickers and IF Braylin Pannill earned All-WAC Tournament Team honors, as well. Statistically across NCAA Division I, the Texans ranked top-50 in walks (No. 25 with 231), hits (No. 32 with 493), runs (No. 41 with 363), RBI (No. 44 with 326), and sacrifice bunts (No. 47 with 33). In the classroom, the Texans posted a 3.48 team GPA, with 18 student-athletes posted a 3.5 GPA or better.   A standout in the circle during her time as a Texan, Rehmeier helped the Texans produce one of the strongest Division I seasons in program history. During the 2025 season, Rehmeier provided valuable innings out of Tarleton State’s pitching staff, appearing in 25 games with four starts and posting a 2-3 record with a 3.45 ERA across 44.2 innings pitched. She recorded 41 strikeouts and three saves, ranking among the team’s key contributors on the mound and helping the Texans navigate a competitive 36-22 campaign.   Rehmeier appeared in 31 games with 19 starts during the 2024 season, leading the team in innings pitched (103) while posting a 7-7 record with five complete games, two shutouts, and one save. She struck out a team-high 57 batters and was named a 2024 Easton/NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete, exemplifying excellence both on the field and in the classroom.   Prior to her time at Tarleton State, Rehmeier played two seasons at Eastern Illinois, where she was a key contributor in the circle and helped lead the Panthers to the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Championship. As a freshman, she made 35 appearances with a 12-10 record, 102 strikeouts, and a 3.45 ERA, highlighted by multiple double-digit strikeout performances. Her sophomore campaign included a 7-5 record with a 3.47 ERA and several complete-game victories. During her time at EIU, she earned OVC Newcomer Team honors, OVC Pitcher of the Week recognition, the OVC Medal of Honor, and multiple NFCA Easton All-America Scholar-Athlete awards while maintaining Dean’s List status throughout her career.   A native of Jefferson City, Missouri, Rehmeier prepped at Helias Catholic High School, where she lettered four years and helped guide the program to a Missouri Class 3 State Championship in 2019. She finished her high school career with more than 40 wins, 465 strikeouts, a 1.20 ERA, and a 0.78 WHIP across 303 innings pitched. Her resume included two perfect games as a senior, multiple All-State, All-Region, and All-District selections, as well as Academic All-State and National Honor Society honors. She also competed for the Iowa Premier select team.   Rehmeier earned her undergraduate degree in finance from Tarleton State in 2025.