St. Cloud State Softball Picked Fifth in NSIC Preseason Poll

BURNSVILLE, Minn. – St. Cloud State Softball was selected to finish fifth in the 2026 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league office on Friday. Additionally, senior pitcher Macey Clark (Winneconne, Wis.) and junior infielder Brooke Holmes (Savage, Minn.) were named the preseason players to watch by the NSIC.

Head Coach Mitch Roberts enters his fifth season at the helm of the Huskies Softball in 2026. He has record of 141-79 (.641) and led last year's team to a 41-15 overall record, including a 20-7 record in NSIC play, to finish fourth in the standings. The Huskies fell in the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals to No. 5 seed Minnesota Duluth. It was the eighth time in program history and first time since 2019 that SCSU reached the 40-win mark.

"We are extremely excited for the upcoming season," said Roberts. "While we graduated some key pieces from last year's team, the foundation is strong and this group is ready to take the next step. We are excited for the challenges and opportunities ahead this spring."

Clark, the reigning and SCSU's first ever NSIC Newcomer of the Year, enters her second and final season with the Huskies after an impressive junior campaign. In her first season of NCAA play last year, she went 18-7 with one save over 29 appearances/28 starts (157.1 innings), logging 13 complete games. Clark posted a 2.49 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP with four total shutouts (two solo/two combined), while holding batters to a .239 batting average. She posted 132 strikeouts to just 39 walks and ranked among the Northern Sun's best in starts (3^rd), shutouts (6^th), innings pitched (6^th), strikeouts (7^th), walks/7 innings (7^th, 1.74), WHIP (8^th), K/BB ratio (8^th, 3.38), complete games (8^th) and hits allowed/7 innings (10^th, 6.32). Clark was also a Second Team All-NSIC selection.

"Macey brings a consistent work ethic and attitude to everything she does," said Roberts. "As a JUCO transfer, she has already left a strong mark at St. Cloud, and her legacy continues to grow. We are excited to see what Macey will do in her senior campaign."

Holmes, a reigning National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Second Team All-American, looks to build off her breakout sophomore season in which she led SCSU in in batting average (.414), slugging percentage (.688), runs (52), home runs (12), RBI (51), total bases (128) and times hit by pitch (four). She also ranked second in on-base percentage (.471), hits (77) and third in doubles (13). She carries both hitting and on-base streaks of 12 games into the 2026 season.

The Savage, Minnesota native became the sixth Husky (first since 2008) and first second baseman to be named an NFCA All-American. Prior to being named an All-American, she earned the first all-region accolades of her career after being named to the All-Central Region Second Team by the NFCA and her first all-conference recognition after earning a Second Team All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) selection. Additionally, Holmes was twice named NSIC Player of the Week by the league office (Feb. 24 | April 28). They were her first two weekly conference honors of her career, and she was the only Husky to earn weekly honors throughout the season. After an incredible non-conference season, she was named to the 2025 NFCA Division II Player of the Year watchlist.

Holmes also excelled in the classroom, becoming just the sixth student-athlete in program history and one of two student-athletes from the NSIC in 2025 to earn Academic All-America® honors from the College Sports Communicators (CSC) after being named to its second team for softball. She was also named a CSC Academic All-District® honoree, an Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athlete, an NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence member and an NSIC All-Academic recipient each for the first time in her career.

"Brooke is a strong leader on and off the field, and her success has never been accidental," said Roberts. "She puts in the work, holds herself to a high standard, and has earned every achievement along the way. She is exactly the type of high character player every program hopes to have."

SCSU returns 15 players from last season's roster – including three seniors, one redshirt junior, five juniors, one redshirt sophomore, four sophomores and one redshirt freshman. The Huskies brought in seven newcomers including two junior transfers and four freshmen.

Key returners include senior pitcher Justyce Porter (Seattle, Wash.), who was a 2025 Second Team All-NSIC Selection and regular starters junior outfielder Bree Beck (Lakeville, Minn.), redshirt sophomore utility Kaylee Collins (Lakeville, Minn.), redshirt junior infielder Grace Frechette (Forest Lake, Minn.), senior infielder Sydney Roe (Davenport, Iowa) and junior catcher/infielder Bethany Weiss (Forest Lake, Minn.).

For the seventh consecutive season and eighth time overall, Augustana was chosen as the favorite in the NSIC Preseason Softball Coaches' Poll. The Vikings, the five-time defending regular season champions, amassed 221 points 12 of the 16 first place votes (coaches cannot rank their own team). Winona State was second with 202 points and four first place votes, followed by Minnesota State (197 points), Minnesota Duluth (183 points) and the Huskies (175 points).

The preseason coaches' poll is based off each coach ranking each team with the top team receiving 15 points, second 14, third 13, etc.

The 2026 NSIC Softball season gets underway with non-conference play on January 31, while the 28-game NSIC schedule is set to begin on Saturday, March 21.

The 2026 NSIC Softball Tournament will have a 10-team single elimination format over four days played at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on May 6-9, 2026; hosted by Augustana University. The tournament will be streamed on the NSIC Network, with tournament passes or single game access available for purchase.

2026 NSIC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team (first place votes) Points

Augustana (12) 221
Winona State (4) 202
Minnesota State 197
Minnesota Duluth 183
St. Cloud State 175
Concordia-St. Paul 148
Wayne State 138
Minot State 133
Southwest Minnesota State 111
Sioux Falls 96
MSU Moorhead 80
Bemidji State 68
Northern State 56
Minnesota Crookston 43
Jamestown 42
UMary 27

NSIC RELEASE

The Huskies will open their new season with four home games at the annual Kelly Laas Memorial Tournament (Feb. 6-7) against conference foes Bemidji State (twice), Concordia-St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State.

SCHEDULE RELEASE | 2026 SCHEDULE (WEB) | 2026 SCHEDULE (PDF)

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Softball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.