ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia Softball is set to begin the 2026 season this weekend with the 19^th Annual Red and Black Showcase. The Bulldogs will host Belmont, Fordham and Missouri State at Jack Turner Stadium.
 
No. 20/15 Georgia

at the Red and Black Showcase
Georgia’s Tournament Schedule

• Friday, Feb. 6: vs. Missouri State (3:30 p.m.) and Fordham (6:00 p.m.)
• Saturday, Feb. 7: vs. Fordham (1:00 p.m.) and Belmont (3:30 p.m.)
• Sunday, Feb. 8: vs. Belmont (1:00 p.m.)

Location: Athens, Georgia
Venue: Jack Turner Stadium
 
Media Information
Streaming: SEC Network+
    Play-By-Play: RJ Taylor
Live Updates: GeorgiaDogs.com 
X Updates (for Georgia): @UGASoftball
 
BULLDOG BULLETIN

Leading Off

Georgia Softball will open the 2026 season hosting the 19th Annual Red & Black Showcase at the Jack Turner Stadium. The Bulldogs will welcome Belmont, Fordham and Missouri State to Athens. All games will stream live on SEC Network+. A full schedule of the weekend is compiled below:
 
FRIDAY, FEB. 6
10:30 a.m. – Belmont vs. Missouri St.
1:00 p.m. – Belmont vs. Fordham
3:30 p.m. – Georgia vs. Missouri St.
6:00 p.m. – Georgia vs. Fordham

SATURDAY, FEB. 7

10:30 a.m. – Belmont vs. Missouri St.

1:00 p.m. – Georgia vs. Fordham

3:30 p.m. – Georgia vs. Belmont

6:00 p.m. – Missouri St. vs. Fordham

SUNDAY, FEB. 8

10:30 a.m. – Fordham vs. Missouri St.

1:00 p.m. – Georgia vs. Belmont

 

Series History

Belmont

– Georgia leads the all-time series between the two schools, 3-0

– The last contest between the programs was in 2019, and the Bulldogs defeated the Bruins, 3-0

 

Fordham

– This will be the first meeting between the two schools

– Under Baldwin, Georgia is 8-2 in all-time series openers

 

Missouri State

– This will also be the first meeting between the two schools

– Under Baldwin, the Bulldogs have a 4-2 record against teams from C-USA

 

Georgia in the Polls: Preseason

     – NFCA/GoRout: 20

     – ESPN/USA Softball: 15

     – D1Softball: 17

     – Softball America: 15

     – Latest RPI: X

 

National Recognition

A trio of Bulldogs have earned preseason recognition from both Softball America and D1Softball. In the Softball America preseason Top 100 Player Rankings, Sarah Gordon checked in at No. 78 and transfer pitcher Addisen Fisher spotted in at No. 93. More, Jaydyn Goodwin, Gordon and Fisher were tabbed as the No. 12 outfielder, the No. 8 UTL player and the No. 23 pitcher, respectively, by the outlet. 

 

D1Softball had three Georgia players in it’s D100 preseason Player Rankings with Goodwin at No. 52, Gordon at No. 67 and Fisher at No. 74. Positionally, by D1Softball, Goodwin was pinned as the No. 20 outfielder, Gordon as the No. 14 outfielder and Fisher as the No. 25 pitcher. 

 

Eyes on the Freshman

Four Bulldog freshmen earned spots on Softball America and D1Softball’s preseason Freshman Watch Lists. Pitchers Presley Harrison and Ada Little along with infielder Brooke Smith were all selected to the Softball America Freshman Watch List. More, Harrison and Little joined infielder Gabi Novickas on D1Softball’s SEC Freshman Watch List.

 

New Faces, New Places

12 new players will don the red and black this season with six transfer athletes and six freshmen.

 

Out of the portal, Baldwin and his staff welcome sophomore pitchers Addisen Fisher and Maddie Johnson. Fisher, a UCLA transfer, was tabbed to the Big-10 All-Freshman Team last season, as well as the D1Softball Freshman All-American First Team. Johnson, an Athens native, arrives from Georgia Southern after being named to the All-Sun Belt Conference First Team and to the D1Softball Freshman All-American Second Team. Outfielders Natalie Ray and Delani Sullivan join infielders Bailey Lindemuth and Keirsten Roose to round out the portal class. Ray is a North Georgia transfer who started her career at Ole Miss while Sullivan arrives from SEC opponent Kentucky. Lindemuth comes to Athens after reaching the Women’s College World Series with Texas Tech last season, and graduate transfer Roose joins the Bulldogs after four strong seasons with Coastal Carolina.

 

Two of Georgia’s six freshman signees will join the pitching staff in lefty Ada Little from Georgetown, Ky and the right-handed Presley Harrison from Baxley, Ga. Infielders Gabi Novickas, Brooke Smith and Katelin Smith hail from Chicago, Ill., Brandon, Miss. and Glennville, Ga. Outfielder Natalie Donaldson, a native of DeWitt, Mich. rounds out the six-person freshman class and the 12 newcomers.

 

Welcome Back!

Former Bulldog, Brittany Gray-Cardenas, who pitched for Georgia from 2015-2018, is an assistant coach for Missouri State. Also, Missouri State assistant coach Shelby Hiers was previously a volunteer assistant coach for the Bulldogs.

 

2025 Season Recap

• Georgia finished the 2025 season at 35-23 after reaching the Gainesville Super Regional, falling one win short of a sixth trip back to Oklahoma City.
• The Bulldogs tallied a 7-16 mark in conference play, finishing 12th overall in the Southeastern Conference.
• In the SEC Tournament, hosted in Athens, Georgia reached the second round of play before falling to No._-seed Arkansas.
• Senior Dallis Goodnight was named Second Team All-SEC after hitting at a .345 clip for 45 runs off 61 hits with four doubles, four triples, two home runs and 11 RBIs.
• Four Bulldogs earned NFCA All-South Region honors. Goodnight and Jaydyn Goodwin landed on the Second Team, and Sarah Gordon and Marisa Miller were named to the Third Team.
• Rising senior Destin Howard was named to the 2025 SEC Softball Community Service Team for her actions within and commitment to her home and Athens communities.
• 53,867 fans packed into The Jack over the course of the 2025 season – a new season record. More, during the series against No. 3 LSU, a program-best 7,098 fans were in attendance.

 
A Look at What’s Ahead

Georgia will play host for the 19th Annual Red & Black Showcase to kick off the 2026 campaign in Athens, Ga., welcoming Belmont, Fordham and Missouri State to Jack Turner Stadium.
 

The Bulldogs own a 77-9 (.895) all-time record in the Red & Black Showcase dating back to 2008. Under Baldwin, the Bulldogs are 15-4 in the event.
 
Opponent Outlook
Belmont finished the 2025 campaign at 41-16 (20-7 MVC) and took home the conference tournament championship. Hit-leader Rylee Spindler returns for the Bruins for her sophomore season after batting .357 for 39 runs off 60 hits as a freshman. In the circle, redshirt-senior Maya Johnson and senior Ellis Giles are also primed to return after combining for 30 wins and 1.52 and 3.05 ERAs, respectively.
 
Fordham enters the 2026 season on the back of a 30-26 record in 2025. The Rams fell in the championship of the A-10 tournament championship after finishing the regular season with a 17-9 conference nod. Fordham also returns its 2025 hit-leader in Neleh Nogay who paced the Rams with a .368 batting average and 52 runs off 77 hits. Senior Holly Beeman also returns to the circle for the A-10 outfit after throwing 147.2 innings with 86 strikeouts, 48 earned runs, 34 walks and a 2.28 ERA.
 
Missouri State, led by second-year head coach Kasey Griffth, went 20-33 last year and reached the second round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. The Bears bring back three of the top-six hitters from last season, and senior Makenzi Swick returns for her final season after leading the team in appearances in the circle during 2025.