PROVO, Utah — BYU softball heads to Honolulu this week to kick off its 2024 season at the University of Hawaii’s Paradise Classic. The Cougars will face Missouri-Kansas City twice, Ole Miss, Nevada and host Hawai’i in the tournament.
There will be live stats for this week’s games, but no live streams. Admission to all of the tournament games is free.
| Bank of Hawai'i Paradise Classic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Opponent | Live Stats |
| Thursday, Feb. 8 | 10:30 a.m. HST | Missouri-Kansas City | Stat Broadcast |
| Thursday, Feb. 8 | 1 p.m. HST | Ole Miss | Stat Broadcast |
| Friday, Feb. 9 | 10:30 a.m. HST | Nevada | Stat Broadcast |
| Saturday, Feb. 10 | 1 p.m. HST | Missouri-Kansas City | Stat Broadcast |
| Saturday, Feb. 10 | 3:30 p.m. HST | Hawai'i | Stat Broadcast |
Returning 17 players from last year’s roster and welcoming eight newcomers in the form of four transfers and four freshmen, BYU looks to begin its inaugural season as members of the Big 12 Conference strong.
- Missouri-Kansas City (9-43, 4-17 Summit League)
- The Roos concluded their 2023 season in a game spanning two days due to weather against North Dakota State in the Summit League tournament.
- BYU leads the all-time series between the two teams, 3-0, with the last matchups coming on a 2012 doubleheader in Provo.
- Ole Miss (32-28, 8-16 SEC)
- The Rebels made it to the NCAA Regional final in Salt Lake last year before dropping a 4-1 decision to Utah.
- BYU leads the all-time series, 2-1. All three matchups have taken place at neutral sites, with the last meeting coming in 2011.
- Nevada (31-19, 10-12 Mountain West)
- The Wolfpack advanced to day two of the Mountain West Conference tournament last season before falling to Boise State in extras.
- BYU leads the all-time series, 7-3, winning the last four matchups. The Cougars are 4-3 against the Pack at neutral sites.
- Hawai'i (30-23, 13-14 Big West)
- The Rainbow Wahine picked up wins over Utah Tech, Saint Mary’s, UNLV and Iowa State in non-conference play last season before slowing down during their Big West slate.
- BYU leads the all-time series, 16-2, with the Cougars winning the last 11 matchups. The last meeting between the two teams was at UNLV’s Rebel Classic in 2022, but the Cougars haven’t visited the ‘Bows since 2018.
The Cougars finished second in their final year in the West Coast Conference last season, going 35-17 overall and 11-4 in league. Despite not making it to the NCAA Tournament, BYU advanced to the championship game of the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) before falling to Iowa, 9-7.
BYU returns last year’s WCC Player of the Year (first baseman Huntyr Ava,) WCC Defensive Player of the Year (shortstop/right-handed pitcher Ailana Agbayani) and WCC Freshman of the Year (catcher Hailey Morrow), as well as five others .
Also returning for the Cougars are five players who were named to All-WCC teams as well a season ago: righty Kaysen Korth, center fielder Violet Zavodnik, left fielder Maddie Bejarano, lefty Chloe Temples and infielder Tristen Turlington.
Agbayani, Ava, Korth, Morrow and Turlington combined for seven WCC Player of the Week awards in 2023. The awards continued for Ava and Agbayani, with the pair being named to the NFCA's All-Pacific Region Third Team as well.
Ranked seventh out of ten teams in the Big 12 preseason poll, Ava represented BYU as the lone Cougar on the league's preseason all-conference team.
BYU had five players represented in the final national statistical rankings last season. Bejarano led the way at No. 11 in sacrifice bunts per game (0.27), with Ava in 12th for home runs per game (0.35) and RBI per game (1.09). Morrow ranked 21st, catching 14 runners stealing, while Korth was No. 36 in strikeouts (189) and No. 37 in victories (19). Temples finished No. 66 in strikeouts per seven innings, averaging 7.7.
Following the Cougars' five-game slate in Hawai'i, they will then visit Arizona State in Tempe for the Sun Devils' Littlewood Classic.