PROVO, Utah – BYU softball kicks off the 2016 season with five games at the Kajikawa Classic this weekend, starting against San Jose State on Thursday at 2 p.m. MST.
The three-day tournament is hosted by Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. from Feb. 11-13. The Cougars will play five games at the Tempe Sports Complex.
BYU Kajikawa Classic Game Notes
BYU
The Cougars are coming off of a 40-14 season and their second-consecutive WCC championship. BYU also has 11-straight NCAA tournament appearances. In 2015, the Cougars finished the season at the Eugene Regional where they went 1-2 with the one win coming against Fresno State. BYU was voted as the preseason WCC favorites in the 2016 WCC preseason poll.
San Jose State | Thursday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. MST | Live stats
The Spartans finished with a 37-19 record in 2015 behind their best hitting team in the history of their program with a .350 batting average, 357 runs on 534 base hits and a .482 slugging percentage, all single-season school records. San Jose State had a final RPI ranking of 63 out of 295 and finished in third place in the MWC with a 17-7 conference record.
No. 8/9 Tennessee | Thursday, Feb. 11, at 4:30 p.m. MST | Live stats | Streaming audio
After finishing the 2015 season with a 47-17 record and a trip to the seventh Women’s College World Series appearance in program history, the Vols return nine players to make another impressive run. They are ranked No. 8 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Coaches Preseason Poll and No. 9 on the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll. Tennessee finished in fifth place in the SEC with a 15-9 conference record.
Wisconsin | Friday, Feb. 12, at 11:30 a.m. MST | Live stats
The Badgers struggled in 2015, finishing with a 21-31 overall record and a 5-17 Big Ten record, putting them in 13th place. They set several all-time team records, including the highest on-base percentage in school history with .389. The 2015 team also earned the most walks, setting a new school season record with 176, and snatched the most stolen bases with 118.
Creighton | Saturday, Feb. 13, at 9 a.m. MST | Live stats
The Bluejays finished in seventh place in the Big East in 2015 with a 22-21 overall record, 7-12 in conference. They have two All-Big East selections returning this season and seven freshmen. Creighton loses Liz Dike, who led the team in most statistical categories.
No. 24 Notre Dame | Saturday, Feb. 13, at 11:30 a.m. MST | Live stats
The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 24 in the 2016 USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Coaches Preseason poll and sit just outside of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll with 42 points. The Irish capped off the 2015 season with a 42-15 mark and their 17th-consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
Results will be updated each day on the BYU softball page. All other information on the Kajikawa Classic can be found at this link.