LEXINGTON, Ky. — As Kentucky softball coach Rachel Lawson enters her 19th season with the Wildcats, UK prepares to host a program-record 23 home games, including the 2026 SEC Tournament. The complete schedule was released Tuesday afternoon.
The Wildcats will begin the regular season in the Golden State and end it in the Bluegrass.
Kentucky will open its season with an 11-game, eight-day west coast road swing as the Wildcats will play five games at the San Diego State Season Kick-Off, followed by a single game at UC Santa Barbara and, lastly, five additional games at the Stanford Invitational, to be hosted at the brand new Stanford Softball Stadium, opening in 2026.
Throughout the road trip, the Cats will face programs including San Diego State, Minnesota, Stanford, Oregon and Cal Poly.
Be on the lookout 😏🤩👀@alexariddell25 x @maddyanson2025 pic.twitter.com/MM9re5DfH7
— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) January 5, 2026
UK’s home season at John Cropp Stadium starts with another iteration of the John Cropp Classic as the Wildcats will host Michigan State, Dayton and Murray State for the annual event. This year's Classic is a three-day affair, running from February 27 through March 1 in Lexington.
Again in 2026, the SEC will utilize a 24-game schedule with each team playing six series over a seven-week period prior to the SEC Softball Tournament.
Kentucky opens conference play at Auburn from March 6-8, while UK's SEC home opener comes the following weekend, March 13-15, against the Florida Gators.
12 of Kentucky's 24 SEC games will feature an opponent from last year's Women's College World Series; 18 of the 24 games feature an opponent which advanced to the Super Regionals.
All 24 SEC games come against teams which qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year.
UK will play seven additional games against NCAA Tournament teams in its non-conference schedule, including two games against Oregon. The Ducks competed in last year's 2025 WCWS.
Other non-conference matchups include two meetings with in-state rival Louisville. The Cats will host the Cards on March 25th at 5:30 p.m.; the rivalry game will swap cities in the final week of the regular season, when the Cards host the Cats on April 22.
Kentucky will also play UIndy, Southern Indiana, Bellarmine, Eastern Kentucky and Morehead St. at home in midweek matchups, and will travel to UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 10), Murray State (Feb. 18), Houston (March 18), Miami (March 31) and Northern Kentucky (April 15) in 2026.
All in all, UK will play 31 of its 56 games against 2025 postseason teams, 20 games against seven teams which made Super Regionals and 14 games against five teams which made the Women’s College World Series.
All dates and opponents have been finalized, with most times finalized and announced as well, on UKathletics.com. The SEC Network and ESPN will announce the full television schedule in early February, which could potentially adjust some game times.
For more on Kentucky softball and all of the Wildcats, join us on BBN Tonight, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on the official station for UK Athletics, LEX 18.
