The University of Central Florida softball team, ranked No. 21, will begin its postseason by facing fifth-seeded Kansas in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, according to a May 6 announcement.
This matchup follows a successful regular season for UCF, which finished fourth in the Big 12 with a conference record of 14-9-1. The Knights achieved their highest regular-season conference finish and most conference wins since joining the league before the 2024 season. Their overall win total reached 38 games, also a program best since entering the Big 12.
UCF set several new records this year, including breaking its single-season home run mark with 66 home runs ahead of Thursday’s game. The team’s batting average (.325), on-base percentage (.424), and slugging percentage (.543) are all on pace to become new program records. Five players—Beth Damon, Sierra Humphreys, Kendall Yarnell, Aubrey Evans, and Izzy Mertes—each hit double-digit home runs for the first time in school history.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Isabella Vega led UCF’s pitching staff with a total of 136 innings pitched during the regular season. She posted an earned run average (ERA) of 2.88 along with 94 strikeouts and limited opposing hitters to an average of .204 overall and .201 against conference opponents. Vega recorded career highs this year in wins (17), saves (5), and complete games (11).
The Knights’ last appearance at the Big 12 Conference Tournament saw them secure their first tournament win by defeating Utah before falling narrowly to Arizona. Vega earned that victory by pitching nearly seven innings without allowing an earned run while Ashleigh Griffin delivered a walk-off two-run homerun.
UCF recently played Kansas in Orlando from April 17-19, winning two out of three games including an extra-inning walk-off victory and now leads their head-to-head series seven games to two since joining the conference.
