Article

Queens of the Diamond: Virginia Tech Softball Preview

Michael Turner·February 2, 2026

Changing of the Guard - Same Culture. Same Goals

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

The Virginia Tech softball program finished the 2025 season with a 43-13 record, which was its third 40-win season in the past four years. The Hokies also made its fifth NCAA Regional in the last six years. Led by ACC Player of the Year Cori McMillan, the program featured seven All-ACC selections, tied for the most among ACC schools.

The last three years has seen the transition from an older wave of Tech players who helped elevate the softball program to a completely new look team, with new team leaders. Bre Peck, Emma Lemley, and Cori McMillan departed after last season. Emma Ritter, Addison Greene, Kelsey Bennettt, Cameron Fagan, Jayme Bailey, Keeley Rochard, and other program mainstays departed in previous seasons.

With the 2026 season beginning February 5, the program’s culture and goals remain the same. The culture revolves around accountability, hard work, and taking care of each other. Virginia Tech also wins: it is an annual contender for the ACC crown and a nationally-established ranked program. Its overarching goals are to make a Regional, advance to a Super Regional, and, ultimately, get to the World Series in Omaha.

THE ROSTER

During the program's media day on Friday, January 30. When asked how he planned on replacing Emma Ritter, Cori McMillan, and Bre Peck, Coach Pete D’Amour responded, "Remember when you asked me about that with Keely [Rochard] and Emma Ritter, the train keeps rolling. Who's next? Let's see if we can do it again. So, I'm encouraged by what I've seen this year. It's somebody else's turn to swing the bat."

Head Coach Pete D’Amour and the staff have filled the roster with talented, hard-working players who fit the team’s culture. Indeed, five of its All-ACC selections return to headline the Hokies in 2026: Michelle Chatfield earned All-ACC First Team Selection; Kylie Aldridge earned Second Team honors; and Jordan Lynch, Emma Mazzarone, and Zoe Yaeger placed Third Team. They are joined by an influx of highly-rated recruits, including the 18th-ranked 2026 class.

Emma Mazzarone

Emma Mazzarone is a left-handed junior from Pleasant Garden, North Carolina. She played in 38 games last year, starting 18. Mazzarone finished 2025 with an 11-3 record and a 3.32 ERA. Across 92.2 IPs, she gave up only 6 home runs and posted 95 strikeouts and a .211 batting average against. The one area that Mazzarone needs to improve on is walks: she gave up 61 walks last year (to put this in perspective, Lemley gave up 60 walks in 161 innings). Mazzarone is excellent at fielding her position: she had a 1.000 field percentage with no errors, 4 putouts, and 40 assists.

Video from this post on X — April 5, 2025 · View on X

In order for the Hokies to achieve their goals of not only making the post-season, but advancing to the Super Regionals, Emma Mazzarone has to take on the mantle of ace of Virginia Tech’s pitch staff in 2026. In fact, Softball America picked Mazzarone as Virginia Tech’s breakout candidate for 2026 in its preview of the Virginia Tech softball team.

"Emma Lemley has passed the baton to Emma Mazzarone. The lefty two-way pitcher threw 92.2 innings this past season, but if all goes according to plan, she’ll throw 100-plus in her junior year. Mazzarone throws over 70, even topping out around 75 MPH. According to Synergy Softball, she threw her dropball over 60% of the time, accompanied by her riseball and changeup, both of which had a 38% swing-and-miss rate. When she’s throwing well, she is incredibly tough to square up."

Coach Pete D’Amour thinks Mazzarone is ready and said that she is “focused. She knows she’s going to have a bigger role this year, and she’s ready for it,” D’Amour said. “Her practice habits have improved. She’s thrown well this fall. When she’s on, we can’t hit her. When you slow it down and get it over the plate, it’s really, really hard to hit. She’s ready to have a big year for us.”

On a podcast in the fall with D1 Softball, Coach D’Amour said that Mazzarone “hit 75 on the radar gun, she throws bullets and has a focus that’s way different from last year….she is as talented as any pitcher in the country.”

Sophie Kleiman

Sophie Kleiman, a right-handed senior who transferred into the program last season from Indiana University, played in 23 games and started 11. When she came to Tech, Extra Innings described her in that she “throws mid-60s with great down movement.” Head Coach Pete D’Amour described her as having “the ability to throw with high velocity and her ball is really heavy. With an elite dropball, Sophie will keep the ball in the ballpark.” Indeed, during her last year at Indiana, she only gave up 7 home runs in 130 innings.

Kleiman continued her excellence in her first go around at Tech by only giving up 1 home run in 71.1 innings. She finished with a 12-2 record, 2.45 ERA, 66 strikeouts, 50 BB given up, and a .286 batting average against. She will be counted on to take on a bigger load.

Cassie Grizzard

Casse Grizzard is a left-handed senior going into her third year in the program after originally transferring from Louisville. She played in 17 games last season, starting three. She had a 2-0 record and a 3.15 ERA across 26.2 IPs. She struck out 12, walked 17, only gave up 1 home run, and had a .198 batting average against.

Grizzard has had a utility role during her time in Blacksburg. She throws a nice changeup and a drop ball. Going into this season, Coach D’Amour’s comments about Grizzard playing an important role in the circle was augmented by his statement that she “perfected her change up” If this year ends up being a by-committee approach to pitching, it will be interesting to see if her role expands. That will also depend on the development of the younger pitchers.

Bree Carico

Bree Carico is listed as a sophomore pitcher from Appomattox, VA but did not see action last season for Virginia Tech due to injury so should be considered a redshirt-freshman. As the Extra Innings 48th-ranked recruit as a senior, she notched 126 strikeouts over 65.2 innings and finished her final high school season with a 0.42 ERA.

During fall ball, Coach D’Amour said that the right-handed Carrico “had a stellar fall and was one of the best arms in the circle in fall games.” He followed that up at the softball media day by Carrico "the most improved player on our team."

Avery Layton

Avery Layon is a right-handed freshman pitcher from Rossville, Indiana. She was a two-time Clinton County Player of the Year, two-time First Team All-State Selection, and led Rossville to its first-ever IHSAA State Championship in 2024. After finishing her four-year high school career with 1,093 strikeouts, Layton played in the Alliance All-Star Game and was selected to the Future Stars game where she was named a Team USA HPP Top Performer.

Softball America named Layon “A Freshman to Watch” as Coach D’Amour said on the podcast that “she came into her own during the fall …and was hitting 71 with up and down movement…and she has looked as good as anyone he can remember.”

Addyson Fisher

Addyson Fisher is an incoming left-handed pitcher/utility freshman player from Churchill, Tennessee. Fisher’s recruiting story is one of perseverance. She committed to Virginia Tech in October 2023 but tore her ACL Even after sthe injury, the Virginia Tech coaching staff stayed with her. Fisher said, ““I went on my official visit there whenever I just tore my ACL before I went, and I got there and we were kind of upset in the process of them. We were crying and they said that it didn’t matter. They knew that I was going to get back to where I was so I was like, ‘Okay, well let’s do this.'” Furthermore, she felt at home saying, “The people there were all really nice. The coaches made me feel like I was just welcome, that I was there. So it was just easy.”

Fisher worked hard to come back from her injury and had an excellent senior season. Her pitching stats for her final year in high school were 122.2 IPs, a 20-2 record. She gave up a total 8 earned runs for an ERA of 0.29 and frequently hit 69 mph on her pitches. She pitched 12 shutouts and had 1 perfect game, 2 no hitters, and 5 1-hitters. Fisher was named the District 2AA Player and Pitcher of the Year and Northeast Tennessee Player of the Year in her senior season. According to Coach D’Amour, she “will add to the Hokies’ bullpen options.” As a batter, Fisher hit .421 and stroked 15 HRs, driving in 45 RBI and scoring 36 runs.

The Hokies have a history of passing the baton from one ace to the next, from Keeley Rochard to Emma Lemley in recent seasons. From everything we know, Emma Mazzarone has the opportunity to seize that baton. However, Virginia Tech has a staff of quality pitchers with a nice mix of left-handed and right-handed options that can be thrown at opponents. Coach D’Amour said, “We have a lot of options...what matchups work: "Mazz - a lefthander at 73, Avery, a right-hander at 70, Fisher, a lefthander with more changeups, Grizzard more off-speed, Kleiman with a heavy dropdrop...we have more options...lot of X's and O's to think about." It will be interesting to see how D'Amour mixes and matches his staff and how much he throws the freshmen into the fire.

INFIELDERS

Michelle Chatfield

Michelle Chatfield is a junior from Lovettsville, Virginia. She has locked down first base since her freshman year. She was second on the team in home runs the last two years with 19 in 2024 and 15 in 2025. After hitting .275 her freshman year, Chatfield followed that up with a .386 average in her sophomore campaign. Chatfield has, thus, become a top offensive threat who hits for both power and average.

Her sophomore season was marred by a hand injury suffered in the final regular season series against Florida State, putting her out for most of that post-season. The loss of Chatfield was felt by the offense and likely hurt Virginia Tech’s chances of advancing out of the Regionals.

Chatfield comes into the 2026 campaign listed at #97 in Softball America’s Top 100 list and is ranked as the #7 first baseman by D1 Softball. With Cori McMillan and Bre Peck departed, Chatfield inherits the mantle of team leader and the likely top home run producer in the lineup.

Jordan Lynch

Jordan Lynch, a former #10 ranked recruit by Extra Innings, is a sophomore who immediately started at third base during her freshman campaign. With her establishing herself right off the bat, Bre Peck moved to the outfield to make room for Lynch in the lineup. She had a tremendous season in which she fielded her position at .966 and hit .381 with 10 home runs and led the team with a program record-tying 18 doubles. In fact, she hit a double or home run in 68% of her hits resulting ultimately in a .667 slugging percentage. Ranked the #7 third base by D1 Softball coming into the 2026 season, Lynch will be a key piece of the offense.

Photo from this post on X — May 22, 2025 · View on X

Annika Rohs

After Rachel Castine went down with injury early in 2024, freshman at the time Annika Rohs took over at short stop and has not looked back. Coach D’Amour has described Rohs as the best fielding shortstop who has made plays that he has never seen before. Indeed, her fielding percentage the last two years was .959 in 2024 and .966 in 2025.

Batting has been her main weakness. She hit .226 as a freshman and .214 as a sophomore. Despite struggling at the plate, her glove has likely saved more runs than what she would potentially produce anyway! Regarding her offense, Coach D’Amour said in the fall that Rohs has “really increased her bat speed, we don’t need her to hit HRs - just turn the order.”

Rachel Castine

Two years ago, Rachel Castine started the season at shortstop and appeared in 10 games. In those games, she hit 5 home runs, including two grand slams and another three-run homer, and won both the D1 Softball National Player of the Week and the ACC Player of the week awards. Unfortunately, an injury cut short her season. Going into 2025, she faced unreal expectations, as if hitting grand slams would be the norm. With Annika Rohs locking down shortstop, Castine moved to second base. Unfortunately, she had a slow start to the year and then took much of the season to get untracked, ultimately raising her batting average to .242 to go along with 7 home runs and 20 RBI. She is back for her final, senior season and will provide flexibility in her ability to play both second base and shortstop.

Addison Foster

Addison Foster is a junior from Lockport, Illinois. She transferred in this year after starting at shortstop for two seasons at Stetson University. During her career at Stetson, she batted .368 with 117 hits and 59 RBIs. She also stole 39 bases. During her senior year, she had a .411 batting average and a .505 on-base average. Foster also had 12 doubles and 7 triples, so she gets on base and has the speed to pressure defenses. Defensively, she has a career .910 fielding percentage and committed 32 errors in 104 games.

Foster primarily batted leadoff at Stetson (and also during the Fall games at Virginia Tech). Foster apparently has also found a power stroke in Blacksburg.“She’s hitting balls over the scoreboard,” D’Amour said. “She’s getting out of the mode of ‘I just have to get on base’ and now she’s driving balls with that same high-contact percentage.”

Gaby Mizelle

Gaby MIzelle is a freshman shortstop from Raleigh North Carolina who is a two-time North Carolina Coaches Association 4A East Player of the Year and a three-time North Carolina 4A GNR Conference Player of the Year. She hit .632 with 12 home runs, 48 hits, and 28 RBIs. Mizelle won the 2024 Pan American Games with the Puerto Rico National Team.

She comes to Virginia Tech as the no. 7 ranked recruit in the 2025 class by Extra Inning Softball. During the podcast with D1 Softball, Coach D’Amour noted how “she’s killing balls.” Mizelle was also named to D1 Softball’s “Freshman To Watch” List. She has a good chance of finding herself in the lineup this season; if she can translate her batting average to the college level, Mizelle could have opportunities to drive in runs for the Hokies.

Haley Luginbill

Haley Luginbill, who Coach D’Amour described as “a tough kid and a good teammate,” batted .339 last year at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) with 43 hits, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs and a .621 slugging percentage. According to D’Amour, “She really progressed in the latter part of the fall. Worked hard. She always works hard. There were some things that she needed to iron out in her swing and she has done that and has looked a lot better. She’s got really fast hands.”

MJ Abernathy

MJ Abernathy is a sophomore infielder from Jackson, Tennessee. She appeared in two games in 2025 drawing a walk in one and serving as a pinchrunner in the other. Abernathy scoring one run from those two opportunities.

Lily Pallante

Lily Pallante is a freshman infielder from Charlottesville, Virginia. She was a two-time All-State selection as well as All-Central Virginia Player of the Year in 2024 and All-Conference in 2025. She has a career .607 average with 10 home runs.

CATCHERS

Kylie Aldridge and Zoey Yaeger have been sharing the catcher position for the last two years. They both also proved to be excellent defenders and managers of the pitchers. Aldridge had a 1.000 fielding percentage, only 2 passed balls, and only faced 4 stolen base attempts all season. Yaeger had a .983 fielding percentage, 5 passed balls, and gunned down six opponents trying to steal bases. Both have bats and skills that need to be in the lineup, so Coach D’Amour faces the good challenge of how to accomplish this.

Kylie Aldridge

Kylie Aldridge is a senior catcher from Hope Mills, North Carolina. Her career at Virginia Tech epitomizes growth: she hit .214 as a freshman, .283 as a sophomore, and then .368 average in 2025 splitting time with Zoey Yaeger. Aldridge averaged 7 home runs and 30 RBI over the last two years. According to Coach D’Amour, “Kylie Aldridge is swinging the bat as well as she ever has, she’s been able to play outfield.” This sounds promising for both her offensive production this coming season as well as the possibility of getting her bat in the lineup as an outfielder.

Zoey Yaeger

Zoey Yaeger is a junior catcher from Neptune Beach, Florida. She hit .300 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI as a freshman in 2024 in 50 ABs. Yarger blossomed last year, hitting .310 with 9 home runs and 38 RBI in 129 ABs while splitting the catching duties with Kylie Aldridge. If Aldrige plays more in the outfield, Yaeger will potentially get more ABs and could reach double digits in home runs. In any case, she will be a key component of Tech’s offense this year.

Mia Gagliardi

Mia Gagliardi is a freshman catcher from Kingwood, Texas. A three-time 21-6A First Team All-District selection and a finalist for the 2024 VYPE Player of the Year, she won the Texas UIL 6A DII State Championship her senior season and earned the 21-6A District MVP in 2025. During her senior campaign, she batted .445 with 57 RBI and 14 home runs. If Kylie Aldridge sees more time in the outfield or as the DH, Gagliardi has a chance to get opportunities behind the plate. If her defense and batting can translate quickly to the college level, it might be hard to keep her out of the lineup.

Abby Sars

Abby Saras is a freshman catcher from Prince George, Virginia. Sars is a Top 30 ranked catcher and is ranked No. 78 in Extra Innings Softball’s 2025 Extra Elite 100 player rankings. She hit for a .426 average her senior year, including generating 18 RBIs and scoring 23 runs. Sars will compete with Gagliardi as the third catcher.

OUTFIELDERS

With the departure of Addison Greene, Bre Peck, and Trinity Martin, there are openings for newcomers in the outfield. Lyla Blackwell split time with Martin for part of the 2025 season, so her experience and production may give her a leg up on the competition. The opportunities are there for players to grab it.

Lyla Blackwell

Lyla Blackwell is a junior outfielder from Franklin, Indiana. While she saw some playing time as a freshman, she really came on last year where she split time in the outfield with the departed Trinity Martin. Blackwell hit .270, often using her speed to get on base. With the outfield being wide open, Blackwell enters the new year with the most experience among the candidates vying for roles. She flashed her speed in the outfield as well, highlighted by the triple play against Stanford with the Cardinals up on Tech 5-3 with runners on second and third.

7-4-3 TRIPLE PLAY pic.twitter.com/tS898qE0PF

Justin McLeod (@justfactsmaam) · View on X

Nora Abromavage

A former #37 ranked recruit by Extra Innings, Nora Abromavage is a sophomore outfielder from Fairfax Station, Virginia. She played in 27 games, starting one. She had 16 total ABs, mostly as a pinch hitter, and often made those opportunities count with a .313 average. While she hit a pinchhit grand slam in the 19-0 win against Pitt, she delivered her biggest hit against UNC in a 0-0 tie game with a 1-2 count in the top of the 6th inning to give Tech a 2-0 lead. Abromavage likely has the best chance among the contenders for playing time in the outfielder to replace some of McMillian's power production.

B6 | THE FRESHMAN DELIVERS, IN A BIG WAY!!Hokies 2, Tar Heels 0#WELOVENORA pic.twitter.com/g7jAbg6bUS

Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) · View on X

Abromavage may be in line for a starting spot in the outfield if her off-season is an indicator. According to D’Amour. “Nora Abromavage, she's got more power than anybody on our team right now,” Indeed, she has consistently been among the leaders on the off-season Smash Board, which tracks home runs in practice.

Bre Warren

Bre Warren is a transfer graduate student from College Station, Texas. An outfielder, Warren began her career at Texas A&M where she hit .308 her first year (2020-21) and earned both All-SEC First Team and SEC All-Freshman honors. Unfortunately, she was beset with injuries during her second year at Texas A&M.Warren then transferred to South Carolina where she appeared in 39 games, starting 27 - primarily as a designated hitter. Warren comes to Virginia Tech with an opportunity to finish her career on a high note.

M6 | @brionna_warren with a diving catch to hold the Razorbacks to 2 runs in the sixth0 | 3 #Gamecocks #SCTop10 https://t.co/RP9N9X1MDG pic.twitter.com/IWRs1QhCdA

South Carolina Softball (@GamecockSoftbll) · View on X

Charlotte Moore

Charlotte Moore is a sophomore from Loudoun County, Virginia where she played at Riverside HS in Leesburg, VA. She was a two-time All-State outfielder, three time First Team All-Region and All-District, and two-time Washington Post All-Met honors. Finally, Moore was an Extra Innings All-American as an outfielder. She appeared in five games last year, all as a pinchrunner. She will be in the competition for playing time at an outfield spot.

Jordan Bishop

Jordan Bishop is freshman catcher/outfielder from Cartersville, Georgia who earned First-Team All State accolades in 2024 as well as the Region 7 5A Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons She had a .480 average to go with 16 home runs and 43 RBI her senior year. Overall, she had a career batting average of .472 with 31 home runs and 114 RBI. She may see action as a utility player who can play multiple positions.

Sarah McNelly

Sarah McNelly is a junior from South Plainfield, NJ. She only had three ABs last season as she primarily played as a pinchrunner extraordinaire. McNelly scored 8 runs.

T4 | Stolen base by McNelly, results in Peck crossing the plate.Hokies 2, Tigers 1 pic.twitter.com/rxRbL53EHL

Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) · View on X

OFFENSE

Virginia Tech is synonymous with power. The Hokies hit 115 home runs in 2024 and then followed that with 112 in 2025. They hit 80 doubles in 2024 and 89 in 2025. The obvious concern is how Tech will replace the 31 home runs Cori McMillan and 14 home runs Bre Peck produced last year (not to mention McMillan’s .432 average).

Coach D’Amour expects there to be no drop off as the program is loaded with talent: Michelle Chatfield can threaten the 20 home run mark; Jordan Lynch was just scratching the surface with her 10 home runs; Yaeger and Aldridge are both capable of hitting double digit dingers out of the park; and the return to form of Rachel Castine can provide an offensive boost.

Making an impact in her first NCAA Regional 3 HR and 5 RBIs this weekend for the freshman! #Hokies | @Jordanlynch24 pic.twitter.com/ZFAiEggvx4

Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) · View on X

The X-factor may be Emma Mazzarone. She came to Tech as a 2-way player and had a sporadic 43 ABs last year. She had 9 hits in 2025; of those 9 hits, 4 were home runs and 2 were doubles. According to Coach D’Amour, she is killing it in pre-season and will be in the lineup more consistently.

Besides, if you look at the Smash Board, the Hokies are good shape when it comes to hitting home runs! At the top of the board, Nora Abromavage may have provided a preview of her potential power game.

Beyond power, the Hokies also hit for average. The team finished with a .325 batting average in 2025 and featured seven regulars who hit above .300. Five of those players are returning. In addition, there are several second year or incoming freshmen who have the ability to contribute offensively.

DEFENSE

Virginia Tech’s infield defense was Top 5 in the country last year. The combination of Lynch at third, Rohs at shortstop, Castine at second, and Chatfield at first provided stellar defense if opposing batters put a ball into play. They combined for a total of 15 errors all season to go along with a .971 average fielding percentage [Chatfield had .993; Lynch had .966, Castine had .960; and Rohs had . 966]. Add in Yeager's .983 and Aldridge’s 1.000 fielding percentage and the infield vacuumed up opposing ABs. The pitchers Mazzarone (1.000), Grizzard (1.000), Kleiman (.909) also fielded their positions well as they combined for only one error.

.983 - the 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 fielding percentage in the country #Hokies pic.twitter.com/SawrKywS9w

Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) · View on X

What a double play by Jordan Lynch to send the game to the 8th inning pic.twitter.com/qVG6YALQEC

Chip Grubb (@Hokiechip) · View on X

The outfield will feature a number of new players who simply need to catch routine fly balls, make the average play, and avoid errors.

The 2026 version of the team features versatility in that many players can play multiple positions. During fall ball, Castine played both second and shortstop. Mizelle played shortstop and second in different games. Chatfield and Aldridge both had stints in the outfield as well as first base.

SCHEDULE

Virginia Tech has a schedule intended to build a resume aimed at the post-season. As it does every season, Tech will once again play against a number of SEC foes. Coach D’Amour loves to prepare his team by playing in SEC venues with SEC crowds as a backdrop.

B5 | 𝗪𝗘 𝗟𝗬𝗟𝗔Hokies 5, Tigers 1 pic.twitter.com/PUyTM9cZg1

Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) · View on X

The Hokies begin their season February 5 in Columbia, South Carolina where they play the host South Carolina twice, NCAA team Binghamton twice, and Winthrop. The Gamecocks finished 2025 with an RPI of 5 and made it the Super Regionals where they finished their season with a 2-1 loss to #8 UCLA.

A trip to Charlotte will entail playing Villanova and Michigan State twice, as well as perennial giant killer Charlotte.

Two weeks later, Tech travels to Athens, Georgia, which will feature two matchups against the host Georgia, to go with games against Seton Hall and Utah State. Georgia also made it to a Super Regional in 2025 where it lost to #3 Florida, 2-1.

A week later, the Hokies go to Auburn where they will face two NCAA teams in Auburn and USC-Upstate, along with Troy.

Virginia Tech starts to wrap up its pre-ACC schedule by playing in Salem, Virginia. In addition to playing in-state rivals JMU and Radford, Tech will face Bryant twice and the Big Ten tournament winner Michigan.

After an away trip to Elon, Virginia Tech begins the ACC portion of its schedule. Tech has a favorable ACC schedule. It avoids Florida State and gets Clemson at home. It does have to travel to Duke and UVA. The Hokies will face UNC, Georgia Tech, and NC State in Blacksburg, but have to travel for the Boston College and Syracuse series. Intertwined within ACC games are away games at Longwood and Radford, and an away-home series with Liberty.

VIRGINIA TECH NATIONAL RANKINGS

Virginia Tech comes into the season ranked in all four pre-season polls.

NFCA/GoRoute - Ranked #19
D1 Softball - Ranked #20
ESPN/USA Softball - Ranked #21
Softball America - Ranked #24

ACC COACHES PRE-SEASON PICKS

Despite players like Emma Mazzarone, Jordan Lynch, Michelle Chatfield, Kylie Aldridge, and Zoe Yaeger earning post-season All-ACC honors last year, no Hokies were voted to the 2026 Pre-Season All-ACC team.

The Hokies were picked to finish 4th in the ACC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll behind Florida State, Clemson, and Stanford. Here are the votes from the 15 head coaches:

Florida State, 179 (12 first place votes)
Clemson, 173 (1 first place vote) - Tech plays Clemson at HOME
Stanford, 170 (2 first place vote)
Virginia Tech, 160
Duke, 151 - Tech plays Duke AWAY to start the ACC campaign
Virginia, 133 - Tech plays UVA AWAY
North Carolina, 120 - Tech plays UNC at HOME
Georgia Tech, 101 - Tech plays Georgia Tech at HOME
California, 88
Louisville, 83
Notre Dame, 66
NC State, 59 - Tech plays NC State at HOME
Pitt, 37
Syracuse, 36 - Tech plays Syracuse AWAY to end the regular season
Boston College, 19 - Tech plays Boston College AWAY

Florida State is ranked 6th nationally by Softball America whereas Clemson is ranked 9th, Stanford 18th, Duke 20th, and UVA 23rd. It is interesting the ACC coaches rated Virginia Tech ahead of teams ranked higher than it by Softball America.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The new era Hokies have high expectations and have the players and staff to achieve their goals. The pitching staff is in a mini-transition with Emma Mazzarone taking her place among the list of elite pitchers to headline the program. Alongside her are mainstays Sophie Kleiman and Cassie Grizzard, as well as a bevy of newcomers who have the opportunity to contribute in the circle. The returning infield of Michelle Chatfield, Rachel Castine, Annika Rohs, and Jordan Lynch combines power, average, and elite defense. Transfers Addison Foster and Haley Luginbill have the potential to contribute as well. Veterans Zoe Yaeger and Kylie Aldridge provide stability and power behind the plate.

The main uncertainty lies in the outfield where players like Lyla Blackwell, Nora Abromavage, Bre Warren, Charlotte Moore, and others will vie to make an impact in the every day lineup. It will be interesting to see how much time Emma Mazzarone sees in the batting lineup and what impact she can make. Finally, we saw Jordan Lynch excel immediately as a freshman; which freshmen this year will break out? Keep an eye on D1 Softball’s Freshmen to Watch Avery Layton and Gabi Mizelle.

Virginia Tech is a perennial contender for the ACC crown as well as the NCAA post-season. The schedule will test the Hokies, especially early, when they travel to SEC venues in Colombia, Athens, and Auburn. These intense matchups and crowds will forge the Hokies into a team prepared for the ACC gauntlet. We should see the Hokies finish at or near the top of the ACC and receive a bid to (and host) a NCAA Regional. From there, the goal is to advance to a Super Regional and beyond. The games begin this Thursday, February 5. Lets’ Go!

PITCHERS

Virginia Tech loses Emma Lemley but has plenty of options in the circle. Three experienced pitchers in junior Emma Mazzarone, senior Sophie Kleiman, senior Cassie Grizzard return to go along with sophomore Bree Carrico and a pair of freshmen in Avery Layton and Addyson Fisher.

Michael Turner

Women's Sports Analyst

I have been a Hokie since 1985. I graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in international relations and received my Master’s in international relations as well, which included spending time in Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.