Cal Begins Unusual 2026 Softball Season on Friday

Cal begins its unusual 2026 softball season on Friday at the Stanford Invitational, where the Bears will face 20th-ranked Oklahoma State in Steve Singleton’s first game as Cal’s head coach.

The Bears’ season is unusual for two reasons.

First and foremost, Cal will not play a single game in Berkeley. In fact, the Bears two tournaments to open the season – at Stanford and at Santa Clara – will be as close to home as the Bears will get.

Renovations are being made to Cal Softball Stadium so the Bears had to find other venues for their home games this season. Cal’s first ACC series against Duke will be played on the campus of Sacramento State, and the Bears other three conference “home” series will be played at West Valley (Junior) College in Saratoga, California, about 50 miles from Berkeley.

The second reason this season is unusual is that the Bears’ roster bears no resemblance to the 2025 Cal squad, which reached the NCAA tournament for the third straight year.

Cal, which was picked to finish ninth among the 15 ACC schools in the preseason coaches poll, has a new head coach and new players at virtually every starting position.

Last June, head coach Chelsea Spencer resigned, four months after signing a contract extension. Her resignation followed a mass transfer exodus.

All nine of the 2025 Cal players who had enough at-bats to qualify for inclusion statistically are gone – two because they ran out of eligibility and seven because they transferred to other schools. None of the four 2025 Cal pitchers who pitched enough to be included statistically are back this season.

The new head coach is Steve Singleton, who was the associate head coach at Texas last year when the Longhorns won the national championship.

Fifteen of the 23 players listed on Cal’s 2026 roster are newcomers this season.