Creighton Softball Standout Named to D1 Softball Preseason Mid-Major Rankings
A junior utility player for the Creighton Bluejays softball program earned preseason honors from D1 Softball on Wednesday.
Kaelan Schultz was named one of the outlet's Preseason Top 100 Mid-Major Players, coming in at No. 81.
High expectations for @22kschultz1!!
— Creighton Softball (@BluejaySoftball) January 20, 2026
Kaelan coming in as @D1Softball Preseason Mid-Major No. 81 ranked player!! #GoJays pic.twitter.com/0naXKDkiut
The Hastings, Neb., native is coming off a season that earned her All-BIG EAST Second Team honors after playing in 40 games for the Bluejays and making 39 starts as the team's designated player.
Schultz's production last season was incredible after missing the majority of 2024 with a season-ending knee injury. She missed the first 15 games of the season but finished the year ranked sixth in the conference and second on the team with 14 home runs. That total also stands as the ninth-most in a single-season at Creighton.
The power hitter collected seven doubles, 24 runs scored, and ranked third on the team with 39 runs batted in. She also led the team and ranked fourth in the BIG EAST with a .772 slugging percentage. Her 21 walks were second-most on the team, and she had a .446 on-base percentage.
Schultz started her collegiate career at South Dakota State in 2023 but redshirted before transferring to Creighton ahead of the 2024 season.
As a redshirt-freshman, Schultz scattered five hits across 21 at-bats and appeared in nine games before getting hurt.
Before college, Schultz was a top-40 recruit out of Hastings High School and Nebraska Gold. She was a four-time Lincoln Journal Star Super State First Team honoree and ended her high school career as the state's home run queen (65). She also set a Class B state record with 213 career RBIs and a .517 batting average.
Schultz helped the Tigers to a state title her freshman year and back-to-back runners-up finishes as a junior and a senior.
The Bluejays are heading into the 2026 season with high expectations. They are projected to finish second in the BIG EAST, which is the program's highest preseason Coaches' Poll ranking since 2019.
Creighton has appeared in the last two BIG EAST tournament finals and its first back-to-back 30-win season since 2009-10.
The Bluejays open the 2026 season at the Bearkat Classic in Huntsville, Texas, on Feb. 6-8 against Central Arkansas, Sam Houston, and South Dakota.
2026 BIG EAST Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. St. John's (6) - 61
2. Creighton (2) - 51
3. UConn (1) - 51
4. Villanova - 50
5. Providence -32
6. Butler - 31
7. Seton Hall - 24
8. DePaul - 15
9. Georgetown -9
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Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016.