Aaliyah Jenkins, Victoria Hayward Look to End Nevada Softball's Conference Title Drought
It has been a complete calendar year since the University of Nevada brought home a Mountain West championship.
That was in men's tennis.
However, the Wolf Pack hasn't won a conference title on the softball field since 2009, and that was when Nevada was still in the WAC.
Now, Nevada is just one win away from snapping that skid with at least a share of the Mountain West title and could make it happen as soon as Thursday against Colorado State. The Wolf Pack could win the conference outright with a series win.
It all starts with Aaliyah Jenkins, who just tied a Mountain West record by winning her fifth Player of the Week award this season. She is one of just six players in conference history to win Player of the Week five times in a career and will look to join the club of three players to win it six times and hold the single-season record all by herself against Colorado State.
AALIYAH JENKINS 🦄
— Victoria Hayward, OLY (@VictoriaHayward) April 22, 2025
“The first active D1 softball player to reach each of the following marks: 200 games played, 150 runs scored, 200 hits, 50 HR, 150 RBI and 50 SB”
Oh and she catches AND plays OF https://t.co/FhEdqUFrIk
Jenkins has been on fire all season.
During Nevada's series against Utah State roughly two weeks ago, Jenkins collected her 200th career hit, where she became the eighth player in Wolf Pack history to record 200 career hits. She also became the first active DI softball player to reach each of the following marks: 200 games played, 150 runs scored, 200 hits, 50 home runs, 150 RBI, and 50 stolen bases.
The senior's name is now scattered all over the program's record book and is providing first-year head coach Victoria Hayward with a front-row seat to witness history.
That's🖐️!@aaliyahjenkinss ties the @MountainWest record for Player of the Week awards in a season following her 3⃣ homer and 8⃣ RBI week!#BattleBorn pic.twitter.com/72g4MFzjvq
— Nevada Softball (@Nevada_Softball) April 28, 2025
Hayward has led the Wolf Pack to a 37-12 record overall and 15-4 in conference play.
With just three games left in the regular season, the Wolf Pack has the opportunity to win its fourth title in program history and first under Hayward.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
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 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.