Softball On SI

Why Alabama Softball Could Be Without Its Ace to Open the 2026 Season

The junior pitcher has been dealing with an injury.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Alabama softball ace Jocelyn Briski could miss opening weekend for the Crimson Tide due to an injury.
Alabama softball ace Jocelyn Briski could miss opening weekend for the Crimson Tide due to an injury. | Mady Mertens-Imagn Images

Alabama softball head coach Patrick Murphy didn't mince words when speaking to media members on Tuesday before practice.

The Crimson Tide could be without its ace, Jocelyn Briski, to start the season.

"Not sure about Briski," Murphy told Katie Windham of Alabama On SI. "Got a little bit of a leg thing. She pitched yesterday and hit 68 [mph] on the gun several times. So, it's probably going to be game-time. I'm sure she would love to do it, but we'll see. Everybody else is good to go."

The junior enters the season as the veteran with the most experience on the Alabama pitching staff. She appeared in 44 games with 26 starts and finished with a 2.99 ERA and a 17-13 record. She led the team with 117 strikeouts.

Softball America ranked Briski No. 76 in its preseason top 100 player rankings and the 17th-best pitcher in its preseason position rankings.

Briski has battled injuries throughout her career at Alabama. She missed all of the preseason during her freshman campaign in 2024 before returning in time for conference play.

Unlike that season when the Tide had Kayla Beaver as their ace, this season looks a lot younger.

Outside of senior Alea Johnson, the pitching staff includes sophomore Braya Hodges and freshmen Kaitlyn Pallozzi and Vic Moten.

Johnson has appeared in 50 games and has only made eight starts since transferring from LSU after the 2023 season. She went 3-2 with a 4.33 ERA across 29 appearances and five starts across 43.2 innings last season.

Hodges finished with 16.2 innings pitched and a 4.20 ERA. She went 1-1 in 10 appearances and one start.

Alabama opens the season against Villanova on Thursday at the Buzz Classic in Atlanta, Ga.

Alabama Scheduled for 7 Nationally Televised Games

The Crimson Tide will have seven nationally televised games in 2026, starting with a non-conference matchup against Samford on the SEC Network on Tuesday, March 10, at 7 p.m. CT.

Alabama will host the defending national champions, the Texas Longhorns, for a three-game series in April. Two of those games will be a national broadcast with Game 2 on Friday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network and Game 3 on Saturday, April 4, at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.

The remaining games scheduled for national television include Auburn, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

  • Tuesday, March 10 vs. Samford - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - SEC Network - 7 p.m. CT
  • Friday, April 3 vs. Texas - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - SEC Network - 7:30 p.m. CT
  • Saturday, April 4 vs. Texas - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - ESPN - 5 p.m. CT
  • Saturday, April 11 at Auburn - Auburn, Ala. - SEC Network - 12 p.m. CT
  • Friday, April 17 vs. Kentucky - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - ESPN2 - 5 p.m. CT
  • Sunday, April 26 at Tennessee - Knoxville, Tenn. - ESPN2 - 3 p.m. CT
  • Monday, April 27 at Tennessee - Knoxville, Tenn. - SEC Network - 6 p.m. CT

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Maren Angus-Coombs
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+.

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