Pac-12 Softball Returns for 2027 Season With 7 Member Schools

The new PAC-12 Conference Logo | PAC-12 Conference

On July 1, 2026, the PAC-12 Conference officially returned for the 2026-2027 athletic season.

After being gutted by a mass exodus of former members in 2024, the conference returns with a new look, offering nine men's sports and 10 for women.

PAC-12 Softball lost seven powerhouse programs in 2024 as a result of conference realignment. Arizona and Arizona State joined the Big 12, while Oregon, UCLA and Washington switched to the Big Ten. California and Stanford left to join the ACC.

New members featuring softball include Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State. They will join Oregon State to form the new PAC-12 softball conference.

Texas State migrated from the Sun Belt Conference, while the remainder of the new member schools have joined after leaving the Mountain West Conference.

The PAC-12 Conference announced that its conference softball tournament will be held from May 12-15, 2027, at Texas State.

The PAC-12 was an elite softball conference until it unraveled in 2024.

UCLA and Arizona have won multiple NCAA National Championships and were dominant in the 1990s. Arizona State claimed two national titles, while Washington and California each won one.

From UCLA Athletics

The new-look PAC-12 does not have the rich history and championship tradition of the former version. Texas State was the only program to play in the NCAA Tournament in 2026. The Bobcats earned an at-large bid and went 1-2 in the Gainesville Regional, losing twice to Georgia Tech.

The new members do, however, have some top-notch coaching staffs that will look to elevate their teams and attract high-level recruits and transfers in the future.

The head coach of San Diego State, Stacey Nuveman Deniz, returns to the PAC-12, where she was a four-time All-American and national champion with UCLA. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has been involved with the Aztec program since 2009. She became the head coach in 2022 and was named Mountain West Coach of the Year twice in the past five years. She led the Aztecs to the Super Regionals in 2023.

Laura Berg has led Oregon State since 2013 and has amassed over 300 wins. She led the Beavers to the WCWS in 2022 when she and her staff were named the NFCA Pacific Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Oregon State returns to the PAC-12 after playing in the West Coast Conference in 2025 and 2026.

Recent high-profile coaching hires were made by two of the new PAC-12 members.

Utah State finished 19-35 last season. On June 18, the university announced the hiring of four-time national champion coach Kristen Zaleski.

Zaleski was an assistant coach for Mike White at Texas from 2023- 26, and was part of a staff that led the Longhorns to back-to-back national titles in 2025 and 2026. She also served as an assistant coach for Patty Gasso at Oklahoma in 2022, which resulted in another national championship.

Bringing a championship pedigree to Cache Valley 🏆

Please welcome a 4x National Champion, Kristen Zaleski, as our newest head coach! 

🥎➡️ https://t.co/WLTcS6GXRn#ShowMe pic.twitter.com/VfUepSbnxO

— USU Softball (@USUSoftball) June 18, 2026

Colorado State registered a 23-28 record in 2026. On June 8, Michelle Gascoigne was hired as the head coach. The former Oklahoma star pitcher won a national championship with the Sooners in 2013 and spent 11 years as the pitching coach for Northwestern.

Welcome to Ram Country, 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚 🐏🥎

🔗 https://t.co/kwYyiweKbz#Relentless x #CSURams pic.twitter.com/iEHSSMrBhb

— Colorado State Softball (@CSUSoftball) June 8, 2026

Although the new PAC-12 is not considered to be a power conference, the new programs will certainly look to be competitive as they try to build for the future.